Glaskogen is 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, or features of geological or ...

located in the province of

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...

, between the municipalities of

Årjäng Årjäng is a locality and the seat of Årjäng Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 3,228 inhabitants in 2010. It is located around from the Norway-Sweden border and on the road between Karlstad and Oslo. In 1540 Årjäng was spelled ''Arg ...

and

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the time ...

, in the west mid-Sweden. It was established as a nature reserve in 1970 and has a land area of about . The reserve was established by the County Administration of Värmland, which led to the formation of the Gla Forest Foundation in 1972 by the four local municipalities Arvika,

Eda EDA or Eda may refer to: Computing * Electronic design automation * Enterprise Desktop Alliance, a computer technology consortium * Enterprise digital assistant * Estimation of distribution algorithm * Event-driven architecture * Exploratory ...

Säffle Säffle () is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 9,150 inhabitants in 2016. In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished ...

and Årjäng.

Geography and fauna

In the heart of the forest there's a little village called Lenungshammar which has a population of about 30 people, here is also trailer and wilderness camping which is popular among tourists. There is an informations center, cafeteria, a small shop and a place to rent bikes and canoes. The reserve comprises many lakes, Stora Gla and Övre Gla being the largest. The terrain is very hilly. The reserve is inhabited by many birds such as

lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat (''Curruca curruca'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, winteri ...

s, three-toed woodpecker,

spotted nutcracker The spotted nutcracker, Eurasian nutcracker, or simply nutcracker (''Nucifraga caryocatactes'') is a passerine bird slightly larger than the Eurasian jay. It has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over ...

goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific na ...

s. By the lakes you can find

red-throated diver The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) (''Gavia stellata'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds pri ...

s and

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

s. Glaskogen is known for its hiking trails. With an estimated total of of hiking trails. The many lakes located in the reserve make it a popular fishing preserve and canoe trip for tourists.

History

Glaskogen was first populated by Finnish immigrants who sought settlement in the late 1500s. The legend says that the first people to seek settlement here only brought a knife, axe and a loonskinn filled with

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

grains. The first settlers exerted burn-beating. They mainly lived in small huts and cottages on the highgrounds of the natural reservoir, that way they could grow their grain in the valleys down below. The oldest preserved building is a bathhouse located in the southern parts of Finnskogen, in the east of a place called Mörtnäs. It is estimated to have been built 1638. The first mention of Glaskogen occurred in a publication in 1610 and it is mentioned in a lot of publications after that. Up until the 1940s, there was traces of the Finnish influence in the dialect used by people around the area of Glaskogen. Especially the Swedish consonants b, p, d, t, g and k. Today it's hard to spot, it seems that the influence has been neutralised by generations of assimilation into the Swedish society.

Industrialisation

Since Glaskogen is so rich in nature resources it became industrialized in the beginning of the 1800s. At this time, Glaskogen was an important source for exporting of timber and fuel. Thanks to the many lakes it was easy to transport the wood by fleet. Glava Glassworks is situated in Glaskogen. The workshop was founded in 1859 near the lake Stora Gla by two brothers named Anders and Petter Olsson. The brothers owned large forest properties which helped them to provide fuel for the manufacturing process in the

glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

. The workshop was known for its blown glass, especially their windows. In 1911, it stood for an estimated 38% of Sweden's production of windows. Since March 1939 the glassworks has been closed. A lot of the buildings were demolished while, , some are used as glas museums, hostels and housings.

Supernatural beings

During the 1800s people were more superstitious than today. This was perhaps the case in Glaskogen, which resulted in a lot of paranormal legends of strange creatures who were lurking in the woods.

Hobergsgubben

According to legend, there was a friendly giant, not to be confused with

Hoburgsgubben Hoburgen is a rauk (sea stack) area on the Storsudret peninsula in Sundre socken on the southern tip of Gotland, Sweden. The area contains one of Gotland's most noted rauks, the ''Hoburgsgubben'' ("Old Man Hoburg"). One of the asteroids in the ...

rauk A rauk is a column-like landform in Sweden and Norway, often equivalent to a stack. Rauks often occur in groups called "raukfält" or "rauk fields". The limestone rauks of Gotland in the Baltic Sea are among the best known examples. Sweden R ...

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 province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

. There's a tale where a man who sent his farmhand to the giant to invite him to an infant baptism. The Giant declines the invitation but wishes to donate to the childs baptism. The giant brings a huge chest full of goldpennies of which he proceeds to ladle pennies into a sack for the farmhand to bring back to the baptised child.

References

External links

varmland.org
{Dead link, date=April 2019 Nature reserves in Sweden Geography of Värmland County Tourist attractions in Värmland County