July 7

7 July 2011

After several days of long hours spent sitting in conference rooms and the dim light necessary for projected presentations, it was a welcome break to see some blue sky for a few hours. The day was spent piling on and off a gigantic tour bus, which the driver expertly maneuvered down one-lane forest roads. Here are a few historical tidbits from our visits in the area south of Mariestad:

We were given a tour around the still active Forshem church by one of its caretakers, a woman proud to announce that it was one of the only churches in Northern Europe that was dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre of Christ in Jerusalem. Four twelfth-century stone carvings adorn each outer wall of the church, and wooden beams with eleventh-century Nordic carvings can be found on the inside.

Kinnekulle is a UNESCO biosphere area on Lake Vanern, one of approximately 500 biospheres worldwide. The geological landscape is composed of layers of limestone, sandstone, shale, clay and a hard volcanic top. Limestone was mined in a nearby quarry and carved in a stone masonry that was active from the 1880s to the mid 1900s. The masonry has been left largely untouched since it was in active operation, and handmade iron tools still hang next to the forge. A small railway was built to dump stone scraps into the lake, and at lunch we clambered about on the stone pilings and found a patch of wild strawberries on the path to the bus.

Our guide pointed out shoots of wild garlic and the site of an old hotel, the deck of which is still visible, in the Meadow of the Monks, which has been a nature reserve since 1923.

The day ended with two presentations detailing the local perspective on living in Mariestad.

Meghan Urback