Sweden: Tanum carvings – World Heritage Site
The Tanum rock carvings are an outstanding example of Bronze Age art. There are an astonishing 1,500 known rock carving sites in western Sweden’s Bohuslän region, including the ones in Tanum, where inhabitants from the Bronze Age have carved images into the smooth rocks of the landscape.
We were travelling from Gothenburg in Sweden to Oslo, Norway by road. Karen had been looking into places to explore along the way and discovered that there were some rock carvings in a rural municipality called Tanumshede, which is about halfway between Gothenburg and Oslo in the north of the Bohuslän region. I had not realised that this was a UNESCO World Heritage site until we walked into the visitor centre – which was a bit of a shock to me as I am usually on top of finding UNESCO sites on our routes (often going out of our way to get to them). The rock-carving area at Tanum was included in the World Heritage List in 1994, as the fifth Swedish contribution.
The visitor centre is small, but it was a good place to find out more about the rock carvings and their cultural context. These carvings date back to the Bronze Age in Scandinavia which dates to around 1800 to 500 BCE. During this time the area was on the coastline, but today it sits at 25m above sea level and is about 10km inland.
In total, there are thousands of images called the Tanum petroglyphs, on about 600 panels within the World Heritage Area. These are concentrated in distinct areas along a 25 km stretch and cover an area of about 51 hectares (126 acres or 0.5 km²). The petroglyphs have been painstakingly carved in hard granite exposed rocks. As the granite is so hard the carvings are not very deep and would be hard to see. To make it easier for tourists to see the designs many of the more accessible carvings have been painted red, which has been a point of controversy as some say this has diminished the authenticity of the original carvings. As tough as granite is, there is the potential for the carvings to be damaged and eroded by acid rain, so they are covered at certain times of the year.
The designs of the petroglyphs represent objects of transport including many boats, wagons and carts. Other glyphs depict humans with a bow, spear or axe, and others depict hunting scenes. In all cases, the pictures show people performing rituals.
From the visitor centre, we crossed the road to visit one of the main sites of the rock carvings, Vitlycke.
Here there is one massive rock panel containing around 500 different images dating from all parts of the period when rock carvings were made in Bohuslän, from 1700 B.C. to 300 B.C. Among these images is one of the area’s most famous carvings, the Bridal Couple also called the Holy wedding, which shows a man and a woman standing close together and accompanied by another man with a raised axe to the left of the pair. Although the exact story of the picture is not known it is thought that it could represent a ritual prehistoric wedding that perhaps took place every year to bring good harvests and healthy livestock. The man with the axe on the left could then be a leader of the ritual who conducts the ceremony and blesses the couple with his axe.
At Vitlycke, as well as the big carved rock there are four smaller panels, linked by a path roughly 500 m long.
Not knowing how far the next site was we returned to the car and went in search of more rock carvings.
About 700m south of the visitor centre is Aspeberget, which has many panels with images both painted and unpainted. The first carvings reached after leaving the car park are dominated by deeply cut images of bulls, boats and people. This panel has been much damaged by weathering and is during the winter to save it for generations to come. It is thanks to the depth of the images that the carving can still be seen today. From there the trail climbs to the top of a hill where there are many more carvings. Also, from here there are wonderful views of the surrounding area and the World Heritage Site.
Our final stop was at Litsleby, where there is a large panel with roughly 250 images on the Litsleby panel. Most of them were carved in the late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The panel was first mentioned in 1751, this being very the first written reference to a carving in the World Heritage area. As well as the painted carvings there is an unpainted surface with carvings to the right of the wooden ramp. In the middle of the panel, a warrior 2.3 metres tall is carved into the rock. The fact that the man covers several older carvings leads us to believe that he is one of the last – if not the very last – of the images on the panel. Human figures of this size are very rare.
From the Litsleby panel, we followed the trail a short way into the woods, where there was another painted panel, this time in white. The Tegneby panel appears to depict a battle scene. Horsemen with spears and square shields are riding towards each other. The shields are of a type used during the Early Iron Age which dates the carving on this panel to the period.
It was time to move on, but we’d thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Tanum World Heritage Site.
Planning your visit to Tanum
Getting there by car
Take exit 105 on the E6 towards Tanumshede. Then follow the signs at the Tanum church.
Getting there by public transport
You can get to Tanumshede either by bus or train. The buses stop in central Tanumshede (three kilometres from the museum) and at Tanum Shoppingcenter (2,5 kilometres from the museum). The trains at the Tanumshede railway station, five kilometres from the museum. The bus stop closest to Vitlycke Museum is called Hoghem, 500 meters from the museum. Follow the road westward from the bus stop, past the Tanum camping, to the museum.
The best time to visit Sweden
Sweden, positioned in Northern Europe, reaches from the Baltic Sea in the southeast up to the Arctic Circle in the north. Its geography ranges from coastal plains to highlands and mountainous areas, all contributing to its distinct weather patterns that significantly differ throughout the year. The Köppen climate classification indicates that the majority of Sweden experiences a temperate climate. This indicates varying weather conditions that cycle with the changing seasons.
The south coastal areas, classified as humid continental or oceanic using the -3°C isotherm, benefit from milder winters and relatively cooler summers in contrast to other regions of the country. Conversely, central Sweden falls under a humid continental climate, leading to warm summers and cold winters. The further north one travels, a subarctic climate is encountered, where long, icy winters and brief, cool to mild summers are the norm. These varying climatic conditions bring a unique diversity to the nation’s weather, making Sweden a land of climatic contrasts.
The best time to visit Sweden
The optimal time to explore Sweden greatly depends on the individual’s interests. The months between June and August present the most clement weather, where average temperatures typically hover from 15°C to 25°C. It is a particularly attractive time for outdoor enthusiasts who may wish to indulge in hiking, camping, or simply absorbing the picturesque Swedish landscapes. Additionally, this period also ushers in the renowned Midnight Sun phenomenon in the northern areas of the country.
The worst time to visit Sweden
The period least recommended for visiting Sweden, particularly for outdoor activities, is the winter season which spans from December to February. The nation undergoes extreme cold during this time, with temperatures frequently dropping below -20°C in the north. The days are short, particularly pronounced in the northern areas, where the Polar Night phenomenon results in a 24-hour darkness.
