Blå Jungfrun, also known as "Blåkulla", in English sometimes rendered literally as The Blue Maiden is a Swedish island in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It is situated in the Kalmar Strait, between the mainland province of

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

and the island province of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

. Administratively, the uninhabited island is part of the municipality of Oskarshamn and covers an area of approximately with a mean height above sea level of . Home to

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s and a Swedish National Park since 1926,

freedom to roam The freedom to roam, or everyone's right, every person's right or everyman's right, is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the ...

at Blå Jungfrun is limited with visitors prohibited from staying overnight on the island or making fires. The island consists partly of bare rock with the remainder covered in dense hardwood forest. There are several caves and an ancient stone

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

from which it is forbidden to remove stones. Geologically the island is an ancient

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...

rising from the

Sub-Cambrian peneplain The sub-Cambrian peneplain is an ancient, extremely flat, erosion surface (peneplain) that has been exhumed and exposed by erosion from under Cambrian strata over large swathes of Fennoscandia. Eastward, where this peneplain dips below Cambrian an ...

. After its formation in the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

, Blå Jungfrun was buried in sandstone, which protected it from any further erosion, until it was finally freed from its sandstone cover in geologically recent times. In 2014 the island became object of archeological interest when a group of researchers discovered a cultural layer after probating the soil. At the time the authorities had given them the permission to only operate in a small area and could not take samples; three years later they were able to recover shards made out of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

, which date to the Stone Age and had been probably produced by a settlement of hunter-gatherers. The exact age of the site remains uncertain, but it is estimated to have existed around 8500BC, about 10,000 years ago.

Legends

The island plays an important role in Swedish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, where it is viewed as an evil and magical place. The name Blå Jungfrun was originally used by sailors to avoid provoking the evil spirits who dwelt on the island. According to a widespread belief, related already by

Olaus Magnus Olaus Magnus (born Olof Månsson; October 1490 – 1 August 1557) was a Swedish writer, cartographer, and Catholic clergyman. Biography Olaus Magnus (a Latin translation of his Swedish birth name Olof Månsson) was born in Linköping in Octo ...

in 1555,

witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

meet there each

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, who visited the island in 1741, was sceptical: ''Women and fairy-tales ... generally say that all witches will go here (truly a rather difficult journey) each Maundy Thursday; but those who have visited the place once are not likely to return, and should find out the reason for the fable: If any place in the world looks hideous, this is surely one of the most cruel.''

Modern traditions

In Sweden and Swedish-speaking parts of Finland, to commemorate the travel of witches to the legendary Blåkulla (synonymous in some traditions with Blå Jungfrun), children dress as witches, old women, and old men on Easter and go door-to-door for treats similar to the trick-or-treating tradition of

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

. The children sometimes present hand-made cards and other greetings.

Park establishment and tourism

Between 1904 and 1925 the red

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

of Blå Jungfrun was extracted in three

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

on the south of the island. It was exported chiefly to Germany as decorative stone. The destruction led to efforts to protect the island. A donation from the Swedish entrepreneur Torsten Kreuger made it possible to acquire the island and stop the quarrying. The national park was established on February5, 1926 by the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

. In summer, the island can be visited by tour boats from Oskarshamn or from Byxelkrok. Regular trips began in the 1950s. A park guide on Blå Jungfrun informs the visitors about the national park and its regulations. A visit to the island lasts for around 3,5 hours.

References

External links

Sweden's National Parks: Blå Jungfrun National Park
from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Blå Jungfrun (National Park)
- Booking and timetable information for visiting Blå Jungfrun. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bla Jungfrun Oskarshamn Municipality Swedish islands in the Baltic National parks of Sweden Uninhabited islands of Sweden Swedish folklore Witchcraft in folklore and mythology Protected areas established in 1926 1926 establishments in Sweden Islands of Kalmar County Tourist attractions in Kalmar County Inselbergs of Europe Witchcraft in Sweden 20th-century establishments in Kalmar County

Legends

Modern traditions

Park establishment and tourism

See also

References

External links