Norra Kvill national park

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Designated by the government in 1927, and expanded from a mere 0.27 square kilometers (0.10 square miles) to its current 1.14 square kilometers (0.44 square miles) in 1989, Norra Kvill national park is still one of Sweden's smallest. Situated in the municipality of Vimmerby in the upland of the country's south, the park is a protected area of primeval forest left undisturbed by mankind.

No trees have been felled for more than one and a half century, leaving some pine trees more than 350 years old with diameters up to 2½ meters (100 in) and heights of about 35 meters (115 ft). The maintenance plan is to let nature tend to itself as much as possible.

The terrain is rugged and steep in some areas. Trails lead around two lakes, Lilla Idgölen and Stora Idgölen, home to waterlilies and bogbeans, to the Idhöjden hilltop, which provides a nice view over the area.

The moss-covered wilderness with giant boulders and huge standing and fallen trees create a mysterious atmosphere, particularly around the larger of the lakes, Stora Idgölen. It is plain to see where Astrid Lindgren, Sweden's most beloved author of children's books and a native to the region, found inspiration for the milieu in Ronia, the Robber's Daughter and other works.

The park is located 7 km (4½ mi) south of Ydrefors, accessible by turning off the road between Vimmerby and Norra Vi at the appropriate sign. Parking and signs with visitor information are available. There is plenty of genuine and picturesque accommodation in the vicinity (but check availability first), and the surrounding nature is also worth exploring. Just a few kilometers south of the park is one of Europe's oldest and biggest trees, an oak known as Kvilleken or Rumskullaeken, depending on the local consulted.

Following is a translation of the conditions governing Norra Kvill national park, obtained from internat.naturvardsverket.se. It may be out of date, and is for educational purposes only. Do not blame me if you get in trouble, yada, yada. The conditions translated into the text below apply only to Norra Kvill. Other national parks have other conditions specified for them.

Regulations for Norra Kvill National Park

Extracts from Proclamations SNFS 1987:18 and SNFS 1994:4

Within the national park it is forbidden to:

• dig, excavate, fill, bore, chisel, paint, blast or in any other way damage the ground or rocks
• establish facilities for storing supplies and materials, including rubbish
• break off branches of, cut down or in any other way damage dead and living trees, brushwood or shrubs, except to maintain the accessibility of paths and trails
• construct or enlarge buildings (including huts), wind shelters or other facilities
• construct paths or roads
• run electrical or other lines in the ground or through the air
• build fences or other enclosures
• introduce exotic plant or animal species
• dig ditches or build dams
• conduct military exercises
• apply plant nutrients or chemical pesticides/herbicides
• apply lime
• hunt or fish
• light fires
• set up tents
• gather or dig up plants; it is, however, permitted to gather berries and mushrooms
• operate radios and other sound equipment in a manner that disturbs the surroundings
• climb nesting trees, gather insects, or in any other way disturb animal life
• operate vehicles
• ride horses
• set up orienteering checkpoints or marked trails
• ride bicycles
• conduct commercial activities, except with the permission of the county administrative board
• conduct scientific studies, except with the permission of the county administrative board.

Rules concerning the announcement of exceptions to these regulations are specified in § 5 of the National Park Ordinance (1987:938).

Notwithstanding the prohibitions noted above, it is permitted:

• for personnel authorized by the national park administration to maintain or improve paths and trails, or to carry out other measures specified by an approved management plan.
• for personnel of the national park administration to use motor vehicles in the performance of their duties, and for officials carrying out duties related to health care, police work and emergency rescue to use boats, dogs and appropriate vehicles where necessary. If possible, the national park administration shall be notified prior to any such use; otherwise, as soon as possible following completion of each task.
• to track down and destroy injured wildlife, and to use unleashed dogs for that purpose.
• to monitor environmental conditions in accordance with an approved programme, and in so doing to take necessary samples, use boats and land vehicles, and to make marks on the ground and trees.

Proclamation SNFS (1987:18) concerning regulations for Norra Kvill National Park

Most recent revision and reprinting: SNFS 1994:4.
Based on § 4 of the National Park Ordinance (1987:938), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency proclaims the [above] regulations for Norra Kvill National Park in accordance with the second paragraph of § 5 of the Nature Conservation Act (1964:822).

Effective date

Proclamation SNFS 1987:18. This proclamation shall come into effect on 1 January 1988.
Proclamation SNFS 1994:4. This proclamation shall come into effect two weeks following the date of printing. (Date of printing: 1 September 1994.)

Information synthesized from www.naturvardsverket.se and www.turism.vimmerby.se. When I began noding the national parks of Sweden, there were no translations of the national park regulations available, and I translated the regulations myself. Since then, the Swedish EPA has begun publishing translations on their Web site, from where the regulations above were blatantly copied and marked up. The regulations are explicitly excluded from protection by the copyright law (1960:729) in 9 § of said law.