Holmöarna (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, literally ''the islet islands'') is an island group in the

Kvarken Kvarken ( sv, Kvarken, Norra Kvarken (as opposed to South Kvarken); ) is the narrow region of the Gulf of Bothnia separating the Bothnian Bay (the inner part of the gulf) from the Bothnian Sea. The distance from the Swedish mainland to the Finn ...

narrows of the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...

between

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 ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The islands form part of

Umeå Municipality Umeå Municipality (, sme, Ubmi gielda) is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is Umeå, which is also the county seat of Västerbotten County. Administration The municipality is an administrative entity defined ...

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bot ...

. The islands have 75 year-round inhabitants and the largest islands are Holmön, Ängesön, Grossgrunden, Holmögadd and Lilla and Stora Fjäderägg. Large areas of the islands have been set aside as

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Nature and geography

The islands are situated in the Norra Kvarken narrows between the

Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea ( sv, Bottenhavet; fi, Selkämeri) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, t ...

to the south and the

Bothnian Bay 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 still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...

to the north. Holmöarna's nature is quite diverse with areas covered in forest, bogs and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s, and the islands have a rich birdlife. The islands' natural life is so special that the whole of Holmögadd, Stora Fjäderägg and Grossgrunden, nearly all of Ängesön and the eastern half of Holmön and all waters surrounding these have been protected as a nature reserve since 1980, incidentally the largest

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 ...

nature reserve in Sweden.kvarkenguide.se: Holmöarna (in Swedish)
/ref> Many of the lakes and pools on Holmöarna are former bays and inlets which were severed from the sea due to the rising of the underlying land mass by about 8.5 mm (approx. ⅓") each year. ''Strandbjerget'', the islands' highest point at 25.83 meters above sea level, is found at Holmöns northern end.

Holmön

Holmön (in the local dialect: ''Höḷmöʸn'') is the main island of the group and is still largely covered in

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

forest. The preserved main village of Holmö By is surrounded by open fields separated by narrow bands of woodland and stone walls with the occasional heap of cleared

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

.
The main part of Holmö By was built alongside Hallen

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

, and about 20 farms adjoin the road leading south through cultivated

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

. The village has a church and

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

as well as a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

and a trade cooperative offering groceries, alcoholic beverages and petrol as well as apothecary, library and postal services. Byviken-Holmön 07-08-08

Byviken village on the northwestern tip of Holmön hosts the islands' ferry and marina facilities. The Ship Museum is also located here, as well as a tourist information centre, restaurant, bathing beach and the ''Holmögården''

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

. Berguddens fyrplats is a locality southwest of Byviken sporting a lighthouse from 1896 and some lighthouse keepers' cabins now converted to a hostel. Gäddbäckssundet ("Jäbbäckssundet" in local dialect) is a sound located to the southeast of Holmön, separating it from the island of Ängesön, and offering a secure anchorage.

Ängesön

Ängesön island is slightly bigger than Holmön, with many cut-off inlets, pools, and bogs from which

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

used to be cut. The road leading from Byviken, through Holmö By, terminates near Grossgrunden on Ängesön's southern tip.

Grossgrunden

Grossgrunden (from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''grjót'' meaning "rock" and ''grund'' meaning "bottom") was once an area of dangerous rocky shallows, but due to the

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

it is now a proper island surrounded by outlying

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

Stora Fjäderägg

An islet northeast of Holmön with a lighthouse, bird conservation centre and a hostel. The island is an important resting point for

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

on their way to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The southern half of the island has a number of ancient stone markings shaped in the form of

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

s and

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their int ...

s, from the days Stora Fjäderägg was a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and sealing base. The former lighthouse keeper's residence now houses a youth hostel.fyrvaktaren.se: Stora Fjäderägg Lighthouse (in Swedish)
/ref>

Holmögadd

Holmögadd, separated from Grossgrunden by ''Gaddströmmen'' sound, forms the southernmost tip of the Holmöarna islands. The island is best known for its lighthouse named ''Holmögadd'' dating from 1770. The entire island was a military shooting range from 1940, which was recently dismantled.

Climate

The Swedish weather service

SMHI The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ( sv, Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut, abbreviated SMHI) is a Government agency in Sweden and operates under the Ministry of the Environment. SMHI has expertise within the ...

operates a weather station at Holmön. The local climate is very much influenced by the sea and as a result is a marine type of the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

regime with temperatures similar to coastal areas of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but with less snow and rainfall. It could be described as the northernmost continental zone in the world under the Köppen classification due to the cooler winters than Atlantic Norway and warmer Septembers than less marine inland areas.

History

The islands played host to fishing and sealing parties from the moment the first islands broke the sea's surface around the start of the

Christian era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

. * Around 1300 the seasonal hunters and fishers supposedly first settled permanently on the islands. This supposition is backed by a number of

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s found in the islands. * In 1543 King

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

starts taxing the farming inhabitants of Holmöarna. Seven farms were found in the islands at that point.Västerbotten County Council: the Town of Holmön (in Swedish)
* In 1698 the Umeå postmaster was ordered to have mail destined for

taken across

by Holmöarna's inhabitants whenever weather conditions allowed. * In 1717 Holmön was plundered by the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

ns. * In 1760 the first lighthouse of the

narrows was constructed on Holmögadd. * In 1802 the first church on Holmön, named ''Helena Elisabeth'' was built.Västerbotten museum; Gammlia: The church (in Swedish)
* In 1838 the current lighthouse on Holmögadd was built. * In 1860 the Swedish ''

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

'' parliament voted to release the farming population from the duty to bring mail across

. * In 1891 Helena Elisabeth Church becomes too crowded and a new church designed by

Fritz Eckert Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert, (25 April 1852 - 6 March 1920) was a Swedish architect. Biography Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts from 1871-1878 and spent 1879 travelling a ...

is built on Strandsberget hill. * In 1925 Holmön is designated a separate

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. * In the 1930s regular ferry traffic was taken up between Holmön and Ostnäs in mainland Sweden.Ministry of Traffic Ferry Services: the Holmön service (in Swedish)
* In 1956 the ferry's mainland port of call is moved to Norrfjärden. * In 1957 Helena Elisabeth's church is moved to Gammlia

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

near Umeå. * From 1974 the islands are part of

and stop being Sweden's smallest municipality. * In 1980 Holmöarna are designated a nature reserve. The reserve is Sweden's largest marine nature reserve. * In 1983 the current ferry, named ''Helena Elisabeth'', is put into service. * In 1984 a birding centre is housed in the former lighthouse keeper's residence on Stora Fjäderägg. * In 1994 the first Holmön Folk Festival (''Visfestival Holmön'') was held. * In 1998 Holmön's Ship Museum is inaugurated. * In 2001 a youth hostel was opened in the former lighthouse keeper's residence on Stora Fjäderägg.

Culture

* ''Postrodden'' is a yearly festival in memory of the duty imposed for centuries on the inhabitants of the Holmöarna and Björkö islands to bring mail and travellers across

. * ''Visfestival Holmön'' is a

Folk Festival A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicraf ...

held in held every year in July since 1994.

Communications

Communications between Byviken and Norrfjärden on the mainland are carried out free of charge by a car ferry in the ice-free months or as long as the boat is able to break its own course through the ice. Once the ice has grown too thick to break, a

hydrocopter A hydrocopter is an amphibious propeller-driven catamaran with a boat-like hull, small wheels and pontoon skis (as in a seaplane). An aircraft engine with a propeller and air rudder powers the vehicle over water, ice, snow and land. Hydrocopte ...

is put to use, but being susceptible to pervading winds, it is often replaced with a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

service. The ferry ride to the islands takes approximately 45 minutes. From time to time ''Holmöslupen'', a reconstructed

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

as was once common along the coast of

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the provi ...

, sails between Byviken and Stora Fjäderägg accepting passengers.fyrvaktaren.se: the Sloop (in Swedish)
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmoarna Islands of Västerbotten County