Hästhallen – Bronze Age Carvings In Blekinge

The first time we visited Hästhallen we were studying the Bronze Age in our home education studies, and we couldn’t believe our luck that we had such a source of history not too far from us.  Not only that, but you could just turn up, it wasn’t overcrowded (we were the only ones in that wood), it was free with no exhorbitant admission fee, and there was even the odd geocache to be hunted.  Hästhallen is a place with a lot of history, and is still looked after in a traditional way.

Compared to similar historical sites in the UK, Hästhallen is very low key.  You turn up, park, follow the trail signs into the woods, admire the Bronze Age rock carvings and read the signs about them, and enjoy the nature.  It is a very simple experience with no coffee shops or needing to run the gauntlet of a souvenir shop, which with three children is always a nightmare challenge!  You can enjoy the history and the nature, which is just as it should be.

In the 1700s Bronze Age rock carvings of figures and symbols were discovered at Hästhallen.  There are just over 150 markings in quite a small area, which is around a 10 minute walk from the car with small children, so quite doable.  The carvings consist of ships, animals, humans, and some symbols.  It is thought, due to the density of carvings in such a small area, that it must have been a focal gathering point at the time.

After enjoying the carvings, you can then enjoy their surroundings and the nature they are set in.  Although it is quite a small nature reserve compared to some, there are still a few trails and paths to meander around and admire the beautiful nature.  There is a forest with many flowering plants, if you go in the right months.  We were there in winter.  If you go in May time you will see elder flowered orchids.  The landscape is preserved how it used to be.  Traditional practices and methods of cultivation are used to preserve both the methods and what grows there.

Hästhallen is a beautiful place, and I could not believe there was such an unassuming place so near, with such a rich history that we could just view at our leisure and totally for free.  I thoroughly recommend a trip to the past with a visit to Hästhallen.