Got time for a quick trip back to the medieval ages? Right here at Smålyngen Sandstensbrud nature transformed into culture.
Let’s explore Smålyngen Sandstensbrud a place that whispers tales of Bornholm’s past. This area once known as Smålyngen was a vast heath.
In the late 1700s and early 1800s the land was divided. It was given to “lyngpikkere” or heath peckers. These were often people from the countryside. They did not inherit their parents’ farms. Some were Swedish immigrants seeking a livelihood. They broke the heather drained the land and gathered stones. They cultivated the area. As late as the last half of the 1800s large areas between Lille Myregård and Sommeregård were covered in heather.
Central to Smålyngen are three farms called Kællingeby. These farms received numbers 1 2 and 3 in 1616. This was when farms in Pedersker parish were numbered. Legend says that Kællingeby was once a single farm. Its owner had three daughters. He divided the land among them. The daughters each built a farm and the area became known as Kællingeby.
Now let’s focus on the Smålyngen Sandstensbrud itself. During the Middle Ages and well into the 1800s many heath-covered areas existed around Bornholm. These were used for common grazing. The most well known was Den Højre Lyngen. But common grazing also occurred in other places like Blemmelyng and Bodelyngen. Smålyngen was located a quarter of a mile north of Sct. Peders Kirke.
In the second half of the 1800s a law transferred all the King’s land. It went to the Bornholm rural parishes. This special plot 140c just west of Skræddergaard was retained by Pedersker parish. It was for their own stone quarrying.
A “poorhouse” was built. Its residents found a way to make a living by “striking stone”. The parish employed unemployed people to break stones in the quarry until the mid-1900s. Larger contracting firms then took over. They quarried stone for road underlay on the island’s many new roads.
Stone quarrying stopped at Smålyngen in 1977. The rock is called Balke sandstone. Here it consists almost exclusively of rounded quartz grains. These grains are up to 2 mm in size. The rounding is due to processing. The grains were exposed to daily tidal currents in a coastal zone.
The area has since naturally grown over. It has become an exciting recreational area. This is quite a contrast from the former poor heathland. Facilities include tables benches information boards and a public toilet. The toilet is open year-round.
In spring the quarry lake hosts a concert by the island’s characteristic Laughing Frog. On a bright May night one might experience a chorus of nightingales laughing frogs and scattered Leaf Frogs. Possibly even a crexing Corncrake.
The area is known for rare plants like Narrow-leaved Reedmace Water Purslane Striped Clover and Spotted Orchid. Trace fossils can be found in the channels. These were created by animals searching for food in the clay. The animals are still unknown. These ichnofossils are well exposed. They prove that living creatures existed in the island’s nature around 540 million years ago. Look closely to see U-shaped burrows called Diplokraterion and ripple marks.
Imagine yourself in the coastal zone with land to the north and sea to the south. The Balke sandstone was deposited in tidal channels on a tidal flat. This flat is exposed at low tide and covered at high tide. Studies of modern tidal channels show that they create sandstone layers. These layers are 10-40 cm thick and tilted. They are separated by thin clay layers.
In 1979 the joint municipal waterworks Smålyngsværket was built. It was in the northwest corner of the quarry. Stone quarrying was stopped to protect the geological conditions.
And the drinking water from Smålyngsværket was named the best in the country.
Smålyngen Sandstensbrud is more than just a former quarry. It is a testament to Bornholm’s geological history. It shows the resourcefulness of its people and the beauty of its natural environment.