Torkulla Kyrka

Torekulla Kyrka

Useful Information

Location:	7 km northwest of Finspång. National Road 51 between Finspång and Sonstorp, turn north towards Hessmedstorp 1 km. Turn left follow signs Torekulla, park outside gate to pasture. (58.733339, 15.662198)
Open:	No restrictions. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	Neotectonic Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=209 m, W=10 m, H=2m
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Torkulla Kyrka, Torekulla Kyrka, Rämninge 1, 612 94 Finspång.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

photography — Torkulla Kyrka, Östergötlands Län, Sweden. Public Domain.

Torkulla Kyrka (Torekulla Church) is the finest example of a neotectonic cave in the province of Östergötland. As common for tectonic caves it is rather small, but there is a bigger chamber, which is referred to as Kyrksalen (Church Hall), including a stone called pulpit at the entrance. The cavern is quite irregular, and so there are numerous different sizes available in different publications, it obviously depends on how one measures. Some say it is 8 m long, 4 m wide, and 1,5 m high, others it is 15 m by 10 m, some say it has an area of 93 m². The most accurate description is probably, 15–20 m long, 5–10 m wide and in places up to 2 meters high and even higher in cracks in the ceiling. No matter which is more accurate, the chamber is quite large for a neotektoniska grottor (neotectonic cave), which is simply formed by the movement of large boulders enclosing narrow cracks. Hence, the name Kyrka (church).

The cave is located inside a rocky outcrop which is only 30 m in diameter and 10 m high. The whole hill is cracked into huge boulders, between 1 t and 100 t. There are actually numerous small caves below the boulders, only a few are connected. The total length of all caves is 209 m. The surface of the hill shows the typical isräfflor (ice scratches), small parallel scratches caused by the scraping of rocks at the bottom of the glacier over the rocks, while it was moving slowly southwards.

Long time ago a peasant boy in Rämninge wanted to buy the ancestral farm from his siblings, but he did not know where to get the money from. So once, when he led the horses to the pasture, he sat down on a rock outside Torkulla church and cried over his worries. Suddenly he was hit on the shoulder and, when he turned around, the giant Enekorn was standing next to him. The giant asked why the young man was so sad, and the boy told him the story. The giant told him, "You can borrow money from me. If you can’t pay, your son can do it, and if he can’t bear it, then your grandson can bring the money". The farmer boy was happy with the offer and went with the giant into the mountain and got the money. A long time later, the grandson came to Torkulla church and shouted into the mountain: "I came to pay the money, which grandfather borrowed from Enekorn". Then a voice answered from within: "Keep your money!" No one has ever seen the giant again.

Local lore also tells that the cave was actually used for worship, as a hideout or to store valuables during times of unrest. There are numerous small boulder caves in the area.