Storjungfrun (formerly ''Stora Jungfrun''), is an island in the

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

that was granted by the crown in 1620 to the city of

Söderhamn Söderhamn is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderhamn Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 11,761 inhabitants in 2010. Sports The biggest local sport is bandy. Broberg/Söderhamn Bandy play in the highest division E ...

"for pasture". The island forms a

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, funga, or features of geologic ...

off the coast of Vallvik. The current name has been in use since 1650. Previously the island was called ''Helgön''. For many years,

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

fishermen fished around the island and also built the Storjungfrun chapel ( SV). Over time, they were pushed back by the local population and eventually completely excluded. In the 1930s, there were around thirty people living in the harbor, which was significantly fewer than before. In 1838, a lighthouse with a light positioned 27.5 meters above sea level was built on Storjungfrun. The lighthouse consists of a white, round, about 21.3 meter high stone tower with a black belt at the top under the lantern. It formerly also had a red middle belt. Since January 25, 1935, the lighthouse has been a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The lighthouse was automated and demanned in 1964.

References

Islands of Gävleborg County Uninhabited islands of Sweden Söderhamn Municipality {{Sweden-geo-stub