Kusbölehelvetet

Bergs kommun, Italy

Kusbölehelvetet is a canyon near Gräftåvallen in Berg Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden, through which runs Helvetesbäcken (Hell creek), home to Arctic char. A scenic tourist spot, the canyon is some 20 meters deep, runs some two kilometers long, and is graced with one of Sweden's most unpleasan

t place names. Kusbölehelvetet is an old name, made up of three parts: kuse, meaning "bear" or "strongman"; böle, "settlement", and helvetet, Hell. However, the meanings have drifted so that in modern Swedish, kuse is a word for "horse", and böl, from the verb böla, a bellowing cry: to the modern Swedish speaker, the name (which was never very pleasant, ending in "Hell") means "The Hell of Horse Bellowing". In 1993, musician Waldemar Swiergel named a piece for trombone quartet after Kusbölehelvetet.

Listen to the audio guide for Kusbölehelvetet Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off