Öckerö Municipality
Encyclopedia
Municipalities of Sweden
The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...
in Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.The county is the second largest of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities . Its population of 1,550,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population...
in western Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Its seat is located in the town of Öckerö
Öckerö
Öckerö is an island and a locality and the seat of Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 3,269 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
on the main island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
, which is also called Öckerö.
The municipality consists of islands in the Northern Gothenburg Archipelago, just outside of Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. With a total area of 26.03 km² it is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden
Municipalities of Sweden
The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...
.
The municipality is one of very few in Sweden which has not been amalgamated and thus still has the same area as the unit formed out of a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
(socken) by the first local government acts of 1862. In the period 1915–1959 there were a number of municipalsamhällen (a sort of borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s within a rural municipality handling matters of urban character) in the municipality.
Specifics
The municipality consists of ten year-round inhabited islands. They are considered to stretch from a renowned lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
called Vinga fyr
Vinga Lighthouse
Vinga Lighthouse , is a Swedish lighthouse on Vinga island built in 1890. But Vinga has been an important island for sea travelers for a long time. The lighthouse in use now is the third one on the island...
up to the coastal town of Marstrand
Marstrand
Marstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,432 inhabitants in 2005. It has held city privileges since 1200. The most striking feature about Marstrand is the 17th century fortress Carlsten, named after King Carl X Gustav of Sweden. The...
in the municipality of Kungälv
Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kungälv....
. The ten islands are named:
- BjörköBjörkö, ÖckeröBjörkö or Bohus-Björkö is a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 1,409 inhabitants in 2005....
- FotöFotöFotö is an island and a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 618 inhabitants in 2005. It is connected to the island of Hönö with bridge....
- Grötö
- Hyppeln
- HälsöHälsöHälsö is an island and a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 614 inhabitants in 2005....
- HönöHönöHönö is a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 5,045 inhabitants in 2005....
- KalvsundKalvsundKalvsund is a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 228 inhabitants in 2005....
- Källö-KnipplaKällö-KnipplaKällö-Knippla is an island and a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 420 inhabitants in 2005....
- RöröRöröRörö is a locality situated in Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 283 inhabitants in 2005....
- ÖckeröÖckeröÖckerö is an island and a locality and the seat of Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 3,269 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
N.B. that "ö" means "island" in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, hence all names end with "ö". E.g. Björkö means "Birch Island".
Of these, Hönö is the largest with some 4,800 inhabitants, and Öckerö is also fairly large with 3,100. However, all ten are inhabited by people all year around. Most islands have bridge connection between each other. However, there is no road connection to the mainland, just car ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
from western Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. The ferry connections are good with a dense schedule. A local referendum in 2003 in Öckerö Municipality rejected the plans for a future bridge to the mainland.
History
During the Viking AgeViking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
the islands of Öckerö belonged to the Norwegian kings, and the part of the coast was known as Älvsyssel. In the 13th century the King Håkan Håkansson of Norway built himself a house on Öckerö, because he was often around there with his navy.
In 1658 or thereabout, the area became Swedish together with Bohuslän
Bohuslän
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...
.
In the middle of the 18th century, the fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
of herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
blossomed into a full scaled industry, and the islands fishing communities flourished for some 50 years.
In the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
were designed. As the main industry has always been fishing, a boat and herring became symbols. The ten herrings correspond to the ten islands.