Kvarken Archipelago – Valsörarna
The landscape is characterized by the rocky and bouldery moraines. The vegetation of the bleak moraine formations is mainly heath-like, but diverse. It is made up of marshy depressions, coastal fields, birch groves, junipers, beach alder groves, and large individual…
Kvarken Archipelago – Svedjehamn and Bodvattnet
Svedjehamn is a fishing harbour within a landscape dominated by De Geer moraine formations. Due to land uplift, the multifaceted wildlife in the area is constantly changing and producing different types of wetlands, such as flads, glo-lakes, and mires. There…
Kvarken Archipelago – Sommarö fortress
Sommarö area is a highly diverse and valuable forest. Between 1940 and 2000 the area functioned as an army depot and a coastal artillery fortress. There is a nature trail, lean-to shelter, a campfire spot and a good natural beach…
Kvarken Archipelago – Seal meat, blubber, train oil and skin
Compared to other food at the end of the Middle Ages, seal meat was extremely rich in energy, which was important for man’s thermal balance in the cold climate. Seal meat has also been used for medicinal purposes, and the…
Kvarken Archipelago – Seal hunting
Historically, seal hunting has been a very significant means of livelihood for the people living in the Kvarken archipelago. When the Gulf of Bothnia coast was populated, seal hunting and fishing provided a lifeline for the first permanent inhabitants.
Kvarken Archipelago – Molpehällorna
Molpehällorna, or the island of Moikipää is made up of several smaller islands that have grown together. The island has a roughly one kilometer long highly diverse nature trail. In the yard of an old coastguard station there is an…
Kvarken Archipelago – Mikkelinsaaret
In the islands one can visit ancient monuments, such as stone mazes (‘jatulintarha’), compass roses as well as fishing camp-and harbour relics, for example. The entire Mikkelinsaaret belong to a World Heritage Site and numerous cruses are organized there in…
Kvarken Archipelago – Making Fishing Equipment and Fish Preservation
The fisherman would sit by his campfire from early in the morning until late into the night, making new or repairing old fishing equipment. The task of the women was to comb, spin and wash the flax and hemp yarn…
Kvarken Archipelago – Hunting
Hunting provided much-needed extra food in the archipelago, and was primarily pursued for meat. Hunting water birds used to be a significant way – next after seal hunting – to get fresh meat onto the archipelago household’s table.
Kvarken Archipelago – History of Fishing
Hunters and fishermen have roamed the Kvarken area since the Stone Age. Fishing and seal hunting were the main sources of livelihood from the Middle Ages up in the late 19th century.
