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All Sweden Stockholm Haga Tingshus Jättegryta (Haga Courthouse Giant's Kettle)
AO Edited

Haga Tingshus Jättegryta (Haga Courthouse Giant's Kettle)

This building, previously used as a courthouse, has an unusual geological feature in its basement.

Stockholm, Sweden

Added By
Henrik Johansson
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The window through which the giant’s kettle can be seen.   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
The giant’s kettle in the basement.   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
The rocks forming the giant’s kettle are in the gate to Haga Courthouse.   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Haga Courthouse.   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Giant's kettles are formed when rocks swirl in currents under a glacier against a bedrock surface. Over time, this erodes the surface and carves a hole in the rock, ultimately forming the deep cavities known as giant's kettles. This is what happened in Sweden and northern Europe during the last ice age that ended about 10,000 B.C.

The massive ice that once covered Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia (three to four kilometers thick) has affected the geology of the region. The Norwegian fjords, isostatic rebound, and giant's kettles still to this day remind us of it.

What makes the giant's kettle in Haga unique is that it's found in the basement of what was once a courthouse. Measuring approximately 2.7 meters deep, it was discovered once the construction had been started and was incorporated into the basement.

Visitors can see it through a window and the stones that once carved the hole in the bedrock are now decorating the gate to the plot. The stones that formed the giant's kettle were affixed to the courthouse gateposts, which were later moved to the back of the house.

Related Tags

Geology Glaciers Geological Oddities Subterranean

Know Before You Go

Haga courthouse is found on the outskirt of the Haga park in Solna. The giant's kettle can be seen through a window on the side of the building facing northeast (towards the lake). The gate with the rocks once forming it can be seen on the same side of the building.

Community Contributors

Added By

hrnick

Edited By

CoolCrab, Vaquero

  • CoolCrab
  • Vaquero

Published

July 15, 2021

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Sources
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haga_tingshus
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_kettle
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weichselian_glaciation
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inlandsis
Haga Tingshus Jättegryta (Haga Courthouse Giant's Kettle)
12 Annerovägen
Stockholm, 169 70
Sweden
59.353453, 18.039755
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