Tofta (Gotland)

Tofta

Cottage by the Tofta beach
Tofta
Coordinates: 57°31′16″N 18°10′7″E / 57.52111°N 18.16861°E / 57.52111; 18.16861Coordinates: 57°31′16″N 18°10′7″E / 57.52111°N 18.16861°E / 57.52111; 18.16861
Country Sweden
Province Gotland
County Gotland County
Municipality Gotland Municipality
Area[1]
 • Total 38.19 km2 (14.75 sq mi)
Population (2014)[2]
 • Total 508
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Tofta is a settlement on the island of Gotland, Sweden. It is most noted for its long, sandy beach. In the north part of Tofta is a military firing range, which is also the place for the annual Gotland Grand National, the world's largest enduro race.

History

The village of Tofta dates from Medieval times. The oldest preserved text where the name is mentioned, is from 1304. The name may be related to the Swedish word toft, meaning thwart.[1]

In the greater Tofta area there are a number of remnants from earlier eras. During excavations, Stone Age settlements and a cist has been found. There are stone ships and grave mounds from the Bronze Age, and from The Iron Age there are 23 grave fields, groove stones, stone walls, a picture stone and a hill fort.[3][4][5] There are also runes chiseled on a stone in the church. The stone is from 1170–90, and is a more likely to have been a tombstone than a runestone dedicated to a man called Röde Orm ("Red Snake"), a common name at that time.[6]

Geography

Primarily, Tofta is only the small 0.3 km2 (0.12 sq mi) village surrounding the Tofta Church,[7] but the name is also used for the larger surrounding area, Tofta socken. Tofta is situated on a high rocky plateau mostly covered in pine forest, 48%, while 22% of the area is used as farmland.[1]

In the northwest part of Tofta, between the coastline and road 140, is the Tofta firing range (Tofta Skjutfält). It is a military compound, approximately 6 by 2 km (3.7 by 1.2 mi), used for training with live ammunition, tanks, artillery and land mines.[8][1] Once a year, the Gotland Grand National, the world's largest enduro race, is held on the range.[9]

At the Tofta coast, there are two old fishing villages; Blåhäll to the north and Gnisvärd a bit further south. Blåhäll has several caves and Gnisvärd has some of the grandest stone ships on Gotland. Inland is the Smågårde village. Tofta is most noted for the long sandy beach along the southern coastline. It is the second largest and most visited, on Gotland after the Sudersand beach on Fårö.[1]

Culture

A reconstruction of a Viking village has been made in Tofta, where visitors can try out life during the Viking age.[10]

Gallery

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tofta.
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