Tofta, Gotland

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Tofta is a locality on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Formerly a socken, on 1January 2016, it was reconstituted into the administrative area Tofta District. It is most noted for its long, sandy beach. In the north part of Tofta is a military firing range, which is also the location of the annual Gotland Grand National, the world's largest enduro race.HistoryThe village of Tofta dates from Medieval times. The oldest preserved text where the name is mentioned, is from 1304. The name may be related to the Swedish word toft, meaning thwart.In the greater Tofta area there are a number of remnants from earlier eras. During excavations, Stone Age settlements and a cist has been found. There are stone ships and grave mounds from the Bronze Age, and from The Iron Age there are 23 grave fields, groove stones, stone walls, a picture stone and a hillfort. There are also runes chiseled on a stone in the church. The stone is from 1170–90, and is a more likely to have been a tombstone than a runestone dedicated to a man called Röde Orm ("Red Snake"), a common name at that time.