Vista kulle

Vista Kulle is a protruding mountaintop by the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, an attractive and frequented destination. In addition to the magnificent views of the Lake Vättern and Skärstadsdalen valley, you can also see the remnants of an ancient castle from the top. Vista Kulle is known as a great place to observe birds flying along Lake Vättern as well.

The bedrock in the area is made up primarily of greenschist (diorite and gabbro), a type of rock that readily decomposes. Weathering of the rock has made the ground fertile and hospitable for many rather unusual plants, such as wonder violet, lungwort, yellow wood anemone and ivy. In spring the blossoming of yellow star-of-Bethlehems turns the hilltop yellow.

During autumn many migratory birds pass the eastern shore of Lake Vättern on their way south. Vista Kulle, which rises 152 metres above the surface of Vättern, is an excellent vantage point for ornithologists, who conduct regular bird counts there.

Vista Kulle also has cultural-historical values, with its remnants of an ancient castle from the Great Migration Period in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. It is one of four ancient castles known to be in Jönköping country.

At the beginning of the 20th century, building blocks were quarried on the western side of Vista Kulle, making it very steep. During this period a narrow-gauge railway went past the hill and through the mountain. Today a highway goes on the old embankment along the steep hillside of Vista Kulle.