Öja

Lat: N 58° 44´
Long: E 17° 52´

The most southerly point in Stockholm's Archipelago is the lighthouse of Landsort. It stands on the southern point of the long and narrow island of Öja. The lighthouse is the oldest in Sweden and has been standing here since 1678. It has a height of 44.5 metres above sea level and the light can be seen from a distance of more than 20 nautical miles. Öja axis stretches out in a north-south direction. It is about 5 km long and 600 metres wide at its widest point. There are 10 people permanently manning the large pilot station with Västerhamn as their base. The maritime pilots carry out more than 4000 pilot missions and rescue operations per annum in their distinctive orange coloured boats.

Öja is located in the outer skerries of the archipelago and it has a mild climate with waters that are usually free from ice. This is exploited by large numbers of migrating birds that take the opportunity of resting here on their journey southwards. As early as the 1940s, the island was a centre for ornithologists and Landsort Bird Observatory has been ringing birds in Bredmar, on the southern end of Öja, since 1988. The observatory offers accommodation and guided tours during the ringing seasons, April to June and August to October.

The largest village, Storhamn, is a picturesque vibrant archipelago community with two harbours, namely Österhamn and Västerhamn. Both are used for commercial traffic. There is a guest harbour for pleasure boats in Norrhamn on the north western side of the island. There are about 30 permanent residents and during the summer the population increases many times over. Many of the summer residents have ties to the island from their ancestors who lived and worked on Landsort in the past. Children living here commute to schools in Nynäshamn and Ösmo. The island school was closed in 1983.

- The maze has an ancient pattern. It has a magical intention for fertility, to bring lick for fishermen and protection from the sea.

- The church and the old plague cemetery are very interesting.

-Sjöpricken is a pottery which produces painted glass pieces, printed textiles as well as clay goods.

How to get there
Waxholmsbolaget ferries serve Öja from Ankarudden on Torö all year round.

Food
Sista Utposten, is a shop and restaurant open during the summer.
Sjöbloms Öjabod Café

Accommodation
The hostel in the newly-renovated former military barracks. Open all year round, with about 30 beds. They also offer courses and conference facilities with full board.
Bed & Breakfast in the old maritime pilot station with fantastic views out to sea, 10 beds.
The whole island is a nature preserve and camping is only allowed in deasignated areas.

Guest Harbour
Skravleviken on the north western side of Öja has room for about 20 boats. There are toilets and showers.

Bathing
There are lovely rocky outcrops at Bredmar perfect for swimming on the eastern coast of the island. There is also a small beach more suitable for children at Själkroka.

Nature
Öja became a nature preserve in 1985 and is known for being on the migration route in autumn and winter. There are many sea birds to be seen, mainly eider, but also bean geese, brent geese and whooper swans. More unusual birds include king eider, steller's eider, sandwich terns, curlew sandpipers, red-footed falcons, kites and collared doves. The coastline consists of smooth rocks and inland is well covered with broad leaf woodland of birch and alder as well as a smaller area of pine.

History
Öja has always been the first maritime point of call through the ages. The characteristic lighthouse was built in 1678 with metre thick, granite walls. That makes it the oldest lighthouse in Sweden. It was an open coal-burning beacon to begin with. It was modernised in the 19^th century and a vaporised paraffin light with mirrors was introduced. The lighthouse was electrified in 1938 and in 1963 it became fully automatic.

Building the lighthouse was one of the reasons that the population spread out over the island from the earliest settlement at Norrudden. There was a shortage of arable land but people made their living from fishing and livestock which could manage on the poor grazing land.

In 1719 the invading Russians burnt down all the buildings on the island with the exception of one house where the lady of the house managed to have it spared by offering her newly baked bread. There were no new houses built in the 18^th century. The current built up area in the village of Storhamn was first built during the second half of the 19^th century in line with the increasing significance of the piloting industry coinciding with the growing maritime industry.