Red runes
On the stone.
Xauxa Håkan Svensson — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xauxa Håkan Svensson — CC BY-SA 3.0 · L'imaginaire — CC0 · Achird — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zurbanski — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Rök Runestone is a tall grey stone slab covered on every face with carved runes picked out in red, standing under a small wooden roof beside a white church in a rural village among fields. It is one of the most famous runestones in the world, bearing the longest known runic inscription in stone, and is considered the first known work of written Swedish literature. It weighs about five tonnes and stands 2.4 m tall, with writing on five of its sides. It was probably carved in the early 9th century. In the 19th century it was found built into the wall of a 12th-century church and was removed some decades later. You walk round the stone to see the runes on every side, read the panels explaining the inscription, then visit the white church next door. It is about 51 km in a straight line west of Linköping, near Lake Vättern, and is an easy stop between Stockholm and Jönköping.
On the stone.
Beside it.
Around it.
Beside Rök church, Ödeshög municipality, Östergötland
About half an hour.
No, it is free.