The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and the second-largest archipelago in the

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 ...

(the largest being the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea (, ) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the List of archipelagos by number of islands, larges ...

across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Stockholm Archipelago has been found to have slightly over 24,000

islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

, islets and skerries and covers approximately 1,700 km² of which approximately 530 km² is land. There are around 10,000 permanent residences and 50,000 holiday homes in the archipelago. Residents are found on all the larger islands closest to the coast that have fixed bridges or ferry connections with road ferries, such as Vaxholm, Ingarö, Värmdö, Yxlan, Blidö, Ljusterö and Väddö, but also on many of the larger islands farther out from the coast, as Ingmarsö, Möja, Runmarö, Nämdö, Ornö and Utö, which are served by passenger ships with fixed itineraries.

Water

The water has a pH value of 7.0 (neutral) or slightly lower, to be compared with approximately 8.0 for seawater. Together with

humic substance Humic substances (HS) are colored relatively recalcitrant organic compounds naturally formed during long-term decomposition and transformation of biomass residues. The color of humic substances varies from bright yellow to light or dark brown lead ...

s this sometimes causes a bit brownish water colour, especially in the inner parts. The salinity varies between freshwater and

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

with poor salinity. In the outer parts of the archipelago, the salinity reaches around 0.6–0.7 per cent by weight, to be compared with at least 1.5 for beginning to taste salty and around 3.0 or more for proper oceanic water. Sea ice is regularly formed in the inner parts every winter.

Geography

The archipelago extends from

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

roughly to the east. In a north–south direction, it mainly follows the coastline of the

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

and

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

provinces, reaching roughly from

Öja Öja may refer to: * Öja (Finland), an island in Kokkola region, Finland * Öja, Nynäshamn, an island in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden * Öja, Gotland, a settlement in Sweden * Ōja Station is a passenger railway station located in the ...

island, south of Nynäshamn, to Väddö, north of Norrtälje. It is separated from

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

by a stretch of water named South Kvarken. A separate group of islands lies further north, near the town of Öregrund. Between Arholma and Landsort there are approximately 24,000 islands and

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s. Some of the better-known islands are Dalarö, Finnhamn, , Grinda, Husarö, Ingarö, Ljusterö, Möja, , Rödlöga, Tynningö, Utö, Svartsö and Värmdö. The biggest towns of the archipelago, apart from Stockholm, are Nynäshamn, Vaxholm and Norrtälje. The village of Ytterby, famous among chemists for naming no fewer than four

chemical element A chemical element is a chemical substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its ...

s (

erbium Erbium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements. It is a lanthanide, a rare- ...

terbium Terbium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tb and atomic number 65. It is a silvery-white, rare earth element, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile. The ninth member of the lanthanide series, terbium is a fairly ele ...

, ytterbium and

yttrium Yttrium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a "rare-earth element". Yttrium is almost a ...

), is situated on Resarö in the Stockholm Archipelago. The shipping routes from the Baltic to Stockholm pass through the archipelago. There are three main entrances suitable for deep- draught craft, namely, those near Landsort, Sandhamn, and Söderarm.

History

The Stockholm Archipelago is a joint valley landscape that has been shaped – and is still being shaped – by

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 an ...

. It was not until the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

that the archipelago began to assume its present-day contours. The islands rise by about three millimeters each year. In 1719 the archipelago had an estimated population of 2,900, consisting mostly of fishermen. Today the archipelago is a popular holiday destination with some 50,000 holiday cottages (owned mainly by Stockholmers). The , dedicated to the preservation of the nature and culture of the archipelago, owns some 15% of its total area. The inhabitants in the archipelago, from around the mid-1400s to the end of the

second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, were combined farmers and fishermen. Spring and autumn fishing was quite intensive in the outer archipelago from 1450 until the mid-1800s, and many fishermen lived for long periods in the outer islands because of the long distances to their permanent houses in the inner archipelago. The combined farming and fishing culture lasted until around 1950–1955 when the younger generation, born during and directly after the war, started to leave the archipelago and look for jobs in the cities on the mainland. Today most of the small farms on the islands are closed and the fishing industry has almost disappeared.

Culture

Many poets, authors and artists have been influenced and fascinated by the Stockholm Archipelago. Among them are

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

, Ture Nerman, Roland Svensson, Ernst Didring and

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

and

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...

from the group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

wrote most of their songs in a cabin located on the archipelago. Boating is an extremely popular activity with the sailing race Ornö runt (or Around the island of Ornö) being the largest in the archipelago. This annual race, organised by the Tyresö Boat Club, has taken place every year since 1973. It is open to anyone with a sailing boat but requires registration. There are different entry classes, with the family class being the least competitive. In the winter skaters make excursions over the ice.

Travel

Visiting the larger islands in the archipelago is easy all year round, but during winter period the routes depend on the ice conditions. Several companies have regular routes. The largest of these is Waxholmsbolaget owned by the Stockholm County government. Taxi boats are also available. In summer the archipelago bristles with private boats filled with people who often take advantage of '' Allemansrätt'' (or "everyman's right"), a law which gives anyone the right to go ashore or anchor on any ground not in the direct vicinity of buildings.

Image gallery

File:Gällnönäs brygga.jpg, Pier 'Gällnönäs' File:Lilla Nassa.JPG, Natural harbour at the island 'Sprickopp', 'Lilla Nassa' archipelago File:SvenskaHogarnaHamn.JPG, Natural harbour at the island 'Svenska Högarna' File:Landsort lotshamnen.jpg, Maritime pilot station at 'Landsort' File:Huvudskar fyr.JPG, The lighthouse and buildings at the island 'Huvudskär' File:Sandhamn February 2013 04.jpg, Sandhamn island File:Bastugrundet January 2013.jpg, Bastugrundet in ice File:Stavsudda1.JPG, The island of Norra Stavsudda File:Stockholm Archipelago as seen from viewing tower platform in Björnö nature reserve 1.jpg, Islands in the Archipelago as seen from Björnö nature reserve

References

Reference nautical chart

Nautical chart: International no. 1205, SE61, Baltic Sea, North, Sea of Åland.

External links

The Archipelago Foundation
{{Authority control Geography of Stockholm Landforms of Stockholm County Ramsar sites in Sweden