Sottunga

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Sottunga kommun
Coat of Arms Location
Province	Åland
Region	Åland
Sub-region	archipelago
Area - Of which land - Rank	26.78km² 26.77km² 443rd
Population - Density - Rank	127 (2006) 4.9 inh./km² 430th
Unemployment	3.4%
Official languages	Swedish
Municipal manager	Marja Weimer
Home page	[http://www.sottunga.aland.fi/]

Sottunga is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The municipality is the smallest when it comes to population in Åland and in Finland, with a population of only 127 people (January 2006). The municipality covers an area of 26.78 km² of which 0.01 km² is inland water, and the population density is 4.9 inhabitants per km². The municipality is unilingually Swedish, with 94% of the inhabitants speaking Swedish as their native language. Sottunga is comprised of many islands, of which only three, Husö, Finnö and Storsottunga, are inhabited. Storsottunga is usually called Sottunga. There are five villages in the municipality: Finnö, Husö, Hästö, Mosshaga and Sottunga.

History

Like the rest of Eastern Åland, Sottunga got its first permanent inhabitants sometime in the 11th century, although there is evidence that the island has had inhabitants long before that. The name Sottunga itself is thought to predate the 11th century. In the 1600s there were some ten households on the island and about 70 inhabitants. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden visited Sottunga in 1800.

Sottunga has suffered during many wars, first during the Great Northern War in 1714-22 when all of Åland fled to Sweden and again during the Finnish War of 1808-09 when all the buildings on the island were set on fire in order to prevent the enemy from getting them. The island was also bombed by the Soviet Union during the Winter War of 1939-40. The bombs were responsible for the sinking of the cargo ship s/s Notung in 1940 just northeast of Sottunga.

Sights

The church of Sottunga was originally built in 1661. The modern church on the site was built in 1728 after a fire had destroyed the original one. It is the smallest wooden church in Finland. Its clock tower was built in 1770 and the building was renovated in 1802. The painting at the alter was made by P. Berggren in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1845.

The southern end of Storsottunga as seen from a passing ferry in 2004

Before the church was built Sottunga had a chapel which was built in 1544 and which was approximately one kilometer away from the contemporary church.

On the island of Södö there are old mines dating back to the 1800s. Only 1,700 tons of iron ore were ever mined. Today the island is uninhabited but open to visitors.

External links

• [Official website of Sottunga]

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