Der "Smørsten", which is geologically seen is a wandering block, liegt hier im Wald, seit sich das Eis vor ca. 13,000 years back. Über die Meaning of Names gibt es viele, mostly very imaginative stories.
The butter stone rises with vertical sides like a small triangular mountain between fir trees by a forest path in Gribskov. The butterstone consists of granite with pegmatitic passages, where centimeter-sized quartz and feldspar grains are seen.
The butter stone consists of medium-grained homogenous light red-grey granite.
55% feldspar grains up to 1 cm in size
20% 2-3 mm white plagioclase grains
20% smoke colored 2-3 mm quartz grain
5% dark minerals
In many places, pegmatitic sheaths with up to 2 cm grains of smoky quartz and white kalifeldspar with perthite striations are seen. The sheaths are 1 to 5 cm wide and up to ½ m long. The stone is smooth ground on the lower half and rougher on the upper half. On the south side, the ice scouring is pronounced, and you can see scour marks and a sickle-shaped fracture.
The butter stone stands on an approximately right-angled triangular ground plan. The apex of the right angle points to the southeast. The sides of the triangle are measured: Side to the south 2.4 m. Side to the east 2.2 m. Side to the north 3.3 m. The points of the triangle are cut off to the west (facing the path) and measure 0.8 m. And to the east, the blunt tip measures 0.9 m. The total circumference between chest height and knee height is 10.5 m.
Its volume is estimated at 12 cubic metres, giving it a weight of around 30 tonnes, granite weighing 2.7 tonnes per cubic metre.
There is no legend attached to the Smørstenen according to the book on 'Danish stones in legend and faith' from 1994. And the excavated giant stone is not mentioned at all in the book 'Danmark's giant stone in folkeoverlervingen' from 1932. But in the book 'Gribskov' from 2009 it is found tradition described that the stone turns when it smells of freshly churned butter on Easter Sunday, and that the stone has been a harbinger of spring, as spring was supposed to be just around the corner when a dollop of butter placed on top of the stone melted.
Likewise, in the Gribskovbogen, a throwing legend is reproduced which tells that "It must originate from Kullen and was thrown after Nøddebo Church. When the monks from Esrum built Nøddebo Church, the coal man became angry and threw a large stone at the church. When it didn't hit, he took an even bigger stone and threw it with great force at the church, but it missed and lies in the forest near Egelund". And sure enough, there is a giant stone at Egelund - called the Trollstone. However, it should have been thrown by the Devil and not the Coal Man.