Tanum

Tanum is a municipality in Bohuslän. It is best known for the numerous bronze age and iron age rock carvings (petroglyphs, Swedish: hällristningar), which were inscribed on the UNESCO cultural heritage list in 1994. In addition, Tanum seaside region is well-known for the small port towns facing a beautiful archipelago, which are popular holiday places.

Understand
Tanum consists of several towns, none of which has more than 2,000 inhabitants:


 * - a summer tourist seaside resort; scenes from the movie Ronia, the Robber's Daughter were shot in gap at the King's cliff (Kungsklyftan)
 * - a seaside locality
 * - a harbour town
 * - a small coastal locality
 * - around Tanumshede many ancient rock carvings have been found
 * - around Tanumshede many ancient rock carvings have been found

By plane
The closest major airports are Oslo Airport and Landvetter Airport  25 km East of Gothenburg. Trollhättan-Vänersborg Airport in Trollhättan serves regional flights.

By train
There is a direct connection with Västtraffik from Gothenburg to several times a day, travel time over 2 hr.

By car
The E6, one of the main traffic routes on the Swedish west coast and the main north-south link between Sweden and Norway, runs through Tanum. From Gothenburg it is about 135 km to Tanum on the E6, and about 160 km from the Norwegian capital Oslo.

By bike
Tanum is located along the long-distance EV12 The North Sea Cycle Route.

Rock carvings
The petroglyphs are located where at that time was the seashore. Nowadays, due to post-glacial rebound, the sea level is several meters lower in many parts of Scandinavia. Depicted are mainly ships, people (men are characteristic by erect penises, women by long hair), animals (oxen, horses, deer, birds, dogs, geese, snakes, and even a whale), footprints, weapons and cup marks. Some carvings can be interpreted as scenes, such as hunts, weddings, fights, dances, mournings, celebrations or ceremonials.

Many of the ancient carvings are painted red to highlight the motifs. However, it is not known exactly, whether or not the carvings were highlighted in a similar way at the time of their creation. Experimental archeologists showed, that the fresh rock carvings are lighter than the background rock and contrast sufficiently to be easily spotted and admired. This is not the case for the aged carvings. Those not highlighted by the paint or chalk can be best seen in the morning and evening sun, on a rainy day or at night with artificial illumination from the side. It is damaging for the petroglyphs to touch them or walk on them.


 * , only 200 m from the Vitlycke museum. The largest panel contains the "Bridal Couple", one of Bohuslän’s most famous carvings.
 * : the most prominent carving is a 2.3-m tall warrior known as the "Spear God".
 * : a hill virtually covered with carvings. The main pannel with beautiful and numerous carvings of bulls, warriors and ships, as well as a ploughman, is badly damaged by weathering, and therefore covered in winter. Many other carvings are not highlighted by paint, and therefore more difficult to find.
 * : images of people, ships, footprints and animals, as well as cupmarks. Further along the path, at Balken, there are unpainted carvings, including the "Sun Horse".

Go next

 * Gothenburg - The second largest city in Sweden is on the southern edge of Bohuslän. Follow The E6 for about 135 km south.
 * Kungälv - Has Bohus Castle, after which Bohuslän is named. Follow the E6 for 115 km south.
 * Oslo - The capital of Norway. Follow the E6 for 160 km north.
 * Uddevalla - The largest city in Bohuslän. Follow the E6 for 60 km south.