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Adelsö is an island in the middle of Lake Mälaren in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, near Björkfjärden. The island is part of Ekerö Municipality and
Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) 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 ...
. It is about by ferry and road west of downtown
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. The administrative center of the important Viking settlement Birka (on the neighbouring island Björkö) was situated at Hovgården on Adelsö. The road network is connected via a ferry link across a narrow strait to the main island of Ekerö.


Geography

The Adelsö landscape consists of pine-clad rocky hills and
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
ridges dotted with fields and deciduous trees, mainly oak. The highest spot on Adelsö is Kunsta Mountain, which is 53.2 m above sea level. The top of Kunsta has an outlook tower offering a great view of the middle of Lake Mälaren. There are many edible mushrooms and fruit that can be found on Adelsö including chanterelles, black trumpet, blue berries, lingonberries, juniper berries, cherries, apples, and pears.


Climate

Adelsö has a mixture between a maritime and
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
. Influenced by its position in the middle of Mälaren, there is seasonal lag in late winter as the water easily freeze to lake ice. In summer, Adelsö is just as warm as inland areas during the day and as a result the island has some of the warmest summers in
Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
. This is since Mälaren is shallow and surrounded by a lot of land, which in turn raises lake surface temperatures. Nights are cooler than
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
year round. The island is dry by Swedish and European standards, with most precipitation arriving being light besides convection in summer.


Demographics

Adelsö has about 700 permanent residents, a number that has been quite stable throughout the centuries. Many residents commute to jobs in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, but there are also farmers and fishermen. During the summer months, the island is popular with tourists.


Transportation

Buses (lines 311 and 312) run from the bus terminal at
Brommaplan Brommaplan (; ''Bromma Square'') is a roundabout in the borough of Bromma in Stockholm, Sweden. Description Brommaplan is a local center and traffic hub in Bromma. It includes Brommaplan metro station and a large bus terminal offering conne ...
in the middle of
Bromma Bromma () is a borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airport in Sweden and the th ...
, to Sjöängen on Munsö. From here, the , a vehicular cable ferry crosses to Adelsö. Bus 312 travels on the ferry and traverses the whole island. The ferry runs every half hour during the day and hourly during evenings and nights. The night ferry runs less frequently during the summer months


History

The history of Adelsö began with the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
. Adelsö at that time consisted of small islands which emerged from the sea at the end of the Ice Age. Mälaren, a
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
lake, did not yet exist, so the
skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...
that were to become Adelsö lay beneath the Baltic Sea. Fishing, bird- and seal-hunting created the foundation for the life of the people living there. Graves from the early and late Stone Age exist, but most of the gravesites date from the Iron Age, mostly the Viking Age. There are also two ancient hillforts (''fornborgar'') on Adelsö; one of them, situated on Skansberget near Stenby, is unusually well-preserved. Adelsö, earlier called ''Alsnö'' or ''Alsnu'' reflects the importance of the area during the Viking Age. The King's House (''Kungsgården'') was next to Hovgården and the monarch ruled over the nearby city of Birka. This is also the site of ''Kungshögarna'' at Hovgården. ''Kungs'' means king or royal and ''högarna'', from the Old Norse word ''haugr'', means mound or barrow. During the latter part of the 12th century, a Christian church was built next to Hovgården. Birger Jarl's sons built Alsnö hus, a splendid castle where King Magnus I in 1279 assembled the ''Meeting of Alsnö''. At that meeting, the '' Ordinance of Alsnö'' was established, introducing the privileges of the Swedish nobility. During the Middle Ages, Alsnö hus was used as a summer palace for kings and governors but later fell into ruin. What remains of the castle and several graves near Hovgården was excavated during archeological digs conducted between 1916 and 1926.


References


External links


Adelsö
(in Swedish)
Adelsö
(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelso Islands of Mälaren Archaeological sites in Sweden