Visingsö is an
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
in the southern half of
Lake Vättern in
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 ...
.
Visingsö lies north of the city
Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat o ...
and west of
Gränna from which two car ferries connect the island. The island is long and wide, with a total area of .
According to the statistics from Jönköping Kommun, in 2023 there was a total population of 684 people living in Vinsingsö, which was a slight decrease in population from 2019 statistics.
According to
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
, a
giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
named
Vist created Visingsö by throwing a lump of soil into the lake so that his wife could use it to step over the lake.
History
Archaeological findings suggest that Visingsö was inhabited as early as the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
.
During 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 ...
(c. 800–1050 CE), the island may have been an important stop for trade and travel across Lake Vättern. Several ancient
burial mounds and
runestones on the island indicate early settlements.
In the 12th century, the
House of Sverker, one of the ruling dynasties of Sweden, made
Näs Castle on the southern end of Visingsö their residence during a fragile period of the
Swedish monarchy. King
Sverker the Elder (who ruled from c. 1130–1156) lived on the island, and four Swedish kings died there:
Karl Sverkersson,
Erik Knutsson,
Johan Sverkersson, and
Magnus Ladulås.
Due to their presence, Visingsö became an important royal and administrative center during medieval times.
Visingsborg Castle became one of Sweden’s most prominent royal estates during the reign of king
Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. It played an important role as the seat of nobility and as a strategic outpost for the crown. Many powerful Swedish families lived on the island, including the
Stålhammar family, who were granted ownership of Visingsö. In the 17th century the influential
Brahe family
The Brahe family (originally ''Bragde'') refers to two closely related nobility, noble families of Scania, Scanian origin that played significant roles in both Denmark, Danish and Sweden, Swedish history. The Danish branch became extinct in 1786 ...
resided in Visingsborg. The castle was also a centre for trade, with a port for goods that traveled through the lake.
In 1718, during the
Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
, Visingsborg Castle was burned down. Both Näs Castle and Visingsborg are presently in
ruins and well known landmarks of Visingsö.
The
Swedish Navy planted
oak trees on the island beginning in 1831 to provide strategically important timber for future ship construction. However, once the timber was ready to harvest it was no longer required for ship construction. The Swedish Navy declined to harvest the trees when offered them in 1975. Consequently, Visingsö is partially covered by oak forests, the rest being farmland.
Climate
Visingsö has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfb''), influenced by its position in the middle of the deep lake. As a result of Vättern's depth, it struggles both freezing over in winter as the surrounding landmass is colder, while in summer the temperature of the lake remains fairly cool. The relative warmth of Visingsö in summer is a result of Vättern being relatively narrow, resulting in warm air from the landmass only being slightly tempered. Temperatures below in winter are not very common annually due to the open water moderating the extremes. In spite of the unfavourable conditions for heat in its deep-lake position, Visingsö has warmer summers than all of the island of
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
as well as much of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. Even so, the cold surface water enables
air frosts to occur as late as May, in extreme instances. Visingsö is very dry for much of the year, although summers can be relatively wet.
Modern History & Tourism
Tourism plays a major role in Visingsö’s economy, particularly during the warmer months when visitors come to explore its natural beauty and historical landmarks. Popular attractions include:
* Visingsborg Castle Ruins – Once a powerful stronghold of the Brahe family, now a scenic ruin overlooking Lake Vättern.
* Kumlaby Church – A medieval church where visitors can climb the tower for a panoramic view of the island.Naturen och Cykling (Nature and Cycling) – The island is ideal for biking and hiking, with well-maintained trails.
* Harbor and Local Cafés – The harbor area in Gränna (mainland) and Visingsö itself features cozy cafés, local food, and ferry connections.
* Over time, Visingsö transitioned from a political center to a quiet rural island.
* In the 19th century, oak trees were planted by the Swedish Navy for future shipbuilding, but they were never used for this purpose.
* Today, Visingsö is known for its tourism, historical sites, and natural beauty.
* The island attracts visitors interested in its Viking and medieval history, castle ruins, and unique horse-drawn wagon tours.
Geology
Visingsö has long been of interest to geologists because of the development of a sedimentary series of rocks (the Visingsö Group) there (and elsewhere around Lake Vättern, especially on the west side). The surrounding rocks are largely much older "Småland granites" of mixed granite-like compositions. The Visingsö Group is approximately 1000 m thick and is divided into three units. It is Late
Riphean in date. A wide array of late
Precambrian
The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
fossils have been recovered from the group, including stromatolites, vase-shaped microfossils, acritarchs and macro fossils such as
Tawuia. The sediments of the Visingsö Group have been preserved within the Lake Vättern
graben
In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults.
Etymology
''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...
structure.
Transportation
There are two car
ferries
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
...
that travel between Visingsö and
Gränna on a continuous basis.
There are several roads connecting communities on the island, that are also served by bus. There is also a small
airfield
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
on the north end of the island, consisting of two grass
runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
s.
See also
*
List of islands of Sweden
References
External links
Visingsö.netVisingö Airfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visingso
Lake islands of Sweden
Småland
Islands of Jönköping County
Jönköping Municipality