At Görväln

 

Today's quixotic post is about Görväln nature reserve, an area of woods and farmland on the east coast of Lake Mälaren, and on the edge of Järfälla, a satellite town of Stockholm. It's an everyday walking area for Järfälla residents like my sister and her family; I've been there several times myself, though mainly to the northern part near Kallhäll. 

In brief moments during the Christmas bustle I've been reading through this pamphlet by Kjell Landås: Görvälns naturreservat: Människa och natur i tusenårigt samspel (Görväln's nature reserve: People and nature in a thousand years of interaction). So with Kjell's help let's go for a virtual wander.  

A map of the reserve (you can read it if you zoom in)

At the heart of the reserve is the old country estate of Görväln. In the UK we might call it a stately home (though it's quite a modest one); in the Swedish text the main house is called a slott, which I usually think of as meaning "castle". Terms like this never translate exactly from one language to another. 

Free translation (the text refers to the photos):

Görväln House's main buildings date from the seventeenth century and most of the farm buildings survive. The estate controlled several smaller farms and their manpower was the engine of the area's development over several hundred years. 

The same view a century later. The estate's arboretum, i.e. collection of different species of tree and shrub, has grown up so that the house is hidden. The landscape is constantly changing. Görväln House is beautiful situated above a small inlet of Lake Mälaren. The water has been important for the area's development, supplying both transportation and fish. 

The workforce at Görväln farm in 1907. The same spot in 2012: machines have taken over the work of many labourers. 

Jan Eriksson, one of the leading lights of non-profit association The Görväln Lamb. The association's animals graze in the fields and woods of the reserve. A number of operations take place around the farm during the course of a year, for instance sheep-shearing and the autumn market. Here you can see and learn to be with the animals, and experience life on a farm. 

"Leading light". The word is eldsjäl, literally "fiery soul", a fairly common expression in Swedish. Depending on context it can also mean "enthusiast", "zealot", "powerhouse", "driving force" . . .

Continuing with translation:

Milkwort and Quaking Grass are examples of plants that thrive under older farming methods and that still exist within the reserve. Meadows are fields that are cut to make hay for the animals. Their species-richness is a side-effect but it is conducive to healthy livestock and long-term productiveness. Only after hay-making are the animals put to graze in the meadows. The expression "The meadow is the cornfield's mother" refers to how the meadow supplied the winter fodder for animals whose manure was then used in the cornfields. The size of the meadows and their yields determined the size of the cornfields. Today the meadows are often grazed without any hay-making. Some of the old hay-meadow species disappear but the land is kept open (i.e. clear of trees and scrub) and the sight of animals grazing in the meadows is beautiful. 

In the old farm community the land was divided into "inland" (inägor) and "outland" (utmarker). The "inland" consisted of fenced fields and high production land such as cornfields and meadows. Beyond lay the "outland": enclosed areas of scrubby pasture and sparse woods where the animals grazed in early and high summer. From here people also gathered firewood, fence posts and a bit of timber. At the border between the fields and the woods there are often old oak trees. But now that the woods are not grazed to the same extent the oaks are dying from being shaded out by younger trees. 

In former times the woods were used for grazing. Felling for timber was on a small scale. The woods often consisted of mixed tree species. Sometimes burning was carried out to improve the pasturage. Wetlands were valued for their fodder potential. The mixed woodland with trees of different ages favoured many species that are uncommon today.

Before the reserve was formed there was forestry in parts of Görväln, with spruce and pine stands of uniform age. Removal of dead wood, clear-felling and ground preparation (woodland ploughing) have left slow-healing scars within these woods. This type of woodland tends to be inhospitable and species-poor. Resuming small-scale management allows many life-forms to recolonize. Within Görväln reserve there are also some hard-to-reach areas that were not used very much during the era of woodland grazing; here there are habitats of an ancient woodland type with a secondary nature value. The dead trees, both standing and fallen, are homes for birds, insects and mushrooms. 

I could probably translate this better if I knew more about farming, as well as more about Swedish. 

The word translated here as "cornfield" is åker. I presume it's related to our word acre and Latin agriculture. It means arable land in general (not any specific cereal crop). 

Another distinction here is between slät (or slätt), which means smooth grassland clear of shrubby growth, and hage, which means a rough enclosed field often containing a fair few bushes and even trees. It's an important distinction in this midway part of Sweden, where the struggle between forest and plain is more finely poised than in the north or the far south.

Continuing with translation:

Görväln is easy to access for many people. A number of paths and well sign-posted walking routes pass through the area. The ancient fort of Gåseborg is a good place for a picnic with views of Lake Mälaren. It also attracts rock climbers and birdwatchers. 

Town children are sometimes unused to woods but they still build camps and climb trees. Sadly when people are in nature it sometimes leads to wear and tear, litter and graffiti, as seen here (in the photo). The rules of the reserve should of course be respected. The ground rules are simple: Do not disturb and do not destroy. So keep your dog on a lead out of consideration for other walkers and both grazing and wild animals. 

There is much to discover in the natural habitats. Apart from plants, fungi, animals and insects there are the traces of the work of former generations, for instance old field ditches, coppiced trees, stone walls and cabin foundations. 

Mistletoe is Sweden's only tree-living parasitic plant. This beautiful evergreen plant is protected throughout the land but is now spreading and it can be found in the nature reserve. 

Pause for a while before some of the region's old oak trees. Consider that these giants can be several hundred years old and be hosts for many different life forms. The oaks in this photograph are in the Hummelmora meadows. Don't miss the most spectacular oak tree in the region, close to the jetty at Sandvik. 

"Do not disturb and do not destroy". It's snappier in Swedish: Inte störa och inte förstöra. 

"Giants". The Swedish word is bjässar, literally "strapping fellows", a term often used when talking about oak trees. Sweden's oak region comes to an end not far north of Lake Mälaren: there were no oaks where my mum grew up in Sundsvall. 

I'm assuming the spectacular oak tree at Sandvik is the one shown on the front cover of the pamphlet, pictured above. 

Continuing with translation:

We modern people are healthier when we can get out into nature, as has been demonstrated in many scientific studies. Woodland that lies close to highly populated areas is a gateway to nature that we are now starting to pay more attention to. With appropriate management the experience can be enriched, e.g. the number of different species, and their variety of forms and ages. The gloomiest of production woods can start to come alive again if we people tend it with more humility. Here in Görväln's nature reserve we follow a management plan. The aim is to promote both the worth that nature has in itself and the worth it has acquired through long-standing interaction between people and nature. Examples of such interaction are the resumption of woodland grazing, clearing space around the old oaks, hay-making, restoration of wetlands that were drained, and seeking to demonstrate the good side of human activity. To omit the good influence of humans in a reserve with "free development" would mean that the spruces take over and many species would disappear, as would our reciprocal ties to nature. 

Feel free to visit the grazing animals who look after this landscape in their pastures, but remember that it's their home. Look after the fences and don't forget to shut the gates. Some of the stiles are closed in order to stop the animals getting out. 

The little beech wood beside Sandvik is planted. We are situated further north than the current natural region for beech, but this wood is thriving and it spreads itself. 

The signs in the photograph say:

WARNING: RAM

Rams in the pasture

Sheep graze and watch over this pasture. You are welcome to visit the pasture. Bear in mind that the rams may help you leave! 

Crossing the pasture is at your own risk. Dogs must be kept on a lead. 

Continuing with translation. The back cover:

Gåseborg, the beautifully situated ancient fort with fine views over Mälaren. The easily visible wall remains are in some places covered with the fern polypody which contributes its greenery even in the winter. Nearly all the nature we have around us is a result of human influence. Since prehistoric times we have cultivated the soil to make a living and at the same time formed the types of nature we have learnt to love. Meadows and fields haven't only filled our larders but also our cultural treasury. Our poetry and literature teems with such species-rich, open and inviting landscapes, which are now on the point of disappearing. What many people today think are undisturbed primeval woods have often been used for coppicing, charcoal making and tar burning. Our woods and other natural habitats are most often cultured land, not wilderness. In this pamphlet we introduce the nature reserve Göräln and some of the natural riches shaped by human activity. In the pamphlet we also describe the measures taken by the Järfälla council to restore and preserve these riches both for future generations of Järfälla residents and for others. 

Gåseborg is thought to date from between 500 and 1100 CE. Presumably its purpose was to control the important waterway at its foot, which links Stockholm and the Baltic coast to Sigtuna, Uppsala and communities around the shores of Mälaren. 

Tar was made by heating pine wood. The tar dripped off, leaving charcoal behind. It was used as a water-repellent coating and was formerly one of Sweden's principal exports. 

Some July photos taken within the Görväln reserve:

Beside Lake Mälaren, just south of Kallhällsbadet

Walking through the "inland"

A field in the "inland"

The café at Bruket

Unripe sloes

The bathing place at Baset

The horizon in these Mälaren views is occupied by nearby islands, so you can only guess at the lake's vast extent.