Hammersta

This is my current mood. It perfectly matches the weather! As I jumped on the bike yesterday, the sun was actually shining, although from a very cloudy sky. I needed a good workout and ended up at a nature reserve called Hammersta. It was maybe 5C. Normally this is one of my favorite places. It has a castle. A castle ruin. Beautiful oak landscapes. Winding paths through forests. Hills with lookout points, and more. None of that gave me any inspiration on this visit, so after taking a few photos of the oaks on this field I headed for home.

The Before Photo

Out on a bike ride at Hammersta I stopped for a photo of the sky. Little did I know what was about to happen. From nowhere (not really), it started to rain, and it came down very hard. I stopped and tried to get my rain poncho on, and that took a while because of the strong winds so I was soaking wet within a few seconds. I pedaled on but then it started to hail. So hard that it hurt my head, and visibility was down to a few meters. I decided to hide out at a bus shelter at Gryt. When I got there it was already packed with people. One cyclist gave me a nod, two bikers were there as well as a few women with a stroller, one of them lent me her umbrella. So we stood there for a while looking at the weather, another biker turned up just as the thunderstorm got underway. Lightning hit nearby a couple of times and when that finally stopped I decided to bike home in the hard rain. Sure was an interesting ride home.

Oak Trees

A recent visit to the Häringe-Hammersta nature reserve means that I came back home with quite a few photos of the oaks in that area, and here are three of them just to prove my point. After snapping these very green pics, two at Hammersta and one at Häringe, I went for a walk in a cow pasture shooting macro photos, before continuing on my bike down to the water where I climbed up a hill and then walked along the coastline for a bit. It was a great Summer day.

Mind the frogs

A warning sign by the side of the road at the Hammersta nature reserve to mind the frogs. I minded the frogs, no injuries reported. They move from one place to another other during mating season in April and May so they are probably where they should be by now in a nearby pond.

Hammerstahus

Anyone good with a chainsaw? The Hammersta castle was built by the Knight Eringisle Nilsson d.ä 800 years ago. The castle was abandoned after just 100 years. Back when it was built it was surrounded by water on all four sides. Today the old ruin sits on a field. I have shown it to you before once or twice, I snapped these photos a few days ago. This is a nature reserve so there are rules as to what you can and can not do. I would like to remove the dead trees. I have asked the Skärgårdsstiftelsen, The Archipelago Foundation about that and they told me that they would tro to fix it this Autumn.

Legend has it...

The hillside Fruberget at the Hammersta nature reserve in Nynäshamn. There's a cave here called Frubergsgrottan. It's not the easiest cave to find. You need to climb up to the top of the hill and locate the opening there. Legend has it that a rich woman from the Hammersta estate hid in the cave with her belongings when the Russians attacked the area back in 1719. Unfortunately, she had taken her rooster with her and that gave her away in the early morning hours when the rooster started crowing. The soldiers found her, brought her out, and executed her. But they didn't find her treasures so they might still be in there somewhere...

Hammersta Oaks

A bike ride to Nynäshamn earlier in the week. As you enter the Hammersta nature reserve, before even noticing the runestone by the side of the road, your eyes are drawn to three majestic oaks out on the field. If you look closely you should be able to spot a roe deer on the third photo

Viking Age Puzzle

Runestone from the Viking Age at Landfjärden near Hammersta in Nynäshamn. The runic inscription reads Bjarne and Ger had the stone raised after Näsbjörn(?) his fader... Gudfinns brother. The stone was discovered in 1939 when workers where preparing to build a house nearby. It was lying face down on a field and too heavy to lift, so they decided to break it up using explosives! It was only then they turned it around and noticed the runic inscription. The Swedish National Heritage Board was informed and they managed to save what was left of the stone. The two meter high runestone was placed at it's current position in 1943.

Hammerstahus

This is Hammerstahus. A castle that was built back in the 14th century by The Knight Erengisle Nilsson. At the time of the construction the castle was sitting on a small island so it was well protected. Today the ruins can be found on a field several hundred meters from the sea. After his death his son Nils Erengislesson inherited the castle. The younger Nils was married to a Danish woman, Brita Olovsdotter Tott who spied on him during the war between Sweden and Denmark. She was later sentenced to death for treason, but for some reason this was never literally realized and after her release, she financed the paintings of Ösmo Church as a penance; one of the paintings there is said to be her own image. After her death the castle was soon abandoned.

Hammersta castle Ruin

700 years ago this was the Hammersta Castle. Built by Erengisle Nilsson who's father was married to a sister of Bridget of Sweden. Back then this was a two-story castle with a protective retractable staircase. Erengisle's son (with the same name), was married to a Danish woman, Brita Olofsdotter Tott, and when the situation between Sweden and Denmark became tense around 1450, Tott was sentenced to death for spying for the Danes. Luckily for Brita she was pardoned and later paid for the famous fresco paintings that you can now see at the Ösmo Church. The castle was abandoned during the 15th century.

Posing at a Runestone

Trying my best to look cool at the 1000 year old Ådala Runestone at Hammersta in Nynäshamn. The runic inscription, translated reads something like Bjarne and Ger had the stone raised after Näsbjörn his father...the brother of Gudfinn.

This stone was damaged back in 1939 when it was found upside down on a field. The area was being developed, and as no one knew that the big rock was a runestone, they used explosives so that it could be removed from the field. There is an old ruin nearby which was the reason I visited Hammersta today, I will tell you a little about that tomorrow.