Gråmon - Olshammar, Munkastigen etapp 5

On the last stage of the Monks' Trail, you can enjoy exciting sights in the enchantingly beautiful nature of Tiveden. The stage begins in Gråmon where the monks are said to have spent the night halfway on their way to Olshammar. On the stage there is one of Tiveden's magical giant pots, according to legend the giants cooked in these. Stop and take a closer look at the cave "Johanneskammaren", when cholera ravaged Sweden in 1834 a man hid in the cave. The monk's path ends at Olshammarsgården, a farm owned by St. Bridget in the 14th century. Olshammargården is the childhood home of the author and poet Verner von Heidenstam. Here is also the Birgitta Church, you must not miss visiting the church and seeing the rare altar pulpit and the Polish window paintings from 1624.

RESTING AND OVERNIGHT PLACE FOR THE MONKS

It took the monks two days to walk from Ramundeboda to Olshammar. In Gråmon they were halfway and near Gråmon it is believed that the monks had their resting and overnight place. According to the legend, the ruin on the site is the foundation of a hostel. If the legend is true, the monks stayed here at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries.

JÄTTEGRYTA

South of Gråmon there is a dead-end trail, which takes you to one of the finest giant pots in Tiveden. The pot was discovered in the mid-1960s, when a spruce tree was felled that had taken root in the pot itself. In ancient folklore, it was believed that the giants used the giant pots for cooking.

THE GIANT POT

At Bosjön, the trail goes up on the crest of a small gravel ridge called Getaryggen. Like all pebble ridges, it was formed by an ice river at the edge of the ice sheet. The pebble ridge has survived the destructive forces of the waves. It has therefore retained much of the sharp ridge and steep sides it acquired when it was formed. The Goat Ridge has been protected as a nature reserve since 1957.

JOHANNES KAMMARE CAVE

An arrow points the way up to a cave called "John's Chamber". When cholera ravaged Tiveden in 1834, a man called Johannes took refuge in this cave.

SAINT BIRGITTA'S FARM

Olshammarsgården and Birgitta Church are the final destination of the Monks' Trail. The place dates back to the 14th century when St. Birgitta and her husband Ulf Gudmarsson owned the farm. Tradition tells us that they built a chapel and a hostel for travelers. The current church was built in 1620, on the site where Birgitta's chapel is said to have stood. Birgitta later donated Olshammar's farm to Vadstena Abbey, which managed it until 1527. The current church is named after Birgitta. Another famous person who comes from Olshammar is the author and poet Verner von Heidenstam. He was born here in 1859 and the memories of this period of his life have inspired several of his later works.