Der Alte Schwede

Der Alte Schwede or Alter Schwede (meaning (The) Old Swede in German) is a glacial erratic, found during dredging of the river Elbe near Hamburg in 1999, at a depth of 15 m. The rock has a circumference of 19.7 m, a height of 4.5 m and weighs 217 tons. During the Elster maximum glaciation of the ice age 400 000 years ago, it was carried from Småland to the site where it was found. In June 2000, it was given its current name. It is Germany's oldest glacial erratic.