Jordtorpsåsen

  • Visit Öland
Address: Krusbärsvägen 2, 386 90 Färjestaden, Sweden
Location: Central Öland
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Roam along a magnificent ridge

Few places on Öland can compete with Jordtorpsåsen (The Jordtorp ridge) in terms of varied scenery offering recreational opportunities and great excursions. The mighty ridge was formed by rising ancient sea levels, which deposited water-sorted material in a beach embankment.

 

Burial sites and hollow ways

Jordtorpsåsen was very important for humans as early as prehistoric times; as a burial site, as a communications route and probably also as pastures or hay-making areas. The whole ridge is today a coherent archaeological area, with burial sites in rows and several hollow ways formed by the feet of humans and animals that have passed this way over the course of millennia. The oldest routes on land were usually located on ridges and heights, where the ground was dry and easily drained.

 

Varied landscape

The landscape around Jordtorpsåsen is very varied. The dry meadows up on the ridge feature plants such as dropwort, small pasque flowers, breckland thyme and common rock rose. Below the ridge there are wetlands with tufted sedge, slender sedge and purple loosestrife. This is where dragonflies thrive, as do rare agile frogs. North of the ridge, in a calcareous fen, there are orchids such as the early marsh orchid, the cream-flowered early marsh orchid, and the fly orchid. The hazel groves provide a home to many rare fungi such as Cortinarius terpsichores.

 

Wild bees and beetles

Several species of wild bee nest in the sand on the ridge’s dry meadows, including the tawny mining bee and the girdled mining bee. Rare short-necked oil beetles live as larva off the bees’ nectar and develop into adult beetles inside the bees’ nests by the following spring. The rich insect life on the ridge is helped by flowering shrubs and trees such as blackthorn, hawthorn, glaucous dog-rose and Swedish whitebeam.

 

Popular area for excursions

Jordtorpsåsen is a very popular area for walking and for excursions. It is also very suitable for nature and cultural studies. From the Jordtorpsåsen Nature Reserve, there is a four kilometre long walking trail that goes east to Gråborg.

 

Facts:

Size: 12 ha, (30 acres)

Year of creation: 1968

Purpose: To protect an untouched beautiful section of ridge that forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape of Öland and which provides an excellent recreational area for the general public. The area is part of Natura 2000, the EU’s ecological network of protected areas.

 

Directions/Location:

Drive to Algutsrum on Öland. Follow signs from the market place in Algutsrum towards Jordtorpsås Nature Reserve. Prams and pushchairs can also be taken on the paths.

GPS coordinates to the parking lot WGS 84 decimal (lat, long): 56.67873 , 16.5580

Jordtorpsåsen

 

Map: Naturcentrum AB, Stenungsund.

Download: the County administrative boards brochure over (in Swedish only) (106 kB): Jordtorpsåsen

Download: the entire brochure (in Swedish only) (19 MB)Utflyktsguide Öland

© Lantmäteriverket, Ur Geografiska Sverigedata, översiktskartan Dnr. 106-2004/188”

Source: County Administrative Board, Kalmar

Translation: Visitoland.com