Torkulla Kyrka

Torekulla Kyrka

Useful Information

Location:	7 km northwest of Finspång. (58.733339, 15.662198)
Open:	No restrictions. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	Neotectonic Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=20 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

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 8 m long, 4 m wide, and 1,5 m high, which is reffered to as Church Hall, including a stone called pulpit at the entrance. 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 100t. There are actually numerous small caves below the boulders, only a few are connected. The surface of the hill shows the typical isräfflor, 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.