Rune Stone Used as Parking Lot Border

Rune stoneLast fall an area near a church outside Stockholm, Sweden was excavated in order to lay some cables. The workers dug out some rocks, which were left on the plot. One of these rocks covered with mud and earth was thought to be quite fitting for use as a church parking lot border. Week after week rains cleaned the surface of the rock until finally it became clear that this is actually an ancient runestone. The discovery of a 1,000-year-old runic inscription in April of this year thanks to rainy weather was a significant event for the local community.

Lars Andersson, Stockholm County Museum expert on runic inscriptions, said, “To read something that nobody else has read for 1,000 years is almost a religious experience”. The rock with a runic inscription is thought by experts to be a gravestone that dates back to the Viking Age. It once helped to mark the lot’s boundaries.

Runestones in Sweden are particularly prevalent in Uppland area. Most surviving runestones were raised in the 11th century, when the king of Sweden became Christian, and they were made by people who wanted to show that they also adhered to the new faith. Fragments of runestones in Sweden are sometimes found as parts of buildinds’ walls and other constructions, as the picture above illustrates.

Photo: rune stone on the corner of Kåkbrinken and Prästgatan, in Gamla Stan, Stockholm. It says something like “Torsten and Frögunn had this stone erected over their son.” Courtesy mararie. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence.

8 comments… add one
  • ERIK A SANDGREN

    Love the Scandinavian herritage. Looking into getting my last name in Runes across my fists. luckily, eight characters and fingers

    • Jeffery Silvas

      Your Name Erik A. Sangren
      My 2nd Great grandmother Named
      Charlotte Louise Sandgren
      BIRTH 16 DECEMBER 1847 • Sjosas, Kronobergs län, Sweden
      DEATH 13 FEB 1891 • Stillwater, Washington, Minnesota, United States
      She married a
      Henry Christian Roettger a German from Proznan, Germany
      BIRTH 24 DEC 1874 • Proznan, Germany
      DEATH 13 FEB 1931 • Worthington, Nobles, Minnesota, United State Let me know if you have a connection on your time line I live in the United States in California.
      But most of that side of the family settled in Minnesota and Wisconsin
      I hope we have a connection I have some of Charlotte Sangren’s prayer books with her writing in them dated 1863
      Take care
      Jeffery

  • Jerry Nelson

    This reminds me of the cornerstone at the old church in Gamla Uppsala, with its runic inscriptions. An old rune stone, with a cross, used in the construction of the church. It is the cornerstone at the right rear of the church, looking from the front, if anyone is interested in looking for it.

    • Viking Rune

      Very interesting, Jerry, thank you.

  • Katrina

    Something spontaneous happened to me tonight which led me to find this runestone in Gamla Stan. How interesting and profound..

    • Viking Rune

      Thank you for sharing this, Katrina.

  • Savannah

    Very interesting…

    • Viking Rune

      Thanks for the feedback, Savannah.

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