Southern Gotland
Hemse is Sudret’s metropolis and shopping centre. All kinds of different shops line the high street. There is also a folk high school offering a variety of educational courses, including an acclaimed photography programme.
Havdhem and Burgsvik, too, have shops and various other services. Every Saturday in July, special Gotland products are on sale at the market in Burgsvik.
Culture and history on southern Gotland
During the summer, there are activities galore at Kattlund farm in Grötlingbo. The first known owner of the farm, which is medieval in origin, was Botulf Kattlund, a judge at the Eke thing in the early 15th century.
Pete farm, in Hablingbo, is furnished with contemporary 18th-century furniture and gives today’s visitors a vivid impression of what life on the farm was like two hundred years ago.
The Bottarve farm museum at Vamlingbo is a fine example of a typical 18th or 19th-century farm. During the summer, the locals come to Bottarve to do old-fashioned farm work in the old-fashioned way.
A trip to Näsudden shows how wind power has changed the landscape. Today, some 100 wind turbines have been installed at Näsudden.
Vamlingbo vicarage houses two museums: the Lars Jonsson Museum, exhibiting works by the artist whose bird paintings have been shown all over the world; and Naturum Gotland, where visitors can enjoy an interactive exhibition about Gotland’s countryside and wildlife.
In Kettelviken, just north of the sea-stack known as Hoburgsgubben (the Old Man of Hoburg), lies the Stone Museum, which shows how sandstone was quarried at Sudret in days gone by. Countless numbers of grindstones were manufactured here. The industry peaked at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The stone-cutting mill at Burgsvik still operates and employs about ten people.
Uggarde rojr in Rone is Gotland’s tallest Bronze Age cairn, measuring 45 metres in diameter and 8 metres in height. It is surrounded by seven smaller cairns. Head for Ronehamn and follow the sign to Uggarde rojr.
The school playground in Rone has become widely known since a few inspired teachers sought backing from the State Inheritance Fund to create an extra exciting playground featuring both games and aspects of Gotland culture. Rone also has an active sports club, Rone GoIK, which each summer organises the world kubb championships on the first Saturday of August.
Beautiful countryside in southern Gotland
Here the landscape is greener and leafier than in the austere lands of the north. This is because the bedrock is sandstone, which is ideal for deciduous trees. For centuries, sandstone was an important local export commodity. Buildings in which sandstone from Burgvik have been used are Drottningholm Palace, the House of Nobility and the Bonde Palace, all in Stockholm.
Gotland ponies, the only living breed of horse native to Sweden, browse the grass of Lojsta Moor. The ponies, which are more or less wild, roam freely across a wide stretch of countryside, so you can’t be sure of finding them if you look for them on your own. If you want to see the whole herd, visit the pony round-up held annually at the end of July. Lojsta Moor also boasts the highest point in Gotland – 83.6 metres above sea level. Signposted just north of Lojsta Church on road 142.
At Solsänget, in Levide, there are ten ancient building foundations, corresponding to three or four farms that probably date back to the Roman Iron Age or Migration Period. Solsänget plays a central role in the novels of the Gotland writer Anna-Kajsa Hallgard.
Skär is an old fishing village in Öja whose huts are built in rows right by the beach. The sheep which graze the grass between viper’s bugloss and orchids keep the landscape open for almost as far as the eye can see. Drive north from Öja Church and head towards Fide. Turn to the right just by a newly built garage with a sedge roof.
Näsudden is not only the site of a large wind farm but is also renowned for its bird life, which is extraordinarily rich. Just off the flat, open headland lie the little islands of Flisen, Storgrunn and Lillgrunn. The road to Näsudden is signposted from the west coast highway, road 140.
At Hoburgen, at the southernmost tip of the island, the road ends. Here the famous Old Man of Hoburg gazes out to sea. Stroll eastwards along the beach at Rivviken, pass the headland, walk round the bay and make your way to Barshageudd. This is Gotland’s most southerly point.
