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

Kökar
Municipality
Kökar kommun
Church of Saint Anne
Church of Saint Anne
Coat of arms of Kökar
Location of Kökar in Finland
Location of Kökar in Finland
Kökar is located in Åland
Kökar
Kökar
Location in Åland
Coordinates: 59°55.2′N 020°54.5′E / 59.9200°N 20.9083°E / 59.9200; 20.9083
Country Finland
RegionÅland
Sub-regionArchipelago sub-region
Government
 • Municipal managerKurt Forsman
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total2,165.02 km2 (835.92 sq mi)
 • Land63.58 km2 (24.55 sq mi)
 • Water2,101.46 km2 (811.38 sq mi)
 • Rank305th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total224
 • Rank308th largest in Finland
 • Density3.52/km2 (9.1/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Swedish87% (official)
 • Finnish9.9%
 • Others3.1%
Population by age
 • 0 to 143.1%
 • 15 to 6458.7%
 • 65 or older38.2%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.kokar.ax

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 224 (31 December 2023)[2] and covers an area of 2,165.02 square kilometres (835.92 sq mi) of which 2,101.46 km2 (811.38 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 3.52 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.1/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Swedish (with about %10 Finnish-speaking). 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 edit

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 edit

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 belltower was built in the 19th century. The belltower 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 North African 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 edit

  1. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Immigration record high in Finland in 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

External links edit

  Media related to Kökar at Wikimedia Commons