Arholma is an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the northeastern part of the
Stockholm archipelago in
Norrtälje Municipality
Norrtälje Municipality (''Norrtälje kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Norrtälje.
It is the largest and northernmost municipality of Stockholm County and was created in 19 ...
. It is long by wide. It is the northernmost island in the
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
before the
Sea of Åland
The Åland Sea (or the Sea of Åland; sv, Ålands hav, fi, Ahvenanmeri) is a waterway in the southern Gulf of Bothnia, between Åland and Sweden. It connects the Bothnian Sea with the Baltic Sea proper. The western part of the basin is in Swed ...
.
The island is characterised by a picturesque combination of traditional wooden buildings, farmland, forests and rocky shorelines.
The island rose from the sea during the
Stone Age and now reaches a maximum height of above sea level. It is mentioned in the 13th century sailing route of King Valdemar, which describes a passage through the archipelago past
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...
to
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(then occupied by the Danes).
![Arholma båk Nordström, Alf, Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län, 1966-5-9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Arholma_b%C3%A5k_Nordstr%C3%B6m%2C_Alf%2C_L%C3%A4nsstyrelsen_i_Stockholms_l%C3%A4n%2C_1966-5-9.jpg)
The island's highest point was formerly occupied by a coal-fired lighthouse, which was replaced by the present red-and-white structure in the 18th century. The construction of the current lighthouse, which stands high and , was completed in 1768. It was partly built from stones retrieved from the ruins of Lidö Castle, destroyed in the
Russian Pillage of 1719-1721
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
* Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...
, which also badly affected Arholma. The lighthouse is visible from a distance of and is now a listed building; the interior is used as an art gallery during the summer.
Arholma's inhabitants hunted, farmed and fished before piloting became one of their principal sources of income. The islanders soon became wealthy ship-owners and sailors, putting their earnings into constructing bigger and better farms. During the winter months they anchored their vessels at Arholma's principal harbour, Österhamn, which was built during the island's peak of prosperity in the late 19th century. When the shipping trade began to decline, a number of Arholma farmers converted their residences into pensions and the island became extremely popular with holidaymakers.
During the 1930s, Arholma became part of Havsbandslinjen (Marine Band Line), a chain of fortifications constructed to protect the sea approaches to
Stockholm. A
10.5 cm coastal battery was constructed on the north end of the island. The Arholma norra fort, which housed the battery, was completed in 1968 and could accommodate a garrison of 110 men. It operated in conjunction with another battery on the nearby island of Ovenskär, collectively comprising the Arholma battery. It was decommissioned in the 1990s and opened to the public in 2008 as a museum and national monument under the management of three local associations.
Gallery
File:Arholma EM1B3331 (43878187601).jpg, Arholma, restaurant terras
File:Arholma D81 0974 (36253732032).jpg, Arholma, boathouse
File:Arholma D81 0964 (36422035045).jpg, Arholma, abandoned boathouse
File:Arholma D81 0940 (36285374941).jpg, Arholma, former lighthouse, the "Båk" 2017
File:D810 1056 (14840323013).jpg, Arholma, view from the "Båk", the former lighthouse
In 1963,
Skärgårdsstiftelsen (the Archipelago Foundation) started a programme of nature conservation on Arholma. It now owns a quarter of the island, using traditional methods of forestry and farming to conserve the natural environment, and has built a guest harbour at Ahlmansviken. A large area of Arlanda and the neighbouring islands are protected as part of a nature reserve.
Today the island has a year-round population of about 70 people, which increases to about 600 during the summer. It is connected to the mainland at Simpäs via a year-round ferry route.
References
{{Coord, 59, 51, N, 19, 7, E, region:SE, display=title
Geography of Stockholm
Islands of the Stockholm archipelago
Islands of Norrtälje Municipality