Nolby Högar, Norrland Travel Guide

4.1 (64)

A powerful multi-period gravefield in Kvissleby where Iron Age tumuli, a historic runestone and medieval remains overlap in a quiet northern landscape.

Nolby Högar is a monumental archaeological landscape in Kvissleby, Sundsvall municipality, featuring large Iron Age burial mounds, a runestone, traces of ancient farmsteads and a medieval church ruin spread across park-like grassland. The site preserves layers of Scandinavian history from the Migration and Vendel periods through the Viking Age and into the medieval era, offering a quiet, evocative place to study ritual, memory and landscape continuity.

A brief summary to Nolby Högar

Gamla vägen 10, Kvissleby, 862 32, SE
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Duration: 0.5 to 2 hours
Free
Outdoor
Mobile reception: 4 out of 5

From Eve

Know before you go

Hi, I'm Eve. Here are a few practical things to know before exploring Nolby Högar.

Dress for open terrain and northern wind; the site is exposed and can be chilly outside summer months.
Give space to the archaeological features—do not climb or disturb the burial mounds or stones; view them from established paths.
Bring binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens to study runestone details and the subtle earthwork contours from a short distance.
Visit in low light (early morning or late afternoon) to see the relief of the mounds highlighted by angled sunlight.

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Explore Nolby Högar on the Map

A handpicked selection of must-see spots near Nolby Högar, mapped for you.

Getting There

Car

Private car from central Sundsvall: approximately 15–25 minutes depending on traffic; small roadside parking is available near the site but spaces are limited and may be unmarked, so expect a short walk over uneven ground; no paid parking—park considerately and avoid grassed archaeological areas.
Regional bus

Regional bus service from Sundsvall regional hub to Kvissleby: typical journey 20–35 minutes depending on route; bus stops require a 5–15 minute walk along minor roads or paths to reach the monument; services run less frequently on Sundays and public holidays and may require checking the current timetable; single-trip fares are regionally priced (approximately SEK 30–70 depending on ticket type).
Taxi / Rideshare

Taxi from Sundsvall centre: around 15–20 minutes door-to-site with direct drop-off; useful for groups or when public services are limited; fares typically range from SEK 250–450 depending on time of day and supplier; vehicles may have limited space for multiple passengers and some pick-up points have restricted turning areas.

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Discover more about Nolby Högar

Visible layers of ancient power

Nolby Högar is dominated by a cluster of large burial mounds that announce the site from a distance; these tumuli were raised in the late Iron Age and mark a location of local elite activity and ritual significance. Interspersed between the mounds are the remains of house foundations and linear earthworks that hint at a once-thriving agricultural settlement whose social landscape centred on prestige burials and long-term occupation.

Runestone and carved messages

Near the moundfield stands the well-known Nolby (Nolbystenen) runestone, an inscribed stone that was recorded as early as the 17th century and remains in situ. The runic text and the stone’s continuity in the landscape connect the monumental prehistoric graves with the later Viking Age practice of inscribing memory into stone, making the area both funerary and communicative across centuries.

Medieval traces in a palimpsest landscape

Scattered among the prehistoric features are the earthworks and footprint of an early medieval church ruin and associated burial ground. These later elements show how Nolby continued to function as a locus of sacred and communal activity—an adaptation of earlier ritual topography rather than a wholesale break with the past—so that the same ground served different social forms over time.

Archaeology and nineteenth–twenty-first century attention

Archaeological surveys and excavations in the area have emphasised the site’s importance for understanding regional hierarchical structures during the Migration and Vendel periods. Excavations in the broader Sundsvall region, including notable local finds from mid-20th-century digs, have drawn attention to the wealth of artefacts and the size of some graves, underlining the area’s role as a seat of regional power in earlier centuries.

Landscape character and visitor experience

Today Nolby Högar appears as a calm grassy terrain punctuated by rounded earthen mounds, weathered stone, scattered interpretive markers and occasional trees; wind and long northern light accentuate the contours. The site reads like an open-air museum where scale and silence amplify the sense of deep time—walkers encounter a layered landscape rather than a single monument.

Why Nolby matters

Nolby Högar is significant both as an archaeological archive and as a continuing cultural landmark: the combination of visible mounds, a historically recorded runestone and medieval remnants makes it a rare, multi-period site. It offers palpable evidence for continuity in sacred places and for how ritual landscapes were repurposed by successive generations, providing a direct, legible connection to the region’s ancient inhabitants.