Josefinelustgrottan, also called Större or Stora Josefinelustgrottan, opens right beside the pebble beach at Josefinelust on Kullaberg's north side. It is one of Kullaberg's most visited caves and among the easiest to reach: at the foot of the stone stair, turn right, and a cleft open to the sky leads between sheer rock walls to its mouth.
Looking out from inside Josefinelustgrottan, past a bench, down the cleft to the cove
Photo: Guillaume Baviere · CC BY-SA 2.0What you'll see
The cave is small, about 6 meters deep and 4 meters high, but its setting makes it: from the benches at the mouth you look back down the 10-meter cleft to the cove. The sea hollowed it out of fractured rock when the water stood 5–10 meters higher than today, and frost has since brought down parts of its roof.
In the 1800s Gustaf Elfverson, the innkeeper at Kullagården who also built the stair, fitted the cave out for his guests with benches and a table of stone. Carved into the rock are the years 1817 and 1837, when he and his wife were born, and 1872, when Kullagården and its land were sold to the baron at Krapperup.
Four more caves around the cove
- Fredrik VII:s grottaover the rocks left of the beach, named after the Danish king Frederik VII, who came in 1852. Archaeologists found traces of Stone Age fires, animal bones and flint tools inside; bring a flashlight.
- Lilla Josefinelustgrottanup the steel steps and over the rock, by the next cove, Trollhättemal. Fallen rock sealed it until archaeologists dug it out in 1958, finding traces of Stone Age hunters.
- Oscarsgrottanalso at Trollhättemal. An inscription in its west wall recalls a visit by the crown prince, later King Oscar II, on 9 August 1868.
- Trollhåletjust west of Oscarsgrottan. At 57 meters it is Kullaberg's longest known cave, said in legend to lead under the sea. Its upper exit is blocked by fallen rock.
Good to know
- Getting downabout 400 meters from the Josefinelust car park, ending in a long stone stair with a handrail. The rocks below are slippery when wet.
- Safetyrockfalls keep changing these caves, so don't climb on loose blocks, and don't crawl into Trollhålet or other deep caves without a guide.
- No firesgrills and camping stoves are only allowed at the fixed grill site by the car park.
