Tofta | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cottage by the Tofta beach | |
  Tofta | |
| Coordinates:57°31′16″N18°10′7″E / 57.52111°N 18.16861°E /57.52111; 18.16861 | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Province | Gotland |
| County | Gotland County |
| Municipality | Gotland Municipality |
| Area | |
• Total | 38.19 km2 (14.75 sq mi) |
| Population (2014)[2] | |
• Total | 508 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Tofta, also known asGotlands Tofta, is a populated area, asocken (not to be confused withparish), on the Swedish island ofGotland.[3] It comprises the same area as theadministrative Tofta District, established on 1 January 2016.[4]
Tofta is most noted for its long, sandy beach. In the north part of Tofta is amilitary firing range.
Tofta is the name of the socken as well as the district. It is also the name of the small 0.3 km2 (0.12 sq mi) village surrounding the medievalTofta Church,[5][6] also known asTofta kyrkby. Tofta is on the central west coast of Gotland, situated on a high rockyplateau mostly covered in pine forest, 48%, while 22% of the area is used as farmland.[1][7]
In the northwest part of Tofta, between the coastline and road 140, is theTofta firing range (Tofta Skjutfält). It is a military compound, approximately 6 by 2 km (3.7 by 1.2 mi), used for training with live ammunition,tanks,artillery andland mines.[8][1] Once a year, theGotland Grand National, the world's largest enduro race, is held on the range.[9]
On the Tofta coast are two old fishing villages;Blåhäll to the north andGnisvärd a bit further south. Blåhäll has several caves and Gnisvärd has some of the grandeststone ships on Gotland. Inland is theSmågårde village. Tofta is most noted for the long sandy beach along the southern coastline. It is the second largest and most visited, on Gotland after theSudersand beach onFårö.[1]
As of 2019[update], Tofta Church belongs to Eskelhem-Toftaparish in Eskelhemspastorat, along with the churches inEskelhem andGnisvärd.[10][11]
One of theasteroids in theasteroid belt,11308 Tofta, isnamed after this place.[12]
The village of Tofta dates fromMedieval times. The oldest preserved text where the name is mentioned, is from 1304. The name may be related to the Swedish wordtoft, meaningthwart.[1]
In the greater Tofta area, there are a number of remnants from earlier eras. During excavations,Stone Age settlements and acist has been found. There are stone ships and grave mounds from theBronze Age, and from TheIron Age there are 23 grave fields,groove stones, stone walls, apicture stone and ahillfort.[13][14][15] There are alsorunes chiseled on a stone in the church. The stone is from 1170–90, and is a more likely to have been a tombstone than arunestone dedicated to a man calledRöde Orm ("Red Snake"), a common name at that time.[16]
A reconstruction of aViking village has been made in Tofta, where visitors can try out life during the Viking age.[17]
TheGotland Grand National, the world's largestenduro race, was held annually at Tofta firing range from 1984 to 2023 before being relocated toHejdeby.[18]
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