Slau's Stones

The small Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea is best known for the ruins of the massive, medieval Hammershus Fortress on its northern tip. Visitors looking for a slightly cuter collection of stones should head south.

Slau’s Stones (Slau’s Stene) is a stone sculpture garden featuring carvings from local legends, classic fairytales, and Norse mythology. The collection is the work of retired farmer and self-taught stonemason Hans Shouw “Slau” Anderson, who spent the 14 years before his death in 2007 etching familiar figures into rock with a hammer and chisel. The rocks were arranged around a beautiful grove on his farm and remain there to this day, albeit along a new bike path.

One particularly notable character in the garden is Krølle Bølle, the troll mascot of Bornholm. Imagined in 1946 by local writer Ludvig Mahler, Krølle Bølle has since become famous throughout Scandinavia as a maker of both mischief and fun. While he’s usually up to crazy shenanigans, he can be reliably spotted under a tree at Slau’s Stene, waving a Danish flag. His parents and sister are also represented (perhaps present in a supervisory capacity).