Linné's cave, one of several caves on the northwest side of Torsburgen's inland cliff, measures twelve meters in height and five meters in depth, accessible via a staircase along the cliff wall. The cave's name and the origin of the term "rind hole" for its roof opening remain unclear, despite Linnaeus visiting Torsburgen in 1741. During his visit, Linnaeus observed that the plateau was nearly devoid of forest due to a great fire in 1655, but it's uncertain whether he actually explored the cave named after him.
At Torsburgen you can see one of the largest ancient castles in the Nordic region and what a forest area looks like after a major forest fire. You can also find several rare plants.
Torsburgen Nature Reserve is located directly northwest of the Herrgårdsklint Nature Reserve. Torsburgen is one of Gotland's most impressive inland cliffs - the plateau on top of the castle has an area of 1.2 square kilometers, and the highest point is just over 71 meters above sea level. To the west, north and east, Torsburgen is bordered by 10-25 meter high cliffs. In the northwestern slope there are several caves, of which "Burglädu" is the deepest (16 meters).
The 1992 Fire Large parts of the plateau are occupied by rocky terrain or terrain with only a thin layer of soil. In early July 1992, large parts of Torsburgen were affected by an extensive forest fire. Despite major efforts by rescue services, the military and volunteers, it took several days before the fire could be stopped. By then, a 10 square kilometre forest area had been burned down. On Torsburgen itself, almost all the forest in the central and northern part was affected by the fire. From a nature conservation point of view, however, the fire was positive in some respects – many animals, plants and fungi benefit from forest fires, and certain species of bark and wood-dwelling insects live almost exclusively on burnt trees.
Previous fires However, the 1992 forest fire was not the first on Torsburgen. When Linnaeus visited Torsburgen in the summer of 1741, he noted that the plateau was almost completely devoid of forest, "for wildfire had long since consumed it". The "wildfire" that Linnaeus refers to is probably the large forest fire that ravaged significant parts of the parishes of Alskog, Ala, Ardre and Kräklingbo in the summer of 1655.
Plants Torsburgen has long been known as a habitat for several plants that are rare in our country, such as cape fern, yellow chrysanthemum, Gotland sippa and thyme parasitic root. Other interesting plants at Torsburgen are the herbaceous plant mullein, which has one of its richest occurrences on Gotland, as well as the orchids red forest lily and knee root. Source County Administrative Board Gotland
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