Rökstenen (The Smoke Stone) is a rune stone that stands at 2.5m tall above the earth, with another 1.5m below it. It has the most amount of letters found on it than any other rune stone in the world.
It is believed that the stone was created (carved) as early as 800 A.D. The place where it lies now is not where it was originally from (rune stones were usually found at crossroads - although I am aware that where it stands now, might have been a crossroad 1,200 years ago :) ). This one was moved to its current place in the 1930s, although I am not completely sure where it stood before, it was still somewhere in Rök.
The text on the stone is written in Old Norse (some letters are similar to the Latin alphabet) by a man named Varin in memory of his dead son Vämod. I was given a modern translation of the rune stone and it is quite a riddle to read (if you would like a translation please ask and I will email it to you).
Just near the stone where the car park is, there is also a little 'exhibition' (story boards) on the rune stone. Majority of it is in Swedish though and a couple of panels in English as well. But you will probably get the idea of what it is saying anyway.
(Sorry the photos are not so good, they were taken on my mobile phone)
Address: Rök
Directions: Found west of Linköping - about a 40min drive, if you turn off the E4 at Väderstad and then go towards Heda, Rök is just before you get to Heda (The stone lies in front of the church, opposite the school).
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on Sep 19, 2007
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