Mörbylånga - Öland
Welcome to the world heritage of southern Öland!
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Photo: Brita Fahlström
Gynge, Naturvårdsområde
- Nature reserve
- County: Kalmar län och Öland
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Description
The Gynge and Mysinge nature reserves offer magnificent views of the open alvar landscape. Many of Stora Alvaret's typical plants and animals live here. You are welcome to discover magnificent orchid fields, ancient crustaceans and a teeming bird life.
The abandoned dwellings of Alvaret
In the eastern part of the Mysinge reserve there are the foundations of a farm. The farm is one of around fifty that were established on the Alvar during the Iron Age. When archaeologists excavated the foundations, they found the bones of cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs. The finds tell us that the Iron Age islanders practiced cattle herding but also modest agriculture.
Flora beyond the ordinary
So grazing animals have been grazing on Stora Alvaret for thousands of years. The grazing, combined with limestone-rich bedrock, has created a very special environment with peculiar plant life. In the Gynge and Mysinge reserves you can see many of the herbs that are typical of the alvar - rock crab, small sand lily, mountain carnation and soapwort. Some of them, such as alvar wormwood and island sunflower, are only found on the island's alvar.
Colorfulness
If you want to feast on orchids, you've come to the right place. North of the road in the Gyngereservatet, the alvar is colored in yellow-white and pink in May, when lots of orchids Adam and Eve and Saint Peter's keys bloom. Later in the season, you can find honey flowers in the wetlands and purple coneflowers in the alvar.
Alvaret waterhole
Möckelmossen is the largest lake in Stora Alvaret. For many years there were no grazing animals around the lake and the land became overgrown, causing many birds to disappear from the area. At the end of the 1990s, bushes and undergrowth were cleared away and cattle were once again released to graze. The restoration has paid off. For example, a colony of black-headed gulls has returned. Greater sandpipers and redshanks are nesting in greater numbers than before. In early fall, thousands of cranes rest around the lake, and in winter you have a good chance of seeing white-tailed eagles.
Prehistoric animals and unique flies
The alvar is home to a rich diversity of bugs. Experiencing this diversity requires a little patience and attention to the ground. The Alvarstylt fly is the only one in the world to be found on the island's alvars. During the summer, it runs on long legs over the rocks in search of its favorite food, mites. The endangered horseshoe crab is an ancient crustacean that can grow up to 11 centimeters in size, including the spat. It lives in fishless, sun-exposed small waters that dry up during the summer.
Visitor information
A trail leads from the parking lot to Möckelmossen and the viewing platform. The trail is reinforced with both a wooden footbridge and graveled sections to increase accessibility. The viewing platform is equipped with a ramp and picnic table.
At Möckelmossen's parking lot and rest area there is a toilet with a ramp, a picnic table and a grill for burning firewood. At the information point in the parking lot you can read more about the reserves, southern Öland's trails and outdoor life. You can also learn more about the World Heritage Site of Southern Öland's cultivated landscape and about the uniqueness of Stora Alvaret's geology, history and natural values.
Activities And Facilities
- Nature reserve
Facts
Decision year: Gynge 1997 and Mysinge 1992
Area: Gynge 922 hectares, Mysinge 331 hectares
Municipality: Mörbylånga
Landowner: Individual
Administrator: Kalmar County Administrative Board
The reserves are located within the World Heritage Site of Southern Öland's cultivated landscape
Directions
Turn east in Resmo, the rest area is about 5 km out on the alvar along the road. The rest area at Möckelmossen is a good starting point for visits to Gynge-Mysinge. There is parking and a toilet here and it is easy to get out onto the alvar and to Möckelmossen.
Regulations
In Gynge nature reserve you are not allowed:
- Drive a motorized vehicle.
- Camp more than one night in the same place.
- Bring dogs or other animals that are not on a leash.
- Make a fire.
- Hunting, killing, capturing or harming wild mammals, amphibians, reptiles or birds.
- Remove or damage eggs or nests.
- Deliberately disturbing wildlife.
- Damage or remove trees or shrubs that are growing or dead.
- Digging or pulling up plants or plant parts by the roots.
- Collect loose rocks or remove pieces of bedrock.
- Using the area for competitions or exercises.
- Damaging fencing (for example, fences or barriers).
- Damage to ancient monuments (e.g. stone walls, cairns, etc.)
After consultation with the County Administrative Board, you may:
- Conduct survey or research.
In Mysinge nature reserve you may not:
- Drive a motorized vehicle.
- Camp more than one night in the same place.
- Bring a dog or other animal that is not on a leash.
- Hunt, kill, capture or harm wild mammals, amphibians, reptiles or birds.
- Remove or damage eggs or nests.
- Deliberately disturbing wildlife.
- Collect loose rocks or remove pieces of bedrock.
- Damage or remove trees, shrubs, mosses and lichens that are growing or dead.
- Organize orienteering competitions or training.
- Damaging fencing (for example, fences or barriers).
- Using the area for military exercises.
Full regulations
Full regulations for Gynge nature reserve
C. Regulations according to Chapter 7, Section 30 of the Environmental Code on the right to travel and stay in the reserve and on order in general.
Within the area it is forbidden to
- drive a motorized vehicle.
- camp more than one night in the same place.
- bring an unleashed dog or other loose pet.
- make a fire.
- hunt, kill, capture or injure wild mammals, amphibians, reptiles or birds, remove or damage eggs or nests or otherwise disturb wildlife
- damage or remove growing or dead trees and shrubs
- digging or pulling up plants or plant parts by their roots
- collecting loose rocks or breaking off pieces of bedrock
- use the area for competition or training purposes
- damaging fences
- damaging ancient monuments
Investigations or research carried out in consultation with the county administrative board may be exempted from C5, C7 and C8.
Full regulations for Mysinge Nature Reserve
C. Regulations under Section 10 of the Nature Conservation Act on what the public must observe in the nature conservation area.
Within the area it is forbidden to:
- drive a motorized vehicle
- camping more than one night in the same place
- bring an unleashed dog or other stray pet
- hunt, kill, capture or injure wild mammals, reptiles or birds, remove or damage eggs or nests or otherwise disturb wildlife
- collect loose rocks or remove pieces of bedrock
- damaging or removing growing or dead trees, shrubs, bogs and lichens
- organizing orienteering competitions or training for them
- damage fences
- use the area for military exercises.
Contact
Email address
Per Markus Jönsson
Organization logotype
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