Horns Kungsgård

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Horns Kungsgård
Area 960 hectares (2,400 acres; 3.7  sq mi) (88% on land) [1]
Established 1979
visitoland.com/en/gora-pa-oland/horns-kungsgard-horns-crown-demesne/

Horns Kungsgård ("Horn's crown demesne") is a nature preserve in the northern part of Öland, Sweden. It was founded as a model farm by Gustav Vasa in the 1550s. [2] It was incorporated in 1971 and expanded in 2001, and became one of the protected areas of the Natura 2000 network.

Öland Place

Öland is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 square kilometres and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 26,000 inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait and connected to it by the 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) Öland Bridge, which opened on 30 September 1972.

Gustav I of Sweden 16th century king of Sweden

Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (Riksföreståndare) from 1521, during the ongoing Swedish War of Liberation against King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Initially of low standing, Gustav rose to lead the rebel movement following the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father perished. Gustav's election as King on 6 June 1523 and his triumphant entry into Stockholm eleven days later marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union.

Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated respectively under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive. The network includes both terrestrial and marine sites.

Contents

History

The area has been farmed since the Iron Age, and remains of those farms can still be seen, including the farmers' stone walls. At Hornsjön are the remains of a fortified medieval manor. The original village of Degerhorn was emptied out by Gustav Vasa and the farmers forced out in the 1550s; in its stead he built a model farm which also produced for the royal stores at a time when the entire island was a royal hunting domain. [2]

The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humankind. It was preceded by the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. The concept has been mostly applied to Europe and the Ancient Near East, and, by analogy, also to other parts of the Old World.

Hornsjön, also known as Hornsviken, is the largest lake on the island of Öland, Sweden. Located in Högby socken near Löttorp, it has a surface area of around two square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) and a maximum depth of four metres (13 ft).

Horns Kungsgård was incorporated as a non-profit in 1979 and expanded in 2001, and is one of the protected areas of the Natura 2000 network. [3]

Landscape and animals

Dactylorhiza maculata, detail Orchidaceae - Dactylorhiza maculata.JPG
Dactylorhiza maculata, detail

The area includes farms and fields and a variegated flora and fauna, including Hornsjön, the island's largest lake. The coastline has cliffs, and the land has limestone areas interspersed with wetlands and hardwood forests, besides pastures and hay fields. The Skogsgärdesängen area is rich in orchids (including Anacamptis pyramidalis , Gymnadenia conopsea , and Dactylorhiza maculata ), and the forests and the lake support rich bird life, including ospreys, Caspian terns, great crested grebes, and Eurasian bitterns. [2] It has a bird-watching tower. [4]

<i>Anacamptis pyramidalis</i> species of plant

Anacamptis pyramidalis, the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Anacamptis of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name Anacamptis derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'bend forward', while the Latin name pyramidalis refers to the pyramidal form of the inflorescence.

<i>Gymnadenia conopsea</i> species of plant

Gymnadenia conopsea, commonly known as the fragrant orchid or marsh fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe.

<i>Dactylorhiza maculata</i> species of plant

Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia.

The lake is also a habitat for bats; twelve of Sweden's eighteen bat species are found here, including Nathusius's pipistrelle and the rare barbastelle. [2]

Nathusiuss pipistrelle species of mammal

Nathusius' pipistrelle is a small bat in the pipistrelle genus. It is very similar to the common pipistrelle and has been overlooked in many areas until recently but it is widely distributed across Europe.

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Alvar Biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation

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Halltorp Öland

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References

  1. "Natura 2000 Standard Data Form: Horns Kungsgård". August 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Horns kungsgård (Horn's crown demesne)". County Administrative Board, Kalmar; VisitOland.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  3. "Horns Kungsgård". Marineregions.org. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  4. Johansen, Heidi Leigh (2006). Fodor's Sweden. Fodor. p. 198. ISBN   9781400016150.

Coordinates: 57°11′35″N16°55′56″E / 57.19306°N 16.93222°E / 57.19306; 16.93222

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.