Tyringemossen, Naturreservat

Here the thoughts easily go to the Norrland expanses! Tyringemossen is part of Vakö Myr Link to another website, which lies on the border between Småland and Skåne. The bog complex is 13 km2 in size, almost half of which is open bog. The bog is protected in three nature reserves, Tyringemossen being the smallest. Most of the bog is located in Kronoberg County where it is also called Vakö Myr.

The fire on Vakömyr and Tyringe mossen

In 1992, the Vakö bog, of which the Tyringemossen nature reserve is a part, burned. Before 46 fire brigades and 1000 people with the help of the rain had extinguished the fire, 150 hectares of land in Skåne and Småland had burned down. For many, the fire was a disaster. But on the moor, new life was awakened.

The fire gave new life to the mire

The fire lowered the peat layer by between 10 and 30 cm. The water level of the bog was raised and became an attractive place for wading birds that we usually associate with more northern latitudes. Heath Pipit and Green Leg are some of the species that attract ornithologists to Tyringemossen and Vakö Myr.

Folklore about dark forces

One of the bird species nesting in the reserve is the endangered nightjar. In many cultures, this nocturnal bird has been associated with sorcery and dark powers. The female lays her white eggs directly on the ground on a well-trodden path without building a nest. There, the bird incubates the eggs with its well-camouflaged body. The nightjar is finding it increasingly difficult to find an environment that provides the right conditions for reproduction. Paths are becoming overgrown with brushwood and bogs are becoming overgrown with pine. The nightjar is predicted to decline by 10% in the coming years. Efforts to create new reserves of sparsely populated pine bogs, fens and marshes could save the species.

When cattle, game and fires fail to appear

If nothing holds back the vegetation, the bog grows higher and higher. The surface layer becomes drier and drier and the trees can start to migrate out onto the open bog floor. Today, new birch and pine forests have grown up on the wooded bog. Golden plover and greenfinch no longer nest on the Scanian side. Capercaillie, black grouse, wolverine, tawny owl, short-eared owl, barn owl and pearl owl can still be seen in the fields around and on Tyringemossen. To improve the situation for these species, nature conservationists are working to thin out the trees and leave dead trees standing or lying around.

Peat mining in times of war

There was also a fire on the bog in 1917. At that time, the bog was anything but deserted and quiet. Peat mining was in full swing and provided work for 800 people when the need for fuel for the country's steam locomotives was greatest during the two world wars. Harry Martinsson was 13 years old when he first worked for the Vakö peat distillery in 1917. In his autobiographical novel "Vägen ut" he writes vividly about the hard work, cutting the peat for half a penny each and at the same time fighting the brake. Traces of this work can still be seen today in the form of peat pits and drainage. Along the eastern border of the reserve, the railroad that was used to transport the peat down to the village of Hökön remains. There you can see a monument erected to the people who worked on the bog.

Accessibility

Tyringemossen is the southwestern part of the nature reserve Vakö myr and is located 1.5 km north of Hökön. There are no hiking trails or roads yet that make the reserve easily accessible. To visit the bog, the nature reserve Vakö myr i Kronobergs län is a more suitable alternative. At Låkan there are trails and viewpoints. From road 120 just south of Älmhult, drive east on the exit road towards Fälhult. Continue 6-7 km. The way to the parking lot is signposted from the road that passes Låkan. Remember to take your garbage home.

**In the eastern part of Tyringemossen there is a bottomless bog. The ground is not suitable for animals and people and is dangerous to walk on.