World Heritage - southern Öland's agricultural landscape
In 2000, Södra Öland's agricultural landscape became a world heritage site. This means that the agricultural landscape is very valuable. Agriculture in southern Öland is important for the landscape to remain. The Swedish state has promised that the landscape of southern Öland will remain forever.
The land's use and division
A long time ago, people divided the earth into holdings and fields. The holdings consisted of fields and meadows. The outlands were used as pastures. Today, the islanders farm on the same land that humans have farmed on for many hundreds of years, and the animals graze on the lands that have been grazed for thousands of years. There are not many places like this in the world.
It is the ancestors of the farmers alive today who have made southern Öland now a world heritage site. In Sweden, we have often thought that agriculture in earlier times was good. Our farms today are big machines. We see the new technology as a threat to our landscape, but farmers have always influenced the landscape. We can't just look at how it was in the past. We also have to look ahead and think about the people who will live here in the future.
The village
On Öland there are 200 radbyas. A terraced village is a village where all the farm houses are close to each other in a row along the street.
The fence
The farmers built stone walls around fields and meadows. The stone walls meant that the animals could not eat what was grown. On Öland, areas with fields and meadows are called girden.
Mörbylångadalen is located on the western side of Öland. Here are the most fertile fields in Sweden.
The pastures
Outside the stone walls, the animals grazed during the summer. They grazed on the alvar and the lake lands, and we call that outlands. It was in the Middle Ages that the land was divided in this way and it has not changed since then.
Great Seriousness
The word "elf" is the name of the untouched soil that is under the topsoil. An elv has very thin soils that lie on limestone bedrock. Stora Alvaret on Öland is very large, it is 260 km2 large. It is the climate, the bedrock that is made of lime, and the animals that graze that have made the area look the way it does. The animals that graze seriously are necessary for the unusual plants to remain.
The lake lands
On Öland, the arable land never goes all the way down to the beach. The land between the fields and the beach is called lake land. Most of the lake lands are on the eastern side of Öland. In the lake lands, the islanders have let their animals graze for several thousand years.
Definition world heritage:
A world heritage site is a cultural or natural monument that is considered so valuable that it is of importance to all of humanity. These are places that in a unique and irreplaceable way bear witness to the history of the earth and man and must therefore be preserved for future generations as part of our common heritage.
The World Heritage Committee decided that Södra Öland should be a world heritage site because:
- southern Öland is very special, the landscape has a long history.
- the islanders have adapted to how it should look here.
- they have made the best they could of their island.
Source: Kalmar County Administrative Board.
Other information: At Öland's tourist office meeting point Öland you will find more information about the world heritage and the folder, "Guide to the world heritage - southern Öland's agricultural landscape".
Do you want to hike in the World Heritage? Click on Link 1 below!
A long time ago, people divided the earth into holdings and fields. The holdings consisted of fields and meadows. The outlands were used as pastures. Today, the islanders farm on the same land that humans have farmed on for many hundreds of years, and the animals graze on the lands that have been grazed for thousands of years. There are not many places like this in the world.
It is the ancestors of the farmers alive today who have made southern Öland now a world heritage site. In Sweden, we have often thought that agriculture in earlier times was good. Our farms today are big machines. We see the new technology as a threat to our landscape, but farmers have always influenced the landscape. We can't just look at how it was in the past. We also have to look ahead and think about the people who will live here in the future.
The village
On Öland there are 200 radbyas. A terraced village is a village where all the farm houses are close to each other in a row along the street.
The fence
The farmers built stone walls around fields and meadows. The stone walls meant that the animals could not eat what was grown. On Öland, areas with fields and meadows are called girden.
Mörbylångadalen is located on the western side of Öland. Here are the most fertile fields in Sweden.
The pastures
Outside the stone walls, the animals grazed during the summer. They grazed on the alvar and the lake lands, and we call that outlands. It was in the Middle Ages that the land was divided in this way and it has not changed since then.
Great Seriousness
The word "elf" is the name of the untouched soil that is under the topsoil. An elv has very thin soils that lie on limestone bedrock. Stora Alvaret on Öland is very large, it is 260 km2 large. It is the climate, the bedrock that is made of lime, and the animals that graze that have made the area look the way it does. The animals that graze seriously are necessary for the unusual plants to remain.
The lake lands
On Öland, the arable land never goes all the way down to the beach. The land between the fields and the beach is called lake land. Most of the lake lands are on the eastern side of Öland. In the lake lands, the islanders have let their animals graze for several thousand years.
Definition world heritage:
A world heritage site is a cultural or natural monument that is considered so valuable that it is of importance to all of humanity. These are places that in a unique and irreplaceable way bear witness to the history of the earth and man and must therefore be preserved for future generations as part of our common heritage.
The World Heritage Committee decided that Södra Öland should be a world heritage site because:
- southern Öland is very special, the landscape has a long history.
- the islanders have adapted to how it should look here.
- they have made the best they could of their island.
Source: Kalmar County Administrative Board.
Other information: At Öland's tourist office meeting point Öland you will find more information about the world heritage and the folder, "Guide to the world heritage - southern Öland's agricultural landscape".
Do you want to hike in the World Heritage? Click on Link 1 below!