Ismantorp Castle
The castle Ismantorp ( Swedish Ismantorps borg ) is one of 16, now mostly ruined castles on the Swedish island of Oland . It is located in the middle of Öland, between the villages of Rälla and Långlöt in the municipality of Borgholm .
The castle was first mentioned in 1634. Carl von Linné , who carried out a botanical survey of the island 100 years later, drew attention to the wall. His travel notes were published in 1745 under the title Öländska och Gothländska Resa .
There are several theories about the function of this complex, of which only the outer stone wall with a diameter of 125 m and the outline of the foundations of what were once 88 houses, mostly inside the wall, have been preserved. Although the extensive fortifications suggest a defensive structure, it is difficult to secure due to its nine gates. Therefore, Ismantorp is compared with Slavic castles , which were similar to the later medieval towns, protected habitation and religious center. A function as a refuge is also out of the question for this facility. Archaeological finds from 2000 suggest that it was used between 300 and 500 AD.
See also
literature
- Thorsten Andersson , Torsten Capelle : Ismantorp. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 15, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2000, ISBN 3-11-016649-6 , pp. 534-536.
- Anders Andrén: A World of Stone. Warrior Culture, Hybridity, and Old-Norse Cosmology. In: Anders Andrén (Ed. Et al.): Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives. Origins, Changes, and Interactions. Nordic Academic Press, Lund 2006, ISBN 91-89116-81-X , pp. 33-38.
Web links
- Ismantorp Castle - entry in the database "Fornsök" des Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
- Ismantorp Castle on the sides of the Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
- Ölands fornborgar (PDF; 1.3 MB)
Coordinates: 56 ° 44 ′ 43.5 " N , 16 ° 38 ′ 33" E