Björkö (Korsholm)
Encyclopedia
Björkö is an island in Korsholm
municipality (Finnish: Mustasaari), Finland. It is situated in the Kvarken
area of the Gulf of Bothnia
. The chief settlement is called Björköby
. In addition to the main island, the Björkö area includes 350 skerries and its total area is 72 km2. In 1973, the Björköby municipality merged to Korsholm
.
During the Swedish reign over Finland, the island was notable for being a post transport base in the archipelago on the Finnish side. Mail was ferried by the inhabitants of Björkö to the islands of Holmöarna
, Sweden. They got reductions in taxes and exemption from military service for this (strategic) service.
Ferry services to the regional capital Vaasa
began in 1907 and in 1954, a causeway was built to the major island of the archipelago, Replot
, which was connected to the mainland by a car ferry. In 1997, the Replot bridge finally connected also Björkö to the mainland by road.
Korsholm
Korsholm is a municipality of Finland. The town of Vaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscape and a large, fractured archipelago...
municipality (Finnish: Mustasaari), Finland. It is situated in the Kvarken
Kvarken
Kvarken is the narrow region in the Gulf of Bothnia separating the Bothnian Bay from the Bothnian Sea...
area of the Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
. The chief settlement is called Björköby
Björköby
Björköby is a village in Korsholm, Finland. It is the chief settlement on the island of Björkö.Björköby was an independent municipality until 1973.-References:...
. In addition to the main island, the Björkö area includes 350 skerries and its total area is 72 km2. In 1973, the Björköby municipality merged to Korsholm
Korsholm
Korsholm is a municipality of Finland. The town of Vaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscape and a large, fractured archipelago...
.
During the Swedish reign over Finland, the island was notable for being a post transport base in the archipelago on the Finnish side. Mail was ferried by the inhabitants of Björkö to the islands of Holmöarna
Holmöarna
Holmöarna is an island group in the Kvarken narrows of the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. The islands form part of Umeå Municipality in Västerbotten County. The islands have 75 year-round inhabitants and the largest islands are Holmön, Ängesön, Grossgrunden, Holmögadd and Lilla and...
, Sweden. They got reductions in taxes and exemption from military service for this (strategic) service.
Ferry services to the regional capital Vaasa
Vaasa
Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
began in 1907 and in 1954, a causeway was built to the major island of the archipelago, Replot
Replot
Replot is an island in the Kvarken , the narrowest part of the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern part of the Baltic sea. It has about 2,100 inhabitants, almost only Swedish-speaking. The size is about , one of the largest islands of Finland...
, which was connected to the mainland by a car ferry. In 1997, the Replot bridge finally connected also Björkö to the mainland by road.