Lemböte Chapel Ruins

The chapel at Lemböte stands roofless in woodland on Lemland, a small stone building of the thirteenth century put up beside what was then a sheltered harbour on the sailing route east, one of several chapels in Åland built for the crews of passing ships rather than for a parish. The sea has since retreated through land uplift and the site now sits inland among the trees. Land uplift in the northern Baltic runs at several millimetres a year, which over eight centuries is enough to leave a harbour chapel standing well inland.

What you actually see

• The roofless shell - the small thirteenth-century stone building.
• The seafarers' purpose - a chapel built for passing crews rather than a parish.
• The lost harbour - the anchorage the chapel served, now dry land.
• The forest setting - woodland that has grown over the old shoreline.

When to go

May to September is best for the forest path. Winter leaves the site snow-covered. Morning light reaches the ruins best.

Honest expectations

Very little survives beyond the walls and the visit is short. Interpretation amounts to a sign. The forest path is muddy after rain.

Nearby

Mariehamn is northwest, and Kobba Klintar is offshore.