In the area around Tidan you find lake Östen, which is a typical floodplain lake, nutricious and shallow. It is one of the most valuable bird lakes in the country, and a very important link in the chain of resting places for migratory birds. The beautiful landscape around the lake bears evidence from thousands of years of human activity, and here you can also find several ancient monuments and cultural sights. Lake Östen, together with the rivers Tidan and Ösan, has connected large parts of north and east Skaraborg. A lot of the findings that have been made in the area indicates a very rich district. On your visit here, do not miss the ancient monuments Kung Ranes hög and Askeberga ship cumulus, or the cultural reserve Vallby Sörgården.
Flistad village is one of the most densely-built villages in the area. It is a typical plains village located on a small ridge. The church was constructed in the 12th century or the early 13th century. It was rebuilt after a fire in 1706 and the oldest preserved elements are from the original building. On the churchyard right next to the church lies King Rane’s Mound, one of the biggest burial mounds in Skaraborg, which probably dates back to the Late Iron Age - around 400 BC -1050 AD.
An extension to the east – characterised by the narrower walls in the chancel – was constructed in 1688. A lightning strike burned down the church in 1706, after which it was given its present form with a steeple instead of the earlier bell tower. The two bells of the church were recast after the fire – and the big bell was recast a second time in 1853.
Kung Rane’s Mound is a pre-Christian large mound. Rane was one of many names for the god Odin, and it is said that the nearby Lake Östen was previously called Odin’s Lake. It is a good example of an Iron Age chieftain’s grave. In the society of that time it was not everyone who was given such a lavish funeral. The mound is 25-26 metres in diameter and 5 metres high at its highest point – with a surface that is somewhat uneven on the north and east sides. The top of it is flattened and is 5 metres in diameter, and above it once stood a tree which is now just a stump.
It is said that a king by the name of Rane lies buried in the mound, but this is unclear since no detailed investigation has ever been made, except when the schoolteacher together with his school class in the 1930s carried out their own excavation. However this lay excavation was soon stopped.
In the vicinity, a rune stone from the Viking Age has been discovered. It may have stood on the mound although today there is nothing to support that theory. The burial mound may well be much older. A replica of the rune stone can be seen next to King Rane’s Mound.