Kristianopel

Blekinge · Sweden · Church

In the marsh by Baneberg lies a copper kettle full of treasure. The teller's great-grandfather saw its handle break the surface — then spoke to his farmhand, and it was gone.

The hill just outside Kristianopel is called Baneberg because a man met his death there, and in the marsh beside it, according to an account recorded in 1926, lies a treasure in a copper kettle at the centre of a cross of ditches. To raise it you need a pair of twin oxen and total silence. The teller's great-grandfather is said to have seen the kettle's handle break the surface of the mire — but he spoke to his farmhand, and in that instant the treasure was gone. The town itself carries a bloody memory. Christian IV founded Christianopel as a Danish border fortress inside a heavy ring wall, and on 25 June 1611 Karl IX sent his sixteen-year-old son Gustav Adolf on a punitive expedition against it. The civilian population fled to the town church on Kärringkullen hoping the peace of sanctuary would hold; the church was utterly destroyed and has lain in ruin ever since. Today people camp inside the walls.

FAQ

Where is Kristianopel located?

Kristianopel is in Blekinge, Sweden.