Five Islands of Scandinavia
Last updated: Saturday May 21st, 2022
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Introduction.
"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends" a quote from the title of an album by the English prog-rock band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. I think it fits quite nicely after the long gap in my blogs on the R.U.B.
Firstly, a short explanation for my abscence. My wife was taken ill with a quite serious condition called a pulmonary embolism, basically a blood clot on her lung. This involved a short stay in hospital and then an extended period of R&R. Thankfully, she is now on the mend and back at work, so I can dedicate some of my free time to my research and writing.
I have decided to carry on with the island blogs, mainly because it interests me. However I have decided to consolidate some of the countries. Primarily due to lack of decent pictures on Wikipedia and Pixabay. I don't think the blogs would be the same if there was just text for a particular island and no images. With this in mind I have decided to lump together Norway, Sweden and Finland. I know that between these three countries there are well over half a million islands, but many of them do not even have an entry in Wikipedia let alone a history and pictures.
So, although the title states Scandinavia, it is just Sweden, Norway and Finland. I have tried to find the most interesting, but relatively unknown examples for my blog. I am sure there are other islands that are more deserving, but to quote my grandad, " It's your life , so it's your choice" . I miss my grandad still, RIP Charlie !
So that's the introduction and explanations over...onwards and upwards......
Utøya (Norway)
This island is tiny, only 26 acres or 10.5 hectares. It is owned by a youth group that is associated with Norway's Labour Party.
It is situated in the Tyrifjorden Lake about an hours drive north of the capital Oslo.
You may have noticed the rose in the water on the right hand picture above. This is possibly someones personal tribute to the tragic events that happened on this island in 2011. On this day there were bomb attacks in Oslo, and the perpetrator then travelled to the island.
Anders Breivik disguised himself as a policeman and proceeded to shoot at the 650 persons that were attending a summer camp on the island. He gave himself up after the real police arrived over an hour later. He surrended immediately. However he had already killed 69 people. There were also 8 victims in the bomb blasts in Oslo. He was sentenced to the maximum allowed in Norway, 21 years. The full story is here.
In the years following the attack there has been many arguments with the families of the victims over whether the island should remain as a memorial. Some buildings were demolished and replaced. There is a "ring" memorial on the island. There is also a building called the Hegnhuset meaning "Safeguard House". This was also constructed as a memorial using parts of the building involved in the shooting.
The island is not normally accessible, however open days are available at certain times of the year.
The island is included with Norway's "right to roam" legislation, meaning anyone can access the island freely. However there are no local commercial ferries servicing the island, and locals discourage anyone from visiting prefering to leave the island as a memorial.
The island's owners have a website although it is in Norwegian.
Munkholmen (Norway)
Munkholmen, or in English Monk's Islet, has had a chequered history. It is situated midway along the North Sea coast near to the city of Trondheim. It has been in use since at least the year 997 when the city of Trondheim was founded.
The island's first known role was as an execution site. The severed heads of miscreants were placed on stakes to deter criminal activity.
In the 12th century the island was home to a group of Benedictine monks. The monastery was burnt down three times in the Middle Ages. The monastery had disappeared by the 17th century. The island was then fortified in 1658 at the start of the Dano-Swedish War. It was then used as a prison, a bit like a Norwegian Alcatraz.
During the German occupation of Norway in 1940, the island was used to store ammunition and explosives to service the submarine base that was stationed in the surrounding fjord. Some of the Nazi built stores can still be seen.
The island nowadays is a tourist attraction with boats leaving from nearby Ravnkloa regularly between May and September. There are guided tours in Norwegian and English languages or visitors can roam freely around the island. There is also a small cafe restaurant selling refreshments.
The island has it's own website.
Fårö (Sweden)
Fårö is an island just to the north of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Gotland is also an island that is just off the southeastern coast of Sweden. The Fårö-strait seperates the two islands.
Both islands have unique rock formations called Rauks that are only found in a few places in Scandinavia. They are left over limestone columns from the Ice Age.
The island was off limits to foreigners during the Cold War and as late as the 1990's because of the military installations built there. Some of the facilities remain including a radio mast.
The famous Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman lived and died on the island. Several of his films were filmed there. He is widely considered to be one of the most influencial filmmakers of all time. He is buried in the churchyard on the island, along with his last wife Ingrid.
The island can be reached by ferry from Gotland. The journey takes around eight minutes and is a free ferry.
Here is the Visit Sweden web entry for the island.
Helgö (Sweden)
Helgö is situated near to Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. It is in Lake Mälaren just to the west of the city. The island was a trading post as early as 200AD, subsequently it has been subject to a major archealogical dig dating back to the 1950's. The island is seperated from the mainland by a narrow channel that is crossed via a road bridge.
There have been artifacts found on the island from all over the world including an Indian Buddha, an Irish crozier, and Egyptian Coptic Christening Scoop. It is thought that all these items date back to around the 6th century. The archaelogical workshop on the island receives international attention.
In 1725, a large mansion was built on land acquired by Count Lars Kagg, a nobleman loyal to King Gustavus and a Field Marshall during the Thirty Year War. It was named Kaggeholm Castle.
Since 1939, the castle has been owned by the Swedish Pentecostal Church and is used as a conference and training centre.
The island can be reached by road. You take the Kaggeholmsvagen road from the village of Narsta. There are also buses that travel nearby.
The Castle has it's own website.
Hailuoto (Finland)
Situated in the Gulf of Bothnia, part of the Baltic Sea, close to the city of Oulo. The island is still rising due to post-glacial rebound and was originally formed from several smaller islands. It is thought that eventually the island will be joined to the mainland.
The island was first inhabited during the 12th century with settlers originating from the Karelia region of Finland and Russia. By 1570 there were about 60 homes on the island. A church built in 1610-1620 was for a long time the oldest wooden church still in use in Finland until it burnt down in 1968. The current church (pictured below) was built in 1972.
The island has also been struck by tragedy. In the Great Famine of 1695-1697, 88 islanders perished and during the Great Northern War (1713-1721) over 800 people were massacred by around 200 Cossacks. Many of the 800 had sought refuge on the island. According to local tradition the bells of the church were sunk into Lake Kirkonjärvi and never seen again.
The island is accessible by ferry from the Oulo suburb of Oulonsalo during the summer months. When the sea freezes during the winter an Ice Road is constructed covering around 10 kilometres or 6.2 miles of open sea. There is also a small airfield.
The island has it's own website.
Summary.
I was actaully going to feature six islands in this edition of the Five Islands blog series. I thought that Finland should have two the same as Sweden and Norway. However, despite there being over 500 inhabited islands in the country, hardly any of them have Wikipedia entries and information about them is sparse to say the least. There are also hardly any photographs or pictures that I can use.
So, therefore Finland, I respect your privacy and only feature one island.
It has taken me almost two weeks to complete this episode, and I personally don't think it is as good as some of the others. I blame my personal circumstances for this, I am not making excuses just telling it as I see it. You may think otherwise, I don't know. Please tell me in the comments if you think I could improve anything, I'm always open to suggestions.
Anyways, that's it for this one. I shall have a think where to next. Maybe the Mediterranean to finish off Europe, or a separate section on the Adriatic. Why didn't I think of that before? I makes more sense to feature islands from a specific sea or ocean than a country !
Thinks.....Although that then would exclude islands in lakes......
In the words of Porky Pig..."Th..Th..Th...Thats all folks"
I mean, everyone procrastinating ;-;zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
psst...it's toowise btw (lower case "t" at the beginning)..still don't know why that bothers me tbh.
You could have included Märket which is a unique island divided between Finland and Sweden by a freaky border and a slice of history. Or, perhaps the islands with Suomenlinna (right next to Helsinki) with the fort inspired by the French Vauban (hint hint for, in case you want to make a fort series), which is a site for tourists and maintenanced by prisoners incl. such as murderers (as the locals told me).
Now there's an idea. Themed island blogs. I like it a lot. Five islands with forts, Five islands with miniature railways, Five islands with caves, the list goes on. I'll have to finish the country or area ones first though.