Svend Gønges Hule

In Bønsvighoved Skov on the Jungshoved peninsula near Præstø lies the passage grave Svend Gønges Hule — a Stone Age burial chamber roughly 5,200 years old, built by the Funnel Beaker culture, the first farmers in Denmark. The capstone above the chamber displays beautiful bands of red granite. The name itself, however, has nothing to do with antiquity: it derives from a legend about Svend Poulsen Gønge, "the Gønge Chieftain", who according to tradition was one of the leading forces in the resistance against the Swedes during the Swedish Wars of 1658-60. The story tells that he hid in the passage grave when the Swedes ravaged Jungshoved and captured Jungshoved Castle — a tale that became nationally known through Carit Etlar's 1853 novel "Gøngehøvdingen". An information sign at the site elaborates on the history of both the burial chamber and the Gønge Chieftain. About 800 metres northwest of the passage grave lies the site of an even older long barrow, so a visit can easily be combined with a short walk through the forest, which covers around 196 hectares stretching along the shallow coast.