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Fårösund is a locality situated on the Swedish island of
Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
with 800 inhabitants in 2014. The village can be reached by car from
Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
. The island of
Fårö Fårö () or in Gutnish is a Baltic Sea island just north of the island of Gotland, itself off mainland Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the county and it is a popular summer resort. It has its own language, Fårö ...
can be reached by ferry from Fårösund. Fårösund is the northernmost town in the municipality of
Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
in Gotland County, about north of Visby. Fårösund is situated on the seafront overlooking the island of Fårö and is visited by tourists during the summer, but it is usually a quiet community in the autumn, winter and spring. Until the mid-1900s it was a small quiet resort as well as a ferry terminal for ferries to Fårö. In January 2018 the Swedish Armed Forces have reportedly bought back the base in a deal under negotiation since February 2017. The purchase faced competition from a Russian oligarch who showed interest in the port, but the sale went to the Swedish Fortifications Agency, which paid 20 million
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, espec ...
for it, after having sold it for 18 million in 2004. The sale requires government approval before 16 April 2018, and the Swedish Armed Forces are to take the base over on 30 April 2018. Fårösund is also the name of the strait between Gotland's "mainland" and Fårö.


Climate

Fårösund has a maritime climate with narrow seasonal fluctuations by Scandinavian and Baltic standards. The weather station was set up in 1995, which explains the modest record low for January due to recent warming. The climate is among the driest and sunniest in Northern Europe due to the dominance of high-pressure systems over the Baltic Sea. This leads to snow packs being rare. Summer days are usually mild.
Diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...
is low, which means that it has warmer summer means than many mainland locations due to the warm nights. There is also a quite strong
seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum daylight (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimum ...
due to the maritime influence. The weather station is located at a slightly more maritime location than the settlement itself. With regards to historical records that Fårösund likely experienced,
Gotska Sandön Gotska Sandön (literally translated as "The Gotlandic Sand Island") is an uninhabited Swedish island north of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It has been a national park since 1909. Geography Sandön is situated north of Fårö in the Baltic Se ...
to its north recorded in February 1940 and the defunct Fårö island station recorded in August 1975. The January record low for Gotska Sandön was in 1942 and March has recorded .


History

During the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, the fleet of the alliance opposing the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
used Fårösund as their
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
base. An
artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...
for the defence of the southern part of the inlet to Fårösund had been built in 1721, on the south shore opposite the Skarv shallows, and a
blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
housing two 8-pounder cannons was constructed further out on the Bungenäs. After the
Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...
in 1721, these fortifications were abandoned. In 1818, Fårösund's importance as a
Naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...
was once again brought to light. In 1885, when it seemed like there could be a conflict between Russia and the UK, the area around the town was further fortified by placing a line of
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
s around the harbor. This escalation of the defence was made to indicate that Sweden was determined to maintain its neutrality. Therefore, a battery housing of seven 12 cm muzzle-loading guns was hastily built at the south end of the strait. Later, a similar but smaller battery was built at the north end and finally a third, for heavier artillery, southeast of the first battery. In 1900–02, the two first batteries were converted and updated with more modern armament. Since 1905, there was a
coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
detachment from Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 1) stationed in Fårösund where barracks for the unit had been built in 1902–06. The Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 3), established in 1937, started an economic boom in the town including the building of a new shipyard. Prior to the 1950s, the port also served as a
submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, N ...
(it remained available as a forward operating location for submarines up until the 1990s). The regiment, however, was dissolved in 2000. , the old military regiment area is demilitarized and used by many companies that have started since the regiment was closed. In February 2017 though it was being reported (initially by the daily business newspaper '' Dagens Industri'') that the government, in the form of the Swedish Fortifications Agency, was attempting to buy back the old military facilities including the port despite competing bids from private interests including the controversial Russian billionaire Vladimir Antonov who wished to procure them for their own purposes. This was part of ongoing efforts to rebuild Gotland's (and by extension, Sweden's) defences in light of the continuing deterioration in regional stability. In January 2018 the Swedish Armed Forces have reportedly bought back the base in a deal under negotiation since February 2017. The purchase faced competition from a Russian oligarch who showed interest in the port, but the sale went to the Swedish Fortifications Agency, which paid 20 million
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, espec ...
for it, after having sold it for 18 million in 2004. The sale requires government approval before 16 April 2018, and the Swedish Armed Forces are to take the base over on 30 April 2018.


Sports

The following sports clubs are located in Fårösund: * Fårösunds GoIK


See also

* Military on Gotland *
Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery () has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902. Kustartilleriet, abbr ...
* Fårösund Fortress * Sweden during World War I * Sweden during World War II


References


External links


Objects from Fårösund at the Digital Museum
by
Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum () is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farosund Populated places in Gotland County Coastal fortifications