The Kallankari Islands ( fi, Kallankarit) are two islands, Maakalla and Ulkokalla, located on 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 ...

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. T ...

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 ...

. It is officially part of the town of

Kalajoki Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has ...

and is located from the mainland. Approximately 4,000—5,000 tourists visit Maakalla and its

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

every year. On clear days the Church of Maakalla can be seen from the coast of mainland Finland.

Self-government

In addition to their nature, the specialty of the Kallankari is the

self-government __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

of the islands, whose "supreme decision-making and

judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

" is exercised by the Assembly. Self-government dates back to the time of Swedish rule and is based on the Hamina Order, enacted by King Adolf Frederick in 1771, which entrusts the reins to the

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

. The meeting will be held annually on 25 July closest to Sunday. The National Land Survey has stated that the islands are owned by the state of Finland, but under a

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

, the management of Maakalla has been transferred to the local fishermen. Legally, however, the Kallankari Islands does not belong to Finnish self-governing communities or organizations, unlike

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, 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 ...

Sights

* Maakalla Church, an octagonal wooden

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

built by Simon Silvén from Kalajoki, and a small

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, both from the 1780s * Fishing Museum * Lighthouse island of Ulkokalla

Climate

References

External links

Maakalla
- Visit Kalajoki (in English)
Kallankarin valtio
''

Suomen Kuvalehti ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' (lit. "Finland's picture magazine", or "The Finnish picture magazine") is a weekly Finnish language family and news magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' was founded in 1873 and pu ...

'' (n:o 46), 10 November 1934. (in Finnish)
Suomen vanhin itsehallintoalue Kallankarit unohtui EU:n ulkopuolelle
- Yle Elävä arkisto (in Finnish) {{Islands in the Baltic Sea Finnish islands in the Baltic Kalajoki

Self-government

Sights

Climate

See also

References

External links