Blå Jungfrun National Park
Rising in lonely majesty from the waters of Kalmar Sound is Blå Jungfrun, a bald rock dome with a high “forehead” of the reddest granite. The isolated island has served as a seafarers’ landmark for centuries, and its unusual ecosystem has long attracted students of natural history. Among the earliest recorded visits was that in 1741 of Carl von Linné, the 18th-century botanist who established the modern system of species classification.
Sights: the island's smooth granite bedrock. Caves. Lush deciduous woods, home to a wealth of herbs. The view from the highest point on the island.
Area: 198 hectares, of which 132 hectares are water.
Established: 1926, extended 1988.
Location: in the middle of northern Kalmar Sound, Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County.
Visiting Blå Jungfrun: In calm weather, there are one-day boat tours to the national park from Oskarshamn on the coast, and from Byxelkrok on Öland. There is a marked trail through the forest, along the west shore and up to the summit.
Photo: Jan-Peter Lahall
Blå Jungfrun consists of reddish, bare, ice-polished cliffs of granite, and great boulder fields. The cliffs are pleasantly smooth and even, and very beautiful.
The island is just over 1 km in diameter, but still displays sharp contrasts. The northern part is dominated by stony ground with clefts and hollows. On the southern side, the island is lower and flatter and covered by thick deciduous forest.
In the 18th century, an axe was required to get through this forest, which was completely overgrown with clinging ivy. Blå Jungfrun has probably never had a permanent population.
Several caves and a stone labyrinth make a visit to Blå Jungfrun exciting. The only mammals on the island are forest hares and bats. The flora is rich in lichens and the most distinctive bird is the black guillemot.
The foremost sights of Blå Jungfrun are the even smooth slopes of the island, the caves, the thick species-rich decidious forest and the view from the highest point of the island.
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Illustration: Liberkartor, Stockholm
Photo: Bruno Helgesson/N