Stockholm archipelago
Encyclopedia
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago
of Sweden
, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea
.
roughly 60 kilometers to the east. In a north-south direction, it mainly follows the coastline of the provinces Södermanland
and Uppland
, reaching roughly from Öja
island, south of Nynäshamn
to Väddö
north of Norrtälje
. It is separated from Åland by a stretch of water named South Kvarken
. A separate group of islands lies further north, near the town of Öregrund
. There are approximately 30,000 island
s and islet
s. Some of its more well known islands are Dalarö
, Finnhamn
, Grinda, Husarö
, Ingarö
, Isö, Ljusterö
, Möja
, Nämdö, Rödlöga
, Tynningö
, Utö
, Svartsö
and Värmdö
.
The biggest towns of the archipelago, apart from Stockholm
, are Gustavsberg and Vaxholm
. The village of Ytterby
, famous among chemists for naming no fewer than four chemical element
s (erbium
, terbium
, ytterbium
and yttrium
), is situated on Resarö
in the Stockholm Archipelago.
The shipping routes from the Baltic to Stockholm pass through the archipelago. There are three main entrances suitable for deep-draught craft, namely, those near Landsort
, Sandhamn
, and Söderarm
.
Cruising between the small islands through the Stockholm Archipelago to either Åland or Helsinki in Finland is an experience. Weather allowing, the experience can be enhanced by enjoying a spectacular sunset from the deck that during summer months lasts until 10:30 - 11:00 o’clock at night.
that the archipelago began to assume its present day contours. The islands rise by about five millimeters each year. In 1719 the archipelago had an estimated population of 2,900, consisting mostly of fishermen
. Today the archipelago is a popular holiday destination with some 50,000 holiday cottages (owned mainly by Stockholmers). The Stockholm Archipelago Foundation, dedicated to the preservation of the nature and culture of the archipelago, owns some 15 % of its total area.
The inhabitants in the archipelago from around mid 1400 up to the time when the second world war
ended, were combined farmers and fishermen. The fishing in the outer archipelago was quite intensive during springtime and autumn during 1450 until mid 1800, and a lot of fishermen lived for long periods in the outer islands because of the long distance to their permanent houses in the inner archipelago. The combined farming and fishing culture lasted until around 1950-1955 when the younger generation, born during and directly after the war started to leave the archipelago and look for jobs in the cities on the main land. Today most of the small farms on the islands are closed and the fish industry has almost disappeared.
, Ture Nerman
, Roland Svensson
, Ernst Didring
and Aleister Crowley
.
Boating is an extremely popular activity with the sailing race Ornö
runt (or Around the island of Ornö) being the largest in the archipelago. This annual race has taken place 35 years in a row beginning in 1973. It is open to anyone with a sailingboat but requires registration. There are different entry classes, with the family class being the least competitive. Tyresö boatclub arranges this event.
In the winter skaters
make excursions over the ice.
owned by the Stockholm County
government. Taxi boats are also available. In the summertime the archipelago is bristling with private boats filled with people who often takes advantage of Allemansrätt (or "everyman's right"), a law which gives anyone the right to go ashore or anchor on any ground not in the direct vicinity of buildings.
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
Geography
The archipelago extends from StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
roughly 60 kilometers to the east. In a north-south direction, it mainly follows the coastline of the provinces Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
and Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, reaching roughly from Öja
Oja
Oja may refer to:Places*Oja , river in La Rioja, Spain*Öja , island in Kokkola region, Finland*Ōja Station, railway station in Hashikami, Japan*5080 Oja, main-belt asteroid, named after Tarmo Oja-People:Surname...
island, south of Nynäshamn
Nynäshamn
- References :...
to Väddö
Väddö
Väddö is an island in the Baltic Sea in Roslagen district, Sweden. It is situated in Norrtälje Municipality. Together with the adjoined Björkö it is considered the seventh largest island of Sweden.- See also :* Geography of Sweden* Islands of Sweden...
north of Norrtälje
Norrtälje
Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010.- History :Norrtälje traces its history to 1219, when the location was first mentioned as Tälje. After some time, the name officially became Norrtälje, to separate it from the...
. It is separated from Åland by a stretch of water named South Kvarken
South Kvarken
South kvarken is the narrowest stretch of sea between Finnish Åland and Sweden, forming a strait connecting the Sea of Åland and the Bothnian Sea of approximately 30 km across....
. A separate group of islands lies further north, near the town of Öregrund
Öregrund
Öregrund is a locality situated in Östhammar Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 1,555 inhabitants in 2010. It is located by the coast of the Baltic Sea. Öregrund is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city.- History :The town was granted a royal...
. There are approximately 30,000 island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s and islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s. Some of its more well known islands are Dalarö
Dalarö
Dalarö is a locality situated in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 1,190 inhabitants in 2005.It is situated south-east of Stockholm and is part of Metropolitan Stockholm and serves as a recreational summer spot for Stockholmers...
, Finnhamn
Finnhamn
Finnhamn is a group of islands in the Stockholm archipelago. It is in Österåker Municipality and lies to the east of Ingmarsö and to the west of Husarö. The name is derived from the Finnish boats which called into the natural harbour on their way to and from Stockholm.A wealthy coal merchant built...
, Grinda, Husarö
Husarö
Husarö is an island in the Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm and south of Norrtälje.-History:Husarö housed pilots from the 15th century until 1912 when the piloting station was closed. There is a small pilot museum on the island....
, Ingarö
Ingarö
Ingarö is an island in Värmdö Municipality, Stockholm County. The chief settlement is called Brunn. With an area of 63 km2, it is the 16th biggest island in Sweden. Petroglyphs indicate that the island has been inhabited since the Nordic Bronze Age. For most of the 20th century the resident...
, Isö, Ljusterö
Ljusterö
Ljusterö is an island in Sweden.It is in the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago in Österåker Municipality, Stockholm County. It is approximately 65 kilometers north of central Stockholm....
, Möja
Möja
Möja is an island in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. Möja is one of the most popular islands in the archipelago for travellers and boaters, and is also significant in size....
, Nämdö, Rödlöga
Rödlöga
Rödlöga is a cluster of islets outside in the Stockholm archipelago. The main island has been permanently inhabited since the 18th century into the 1970s when it last permanent resident, George Nordström, died. Rödlöga is today a beautiful spot for boating vacation and holds the most remote grocery...
, Tynningö
Tynningö
Tynningö is an island in the Stockholm Archipelago. It is located close to Vaxholm....
, Utö
Utö, Sweden
Utö is a small island in the East of Stockholm archipelago, famous for its nature. Utö has the oldest iron-ore mines in Sweden.A famous landmark of Utö is its windmill, which is over 200 years old, and from which there is a good view of the bay Mysingen....
, Svartsö
Svartsö
Svartsö is an island located in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. The island is a popular destination for visitors mainly during the summer season. About 80 people live permanently on the island....
and Värmdö
Värmdön
Värmdö is an island in the innermost region of the Stockholm archipelago and covers an area of 180 km², making it the largest island in the archipelago. Värmdö is after Gotland and Öland the third largest island on the eastern coast of Sweden....
.
The biggest towns of the archipelago, apart from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, are Gustavsberg and Vaxholm
Vaxholm
Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this name on the inlet to Stockholm, for defense purposes, by King Gustav...
. The village of Ytterby
Ytterby
Ytterby is a village on the Swedish island of Resarö, in Vaxholm Municipality in the Stockholm archipelago.The name of the village means "outer village", implying that its location is its most noteworthy feature....
, famous among chemists for naming no fewer than four chemical element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
s (erbium
Erbium
Erbium is a chemical element in the lanthanide series, with the symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements on Earth...
, terbium
Terbium
Terbium is a chemical element with the symbol Tb and atomic number 65. It is a silvery-white rare earth metal that is malleable, ductile and soft enough to be cut with a knife...
, ytterbium
Ytterbium
Ytterbium is a chemical element with the symbol Yb and atomic number 70. A soft silvery metallic element, ytterbium is a rare earth element of the lanthanide series and is found in the minerals gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. The element is sometimes associated with yttrium or other related...
and yttrium
Yttrium
Yttrium is a chemical element with symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and it has often been classified as a "rare earth element". Yttrium is almost always found combined with the lanthanides in rare earth minerals and is...
), is situated on Resarö
Resarö
Resarö is a locality in Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located on the island with the same name and had 2,347 inhabitants in 2005. Resarö includes the hamlet of Ytterby, famous for the early research on rare earth metals conducted there....
in the Stockholm Archipelago.
The shipping routes from the Baltic to Stockholm pass through the archipelago. There are three main entrances suitable for deep-draught craft, namely, those near Landsort
Landsort
Landsort, is a Swedish village and a lighthouse on the island of Öja. The tower was built in 1689, with an upper conical iron section added in 1870. Open fires have been lit here since a long time ago....
, Sandhamn
Sandhamn
Sandhamn is a small settlement in the central-peripheral part of the Stockholm Archipelago in central-eastern Sweden, approximately 50 km east of Stockholm...
, and Söderarm
Söderarm
Söderarm is the name of a Swedish lighthouse station and its surrounding small archipelago in the west part of the sea of Åland. The light station is located on the island of Thorskär. This area, together with the tiny island of Tjärven north of Söderarm, marks the entrance for the shipping route...
.
Cruising between the small islands through the Stockholm Archipelago to either Åland or Helsinki in Finland is an experience. Weather allowing, the experience can be enhanced by enjoying a spectacular sunset from the deck that during summer months lasts until 10:30 - 11:00 o’clock at night.
History
The landscape has been shaped – and is still being shaped – by land elevation. It wasn't until the Viking AgeViking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
that the archipelago began to assume its present day contours. The islands rise by about five millimeters each year. In 1719 the archipelago had an estimated population of 2,900, consisting mostly of fishermen
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
. Today the archipelago is a popular holiday destination with some 50,000 holiday cottages (owned mainly by Stockholmers). The Stockholm Archipelago Foundation, dedicated to the preservation of the nature and culture of the archipelago, owns some 15 % of its total area.
The inhabitants in the archipelago from around mid 1400 up to the time when the second world war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended, were combined farmers and fishermen. The fishing in the outer archipelago was quite intensive during springtime and autumn during 1450 until mid 1800, and a lot of fishermen lived for long periods in the outer islands because of the long distance to their permanent houses in the inner archipelago. The combined farming and fishing culture lasted until around 1950-1955 when the younger generation, born during and directly after the war started to leave the archipelago and look for jobs in the cities on the main land. Today most of the small farms on the islands are closed and the fish industry has almost disappeared.
Culture
Many poets, authors and artists have been influenced and fascinated by the Stockholm Archipelago. Among them are August StrindbergAugust Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
, Ture Nerman
Ture Nerman
Ture Nerman was a Swedish socialist. As a journalist and author, he was a well-known political activist in his time. He also wrote poems and songs.Nerman was a vegetarian and a strict teetotaler...
, Roland Svensson
Roland Svensson
Roland Svensson , was a Swedish painter, writer, black-and-white artist, illustrator of books and originals for stamps....
, Ernst Didring
Ernst Didring
Ernst Didring was an early 20th century author who wrote mainly of life in his home country of Sweden .-Biography:...
and Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
.
Boating is an extremely popular activity with the sailing race Ornö
Ornö
Ornö is the largest island in the southern half of the Stockholm archipelago, situated just north of the island of Utö. It belongs to the municipality of Haninge. The island is approx. 15 km long and 3–4 km wide....
runt (or Around the island of Ornö) being the largest in the archipelago. This annual race has taken place 35 years in a row beginning in 1973. It is open to anyone with a sailingboat but requires registration. There are different entry classes, with the family class being the least competitive. Tyresö boatclub arranges this event.
In the winter skaters
Tour skating
Tour skating is a sport and recreational form oflong distance ice skating on natural ice.The Nordic style of tour skating is popular in the Nordic countries,especially Sweden, but increasingly in...
make excursions over the ice.
Travel
Visiting the larger islands in the archipelago is easy all year round, but during winter period the routes depend on the ice conditions. Several companies have regular routes. The largest ship owner company is WaxholmsbolagetWaxholmsbolaget
Waxholms Ångfartygs AB, commonly referred to as Waxholmsbolaget, is a shipping company that is owned by Stockholm county council and is responsible for the seaborne public transport in Stockholm archipelago and Stockholm harbour...
owned by the Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
government. Taxi boats are also available. In the summertime the archipelago is bristling with private boats filled with people who often takes advantage of Allemansrätt (or "everyman's right"), a law which gives anyone the right to go ashore or anchor on any ground not in the direct vicinity of buildings.
Reference nautical chart
Further reading
- Jeppe Wikström, title Havsskärgård, 2004. Mainly images from the outer parts of Stockholm archipelago. ISBN 9189204808