The Kullamannen Legend

The legend about the lord of the mountain has been told from generation to generation. When the nights become darker and the strong winds from the sea howl outside, people have gathered in front of the fireplace to listen to the stories of the Kullamannen. No one knows where and when the stories originated, but one source is the battle at Svolder by Öresund in September in the year of 999. The Norwegian King Olav Tryggvasson was en route to Norway with 11 of his ships when he was blindsided by Olof Skötkonungs fleet consisting of over 70 ships that had been hiding out by the island of Ven.

Even though King Olav was highly outnumbered the battle raged for a long time and the outcome was uncertain all the way to the bitter end. King Olav, the last survivor aboard the legendary longship "Ormen Långe", decided to throw himself in the water, not giving his opponent the pleasure of killing him. Some say King Olav died there and then in the waves of Öresund. Others, one being the famous poet and politician Snorre Sturlasson, tell us that he actually survived the mighty seas of Öresund and climbed up from the water onto the rocky shores of Kullaberg.

In 1220 the historian Saxo Grammaticus wrote about a predictor and astrologer with unnatural powers. He tells us that Kullamannen had the power to steer ships to their destruction in the defiant passage by Kullaberg where the two major seas, Östersjön and Kattegatt, meet. Kullamannen also decides upon who should fall from the steep rocks and who should be spared.

Another version tells us that Kullamannen was a knight with a broken heart, who fled to one of the world’s most secluded places, Kullahornet (Kullaberg). He had a castle built far out on the peninsula in order to always be reminded of his loved one. He had the place protected with swords and no one ever dared to visit.

No one seems to know the answer to who Kullamannen was, but as in many other areas with beautiful mountains and nature, strong powers are always present, and in this case, that power is called Kullamannen. He is the immortal knight who has always taken the side of the weak towards their oppressors. On one side there are many stories about help mysteriously emerging when the need is greatest. On the other side, if you behave wrongly in the mountain, Kullamannen will strike you down with great vengeance and furious anger. Kullamannen is rough but righteous.

Today many runners sometimes feel that the hill climbs somehow become longer with every step. Stones suddenly appear from nowhere making them fall and hurt themselves. Others simply and suddenly lose all their power and stamina. Sometimes, a mysterious power pulls them towards the sea and the steep cliffs. For the older generations in the village of Mölle this is not very strange. Many more remarkable things have occurred on this mountain.