Type: Stone with legend about church bells
Local name: Klokksteinen, Lartanessteinen

Locality
County: Vestland
Municipality: Ulvik
Location: Lartaneset, Slondal, Slondalsvatnet

Slondalsvatnet (lake Slondal) is located at 750 meters above sea level, in the north-west corner of Ulvik municipality. Lartaneset juts out from the west side of the lake Slondalsvatnet, and the boulder is found at the northern end of the headland.

Description
The large and oval large stone is placed right on the bedrock. The measurments are 4 x 2 x 2 metres, according to a registration at kulturminnesok.no.

Cultural history and tradition
The stone turned every time it heard the church bells in Ulvik Church, according to the legend. That is why it is called Klokkesteinen (The Bell Stone), in addition to Lartanessteinen (The Lartanes Stone). Halldor Opedal writes that the stone is called Larsanessteinen.

Boka Stølar i Ulvik (Mountain pastures in Ulvik) also mentions (page 77) some other stones located on Lartaneset, called Lartanesgutane (The Lartanes Boys). The milkmaids had to respect them: ‘The first thing the milkmaids did when they arrived at the summer pasture was to put some food under a stone slab at Lartanes. The next day the food was gone, then the Lartanes boys had supplied for themselves.’

Sources: Kulturminnesøk.no; Knut S. Andersen and Christian Hysing-Dahl: Mjølefjell i fjern og nær fortid (Bergen, 1996), p. 43; Halldor O. Opedal: Makter og Menneske. Folkeminne ifrå Hardanger. XII (Norsk bokreidingslag, Bergen 1984), p. 37; Paul Amundsen et al.: Stølar i Ulvik (Ulvik sogelag 2015), p. 77.

Photos:  Helge Titland, from www.kulturminnesok.no