Grogarnsberget or Grogarnsberg (lit. "The Grogarn Mountain" more appropriate "Grogarn Hill") is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

hill on the

Östergarn Östergarn () is a populated area, a ''socken'' (not to be confused with Parishes of the Church of Sweden, parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the Registration districts in Sweden, administrative Östergarn Dis ...

coast, on the Swedish island of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

. On the hill are the remains of former

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

, the second largest on Gotland and the fourth largest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Geography

The hill is on the northeast coast of the most eastern part of Gotland. It is approximately high with steep cliffs on three sides. The hill provides a good view of Östergarnsholm with its two

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

s. In the west, east and south are the historic harbors Katthammarsvik, Herrvik, and

Sandviken Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 26,438 inhabitants in 2023. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...

, formerly starting points for journeys across the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. The Grogarnsberget is also a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and it is designated a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

area. Established in 2007, it covers .

Hillfort

The castle, or fort, was built on Grogarnshuvud ("The Grogarn Head"), the northern tip of Grogarnsberget. The high sea cliffs provided protection on three sides. In the south there were two long stone walls with

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

s. From the site of the former castle, other major hillforts in the region are visible. Archaeological investigations of the outer ramparts turned up

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

s from the late

Vendel Period In Scandinavian prehistory, sometimes specifically Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period, or Vendel Age (; ) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish ...

(550-800 AD), which provided a clue as to the dating of the castle.Aleksander Loit (ed.):'' The contacts between the eastern Baltic and Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages. International Conference, 23–25 October 1990, Riga.'' Centre for Baltic Studies, Stockholm 1992, , p be 53 A number of wooden posts were also found, probably formerly part of the palisades, that were dated to 740 AD. The fort had both an outer and an inner wall. There are 82 such forts known on Gotland. Most of them has an interior surface of less than . The one on Grogarnsberget, however, measures (), making it one of the two largest hillforts on the island. House foundations from the

Roman Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Germany, Poland, the Net ...

– the

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

– were found inside the fortifications, unlike any other hillforts on the island. The largest hillfort in Scandinavia is Halleberg in

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, Sweden at about , the second largest is Lollands Österborg on east

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

, Denmark at about and the third largest is

Torsburgen Torsburgen, Tors borg or ''þors borg'' ("Thor's fort/castle") are the remains of an ancient hillfort in Kräklingbo on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The fort is approximately , was constructed in the 1st-4th century and in use ...

, Sweden at about .

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Gotland County Nature reserves in Sweden Geography of Gotland County Natura 2000 in Sweden Migration Period Hill forts in Sweden Buildings and structures in Gotland County Vendel Period