Västergarn is a populated area, a

socken Socken is the name used for a part of a county in Sweden. In Denmark similar areas are known as ''sogn'', in Norway ''sokn'' or ''sogn'' and in Finland ''pitäjä'' ''(socken)''. A socken is a country-side area that was formed around a church, ...

(not to be confused with

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

Västergarn District, established on 1January 2016.

Geography

Västergarn is the name of the socken as well as the district, sometimes referred to as Västergarn and Stora Mafrids in official documentation after an administrative merger of the two settlements. Västergarn is also the name of the small village surrounding the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Västergarn Church, sometimes referred to as ''Västergarn kyrkby''. Västergarn is situated on the central west coast of Gotland. , Västergarn Church belongs to Sanda-Västergarn-Mästerby

in Klinte

pastorat The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swede ...

, along with the churches in Sanda and Mästerby. Close by the coast in Västergarn is the former bay, now lake

Paviken Paviken is a lake in Västergarn on the western side of the island of Gotland. The lake is a popular birding and fishing site. The lake is drained by the river Idå. The lake and its surroundings form a nature reserve which is more populated b ...

with its bird reserve. About off the coast is the Västergarns utholme island.

Smaklösa Museum

Right by the coast road in Västergarn is one of Gotland's smallest museums (). Lodged in an old gas station, it is dedicated to the Gotlandic, slightly eccentric music group Smaklösa. The name literally means "Flavourless", but also "Tasteless" or "Tacky". The latter meaning is intended here as indicated by the name of their own record label "Tasteless Records". Since their start in 1973, the band has achieved cult status with dedicated followers both on and off the island. The band is known for its cleverly phrased lyrics, distaste for rehearsals and odd places to perform. They often make fun of other music events or shows and interpret things their own way. In 2006, they received

Gotland Municipality Region Gotland, officially Gotlands kommun ( en, Gotland Municipality), is a municipality that covers the entire island of Gotland in Sweden. The city of Visby is the municipality's seat. Gotland Municipality is the 39th most populous municipali ...

's Culture Award. On 28July 1978, Swedish

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (born 1944) is a Swedish astronomer at the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. He is known for his work on the shapes and spin properties of minor planets. He has discovered three comets, P/1996 R2, C/1996 R3 and 308P/L ...

discovered an asteroids in the

asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, c ...

, which he named 7545 Smaklösa, after the band. A summer resident on Gotland, Lagerkvist has stated that he is an avid Smaklösa fan.

References

External links

Objects from Västergarn at the Digital Museum
by

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum ( sv, Nordiska museet) 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 t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vastergarn Populated places in Gotland County