© Karin Sund
The Verkanäset nature reserve is located in a magnificent archipelago with beautiful views of Lake Vättern. The area is characterized by gnarled and windswept pine forest and barren rocks with shore plants that can withstand the harsh archipelago environment. The barnacle goose has one of its few nesting sites in the county here.
The rift valley landscape
The shoreline areas in the Harge area are characterized by cracked mountain ridges extending in a north-south direction with intervening rift valleys. Verkanäset is one of these distinctive ridges, which in the form of a headland extends far out into the bay between Hargebyn and Hargemarken.
Traces of man
The proximity to water made the Harge area interesting to people early on, who have lived in the area since at least the Iron Age (around 500 BC-1050 AD). In recent centuries, the reserve area has consisted of woodland, with the exception of a small field in the north-eastern part of the area. The woodland was probably used for grazing animals and as a source of firewood and timber. More recently, nature has been left to take care of itself and
the forest is now around 120 years old.
Beach plants that can cope with a harsh environment
The soil in the reserve is very poor in nutrients. The pine forest is home to bilberry, spring broom and eagle's bane, while water primrose and woodruff thrive in damp hollows. On cliffs close to the shore, where there is plenty of light and where bird droppings have a fertilizing effect on the flora, yellow buttercup, lovage, thyme and buckwheat grow. The yellow buttercup and lovage retain water in their thick leaves to cope with the harsh environment. Along the
shorelines, there is generally a fringe of bracken and sedge.
Colony of gulls
A colony of gulls nests in the mountainous archipelago that stretches west of Verkanäset. This colony is home to a few pairs of barnacle geese, a small, arctic goose species that has recently become established in the country and is only found at a few breeding sites in the county. The barnacle goose is similar to the Canada goose, but much smaller.
Facts
Municipality: Askersund
Year established: 2006
Area: 5 hectares
Landowner: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Manager: County Administrative Board
Reserve creator: County Administrative Board
Directions
Verkanäset is located about 15 km south of Askersund. Take highway 50 and turn towards Hargebaden. Continue past the bathing area for about 400 m and park in the parking lot according to the map. Follow a smaller road on foot to the reserve.
Regulations
In the nature reserve it is forbidden to:
- damage dead or living trees
- make a fire
