Kökar

Kökar lies in the outer archipelago southeast of the main island, and the landscape there is different from the rest of Åland: bare rounded granite, juniper and low pine rather than farmland, with the open Baltic on three sides. A Franciscan monastery stood at Hamnö from the fourteenth century and its church and foundations survive. Around two hundred and fifty people live on the island year round.

Background

Kökar municipality covers 2,165 square kilometres, of which only 63.6 are land, and had 225 residents on 31 December 2023. Ferries link it with Långnäs on the main island and with Galtby on the Finnish mainland. Seal hunters first lived here over 3,000 years ago, and a Bronze Age site from 1150 to 1050 BC was found in 1918. The church that stands where the old monastery church was dates from 1784. The local museum, opened in 1988 in a school building of 1913, covers everyday life between the 19th century and the 1940s. The writer Ulla-Lena Lundberg was born here in 1947.

Source: Wikipedia, "Kökar"

The landscape

• The bare granite - rounded rock and juniper rather than the farmland of the main island.
• The monastery site - the Franciscan foundation at Hamnö from the 1300s.
• The church - the building standing on the monastery ground.
• The open Baltic - sea on three sides of the island.

When to go

June to August is the season, when ferries run most often and services open. Winter reduces ferries to a minimum. Ice can disrupt crossings in hard winters.

Good to know

Getting there takes several hours of ferry through the archipelago and connections must be planned. Almost everything closes outside July and August. Accommodation is very limited.

Nearby

Sottunga is northwest, and Föglö is west.

Key facts