Sandstone quarries near Kättelvik

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sandstone quarries near Kättelvik are located west of Sundre on the extreme southwest coast of the Swedish island of Gotland on a path that winds between the Klinthang von Husryggs (nature reserve) in the east and the sea in the west.

There is sandstone in the area from Grötlingbo to the southern tip of the island. The quarries , in which stone has been worked since prehistoric times, were once close together here. In the Middle Ages , building materials for churches and houses and for the production of baptismal fonts were quarried - both for their own churches and for export . The heyday was in the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, vast quantities of sandstone were broken for the construction of castles and palaces in Denmark . When Gotland became Swedish in 1645, export was diverted to the mainland. In addition to the building blocks, portals , chimney frames , altars and grave monuments were also made. The Gotland stonemasons were very skilled and well-known stonemasons settled in Burgsvik .

The small quarries (Swed. Kulorna) were historically in the possession of the farmers of the surrounding community. Quarrying was a seasonal addition to agriculture and fishing . Large quantities of whetstones were later made here , and production reached its peak at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In 1873 the Gotland Grinding Stone Society was founded in Burgsvik, which around 1900 had around 150 employees. Today only about ten people work in Burgsvik's whetstone production. At Kättelvik you can watch the artisanal sandstone processing and the production of whetstones in summer.

See also

literature

  • M. Johnson & S.-O. Lindqiuist: Gotland cultural guide. 1993, ISBN 91-88036-09-X , pp. 31-33

Coordinates: 56 ° 56 ′ 17 ″  N , 18 ° 9 ′ 26.6 ″  E