Götavirke (The Göta Wall in Västra Husby)

The Royal Route from Söderköping to Linköping ran parallel with the Götavirke defence wall, to Dömestad, where the route probably turned off towards Hylinge.

The central part of Östergötland is well protected by large forests in the north and south, Lake Vättern to the west and the defence wall to the east. But the area east of the wall was exposed, and the presence of hillforts there, shows that the inhabitants were victims of recurrent aggression from seaborne invaders. The Götavirke is part of a system including three or four hillforts strategically located along the Västra Husby Valley, connected to the wall and leading to the Svinsätter Hillfort. Apparently there was some sort of coordinating authority in the central area west of the wall, around Linköping, with the power to manage this grand fortification project.
The Götavirke is a “long wall” (3.5 km). Two parallel stone enclosures were filled with soil and clay and supplemented by a moat.

There are similar structures in other realms, for example in the Roman Empire. In some places near the wall, there are grave-fields and settlement layers. The date of construction has been estimated at around 800 AD, but opinions vary considerably, with a difference of as much as 1 000 years. Earlier estimations suggested the Roman Iron Age or even the Bronze Age. The area without doubt was of great strategic importance from the earliest ­times.

From Västra Husby the old main road through Östergötland – the Royal Route – continued to Skärkind.