Rauk

Langhammar's rocky area on Fårö

Lergravsporten

Raukar ( Swedish , singular der Rauk , sometimes translated as Rauke and plural Rauken ) are up to 10 meters high limestone pillars that can be found on Gotland , but also on Fårö , Lilla Karlsö and on the neighboring island of Öland ( Byrums raukar near Byrum) are.

Emergence

At the beginning of the Cambrian , which began over 543 million years ago, the Baltic Sea region and southern Scandinavia were inundated from the south. By the end of the Silurian period , a shallow sea was finally formed. At that time, Baltica , the continent on which Gotland was located, was still in the southern hemisphere and slowly pushed north. The changing climate of the different latitudes can still be demonstrated in the sediments today . A large coral reef formed around 490 million years ago in the area of Gotland and Öland, which was now at the equator. Over the millennia reef limestone was deposited in the flatter coastal regions . This forms mainly from large accumulations of sponges and corals. The bizarre shapes were created after the last ice age through erosion and leaching of the limestone and marl of varying hardness in the coastal area . Another factor is chemical weathering, which is caused by the natural occurrence of carbonic acid in rainwater. Because of the post-glacial uplift of the islands, which continues up to the present day, some of the Raukar (e.g. near Lickershamn ) are even now far from the coast. In addition, there are many fossils that are still very well preserved, both in the rock themselves and in the surrounding area. They are the remnants of what was once a great tropical sea.

The mostly very bizarre “stone sculptures” were compared by Carl von Linné with “statues, horses and all kinds of ghosts and devils”. The best known, because it is also developed for tourism, is the Hoburgsgubben ("Hoburg-Greis") located on the southwest tip of Gotland Island in Hoburgen .

distribution

The most beautiful specimens can be found on the island of Fårö in the north of Gotland in the nature reserves Langhammars and Gamle Hamn . There is the "dog", called the "cup" by the Swedes. Gotland's highest rock, the 27-meter-high “Jungfrun”, stands on the cliff of Lickershamn . On the driveway to the beach, some raukar can be seen in the forest next to the road. There are also around 120 rockets on Öland in the Byrum area, although they are only up to four meters high.

Rauker on Gotland and Fårö
Gotland's highest rock, the 27-meter-high Jungfrun on Lickershamn beach
Rauk Hoburgsgreis
Langhammars
Raukar in Folhammar
Rauk dog in Gamle Hamn
Rauk near Sankt Olofsholm

Web links

Commons : Rauk - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

Eliason, Sara: Fossils on Gotland, origin, destination and localities. Russi, 2000