Altappen and Likskär are two islands in the northwest of the Swedish sector of the
Bay of Bothnia
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is Post-glacial rebound, still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has ...
, in the
Luleå archipelago
The Luleå archipelago ( sv, Luleå Skärgård or ''Lule Skärgård'') is a group of Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. They lie offshore from the city of Luleå and the mouth of the Lule River. A few of the islands have sma ...
, which have joined due to
post-glacial rebound to become a single island.
Location
Altappen lies to the southeast of the city of
Luleå
Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...
, about from the mainland fishing village of
Lövskär.
In the winter it can be reached via an
ice road.
Altappen was once the location of a large sawmill, but a major fire in 1908 destroyed the mills and houses, which were never rebuilt.
The only building that has survived is the ''Byggmästarvillan''.
With the rising land due to
post-glacial rebound, the islands of Altappen and Likskär or Liggskär to the southeast have joined to form a single island.
Likskär consists of sand, with long, shallow-water beaches. The local yacht club, Luleå Segelsällskap, has a clubhouse on Likskär.
The yacht club facility can accommodate 40 visiting boats, and has a restaurant and sauna that are open to the public.
The clubhouse is the base for keel boat racing, and draws sailors from other parts of Sweden and from abroad.
History
The Altappens steam sawmill was built in 1871 with seven cutting frames, operated by the New Gellivara Company under English management.
The sawmill became the center of an industrial complex that at times employed up to 1,200 people.
In 1879 an iron mill was erected to produce iron bars for export. The power for this operation, including the foundry, machine shop, forge and carpenter's workshop, was provided by a steam engine fueled with wood chips and sawdust from the sawmill.
The wood and iron were both exported to England. The sawmill burned down in 1890 but was quickly rebuilt. However, iron production had been phased out by 1896.
The 3 July 1908 fire occurred during a slump, and the owners chose not to rebuild. Almost 600 people were left homeless.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Altappen
Swedish islands in the Baltic
Islands of Norrbotten County