Kökar

Kökar
Municipality
Kökar kommun

Coat of arms

Location of Kökar in Finland
Kökar

Location in Åland Islands

Coordinates: 59°55.2′N 020°54.5′E / 59.9200°N 20.9083°E / 59.9200; 20.9083Coordinates: 59°55.2′N 020°54.5′E / 59.9200°N 20.9083°E / 59.9200; 20.9083
Country Finland
Region Åland
Sub-region Archipelago sub-region
Government
 • Municipal manager Kurt Forsman
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • Total 2,165.01 km2 (835.92 sq mi)
 • Land 63.55 km2 (24.54 sq mi)
 • Water 2,101.46 km2 (811.38 sq mi)
Area rank 37th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 243
 • Rank 335th largest in Finland
 • Density 3.82/km2 (9.9/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Swedish 91.6% (official)
 • Finnish 8%
 • Others 0.4%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 14.9%
 • 15 to 64 60.3%
 • 65 or older 24.8%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 18.5%
Website www.kokar.ax

Kökar is an island municipality to the south-east of the Åland archipelago, Finland.

It is also one of the municipalities of Åland. It is reachable by boat from Långnäs on Åland or from Galtby with access to mainland Finland.

The municipality has a population of 243 (31 March 2016)[2] and covers an area of 2,165.01 square kilometres (835.92 sq mi) of which 2,101.46 km2 (811.38 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 3.82 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.9/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Swedish. The natural reserve of Östra Långskär is located there. Other notable islands include Kyrkogårdsö.

Ulla-Lena Lundberg, a Finnish author, was born in Kökar in 1947.

History

Kökar was first inhabited over 3,000 years ago by seal hunters. A Franciscan monastery was founded in Hamnö in the 15th century. Today the monastery is in ruins. The church dedicated to St. Anne was built in 1784 in the place of the old monastery church.

Sights

The grave of a Franciscan monk on the side of the church of St. Anne

The church of St. Anne was built in the site of the old monastery church during the reign of king Gustav III and is located on the island of Hamnö. It is next to the ruins of the monastery. The clocktower was built in the 19th century. The clocktower had to be restored after an Autumn storm damaged it in 1978. A model of a sailing ship hangs in the church. It was given by a local sailor who had been captured by Turkish pirates but who later managed to escape. The model has 64 cannons.

The local museum was opened in 1988 and its purpose is to show how the people of Kökar lived in the 19th century and onwards to the 1940s. The now museum building, built in 1913, used to be an old school.

There is also a Bronze Age site dating back to 1150–1050 BC. It was found in 1918.

References

  1. 1 2 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

Media related to Kökar at Wikimedia Commons


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