Sverre of Norway Stone – Munkedal, Sweden - Atlas Obscura
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Sverre of Norway Stone

Munkedal, Sweden

Many historians today consider Sverre as Norway's greatest king of all time.  

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Sverre of Norway Stone. hrnick (Atlas Obscura User)
Sverre of Norway Stone. hrnick (Atlas Obscura User)
Sverre of Norway Stone. hrnick (Atlas Obscura User)
King Sverre Alexander Bugge
Skiing Birkebeiners with their "fashionable" shoes Knud Bergslien (Creative Commons)
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Sverre of Norway’s stone was erected by in 1929 in memory of the historic event when Sverre Sigurdsson was elected King of Norway in 1177. Many historians today consider Sverre as Norway’s greatest king of all time. 

Sverre’s saga, told in the Icelandic manuscript Flateyjarbók, describes how 300 men chose an unknown young man from the Faroe Islands to be King of Norway, where, at the time, the Birkebeiners were in rebellion against King Magnus Erlingsson. One interesting thing about Birkebeiners is they lived such a hard life in the woods they had to make shoes from birch bark. Legend has it that a Birkebeiner, a person who has “birch legs,”  is a strong man who does not give up easily. 

Know Before You Go

Directions: Along the way from Munkedal to Hedekas. About 2 km south of Hedekas, where the bridge crosses Hajumsån, you'll see the stone on the west side of the road. RT 90 N 6501424, E 136 843

history
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