Kolmården () is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge that separates the Swedish

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...

and

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English ...

, two of the country's main

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

areas, from each other, and in historic times, along with

Tylöskog Tylöskog is a forested area in southeast Sweden, intersected by many faults, running from east to west between the agricultural plains of the counties of Närke and Östergötland. Together with Tiveden to its west and Kolmården to its east, ...

and Tiveden, formed the border between the land of the Swedes and the land of the

Geats The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of t ...

History

In early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times it was seen as a major obstacle in land travel between the regions, and so the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

was largely used instead. Together with the extensive forests of Tiveden and

to its west, Kolmården formed a major impediment for travel between the Swedes in

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, ...

to the north and the

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wi ...

, which caused peaceful and warlike interaction to be conducted by water. In the Icelandic text ''

Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum ''Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum'' (Fragment of a Saga about Certain Ancient Kings) is a fragmentary Icelandic text dealing with some legendary Swedish and Danish kings. It is thought to be based on the lost ''Skjöldunga saga'' and perhaps rep ...

'', Kolmården between Svealand and

is described as the border between Sweden and Östergötland (..). It also appears as

Mirkwood Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of ...

in some editions of Sögubrot, in the legend of

Helgi Hundingsbane Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in '' Volsunga saga'' and in two lays in the ''Poetic Edda'' named ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The ''Poetic Edda'' relates that Helgi and his mistre ...

and probably also in ''

Völundarkviða ''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundarkv ...

''.

Geography

The forest is divided between

Norrköping Municipality Norrköping Municipality (''Norrköpings kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County in southeast Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Norrköping, with some 90,000 inhabitants. It is the largest municipality in Östergötland. ...

and Nyköping Municipality on either side of the regional border. The Östergötland side has the majority of the population, centred in the village of Krokek. Settlements Strömsfors and Kvarsebo are also included on that side of the border. The Södermanland side has the small settlements of Kila, Stavsjö and Ålberga in Nyköping's Kila district named after river Kilaån that flows through Kolmården towards the

. Today the forest is traversed by the

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Link� ...

–

Nyköping Nyköping () is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the southern shore of the ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, the

–

Katrineholm Katrineholm (pronunciation: or ) is a locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 24,271 inhabitants in 2018. It is located in the inland of Södermanland and is the third largest urban area in the coun ...

railway, and the E4

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

, all connecting southern Sweden with Stockholm and the Mälaren region. Along the former there is also a Kolmården railway station, at Krokek next to

Bråviken Bråviken is a bay of the Baltic sea that is located near Norrköping in Östergötland, Sweden. It is an example of a fjard, a drowned shallow glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by th ...

Climate

Kolmården has a climate that is a hybrid between

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pr ...

and

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (a ...

with some differences between lower, coastal parts, and the higher forested hills. The Kolmården weather station is located at above sea level and therefore has some

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, resulting in increased rainfall for the region. Its position in a hill lowers daytime highs compared to the municipal seat of

, while lows remain similar to the lower elevation. The elevated nature Kolmården has an effect on rainfall east of it, splitting many fronts in two, creating a micro version of a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carri ...

. As a result, the climates right on the coastline of

Oxelösund Oxelösund is a locality and the seat of Oxelösund Municipality in Södermanland County, Sweden with 11,488 inhabitants in 2018. It is located less than south from the city centre of its larger neighbour Nyköping, with the two urban areas for ...

and

become drier than the waterfront next to the Kolmården hills.

Kolmården Wildlife Park

The Kolmården Wildlife Park, opened in 1965, overlooks

bay. This zoo includes the only dolphinarium in Sweden.

Notes

External links