Listershuvud, Naturreservat

Listershuvud Nature Reserve is a forest-dominated remnant mountain on Listerlandet. It has one of Sweden's largest stands of hornbeam forest. The geology is also exciting, with caves and fossilized sea walls. From the top, 84 meters above sea level, you have a sweeping view of Hanöbukten and Listerlandet.

Listershuvud and Hanö, located a few kilometers to the east in Hanöbukten, have many similar features and a common geological history.

Tropical climate and ice ages

The remnant rock Listerhuvud was formed, like Hanö's and Listerlandet's other bedrock outcrops, in a tropical climate a couple of hundred million years ago. As the surrounding bedrock eroded away, harder parts of the bedrock remained as residual rock in the landscape. The area was then covered by a tropical ocean for millions of years, and the bedrock was overlain by limestone from seashells and other remains of marine animals and plants. When the area re-emerged from the sea, most of the softer limestone bedrock was worn away and the residual mountains re-emerged.

At Listershuvud, limestone still remains on the lower parts of the mountain and there are both funnel-shaped holes, known as dolines, and the Hallahåle cave formation. Hallahåle is Blekinge's only limestone cave. It is not open to the public.

During the last few million years of glaciation, Listershuvud has been formed into a drumlin formation. Ice has scraped away loose material from the eastern and northeastern parts of the mountain, leaving steeply sloping rock slopes. At the same time, till (unsorted loose rock material) has been released from the ice on the west and south-west sides of the mountain, giving a more flat profile. The cape Kråkenabben in the south is the "tail" of the Listershuvud drumlin formation.

Since the last ice age ended here, around 14,000 years ago, the shorelines of the Baltic Sea have varied greatly. Today, there are series of well-preserved seawalls and shingle fields from the highest coastline, about 53 meters above today's sea level, down along the slopes of Listershuvud. These have been formed along former shorelines, where the sea has sorted and redeposited loose deposits. The lowest shoreline, the Litorina embankment, is very clear at Listershuvud and runs along the coastline at a height of around 7.5 to 9 metres above today's sea level. A nature trail with information signs is available for those who want to learn more about the geological process, from the end of the Ice Age to the present day.

Read more about the development of Listershuvud and the Baltic Sea since the last ice age in the fact box "Geological trail" below.

A lot of hornbeam

The nature reserve has a varied vegetation. The mountain is embedded in deciduous forests of mainly beech and hornbeam. The approximately 80-hectare hornbeam forest is one of the country's largest contiguous hornbeam stands. Parts of the broadleaf forests have a natural forest character. The flora is very rich, which is largely due to the calcareous soil.

Bird life is rich in the forests, including a large population of stone curlews and regular occurrences of lesser flycatchers. The small snail is found in a crevice valley in the area and the lemon spotted dragonfly has been found in a wetland.

Old outfield pasture

Most of Listershuvud used to be outlying land for the surrounding villages, and was used for grazing, wood and timber supplies, and for cultivating temporary fields, known as 'lucky fields'. At that time, large parts of the reserve consisted of land with few trees, characterized by the grazing animals. There was also arable land around the top of the mountain.

After grazing ceased, much of the grazing land has become overgrown and afforested. Today, however, significant areas are grazed again, in order to preserve the area's grazing-dependent plant and animal life. Grazing also helps to maintain the view from the top of Listershuvud. The pastures are home to the unusual shrub species, the lesser celandine and several endangered dung beetle species.

Geological trail

At Listershuvud there are traces in the landscape that tell us about the Ice Age and ancient shorelines. Walk the geological trail and read about ice grooves, shingle fields and drumlins on signs along the way. You will also follow the history of the Baltic Sea from lake to sea, to lake and to sea again. Welcome to the geological walk!

About 14,600 years ago, the ice sheet disappeared from this area. Over the following millennia, the water off the coast changed from a meltwater lake to a bay to an inland lake to today's brackish sea - the Baltic Sea. The shoreline level also changed, and has been both higher and lower than today.

The Geological Trail is one of several trails on Listershuvud. It takes you from the top of the mountain down to the water. Signs along the trail tell you about the history of the Baltic Sea and the traces left by the ice sheet and ancient shorelines. You can also see how the shoreline has moved up and down the mountain several times. This is why the signs are not in chronological order. On Hanö, which has been affected in the same way as Listershuvud, there is also a geological trail.