Tiveden

Story

Tiveden is a forest in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws.Within it, the Tiveden National Park has a designated area of 20.3km, a comparatively small and arguably the most inaccessible part of the forest. It was established in 1983, and administratively belongs to the municipalities of Karlsborg and Laxå.HistoryThe name is very old and disputed. -Ved is cognate to English Wood and the first part of its name, Ti-, either means "god" or refers to the god Týr. Tiveden separates Närke from Västergötland, and was formerly a frontier between the Geats and the Swedes.The national park area has never been inhabited, but there are several ancient remains of human activities such as worshipping grounds and sacrificial sites.GeographyThe forest has small lakes with red waterlilies. When they were discovered they provided the European varieties of red waterlilies that are in cultivation. The folklore tale of how this became goes as follows:The animal life is scarce, but the forest houses a substantial population of western capercaillie.