Alnön
Alnön is a 75 sq km, the Swedish port city of Sundsvall offshore island in the Baltic Sea . It is located in the historic Swedish province of Medelpad and the province of Västernorrland County .
The island extends about 15 km in length in north-south direction and is up to 6 km wide. Alnö has around 7850 inhabitants.
geology
The island's rocks were formed around 570 million years ago through volcanic activity that lasted at least 30 million years. A series of volcanic eruptions carried calcareous magma to the surface. This led to the formation of various calcareous, sometimes rare types of rock , such as Alnöit , which the island owes its name to. Other occurring rocks are Alnöit breccia , Borengit , barite , Juvit , Nefelinsyenit and Sövit .
During wartime, large amounts of lime were mined for agriculture . Barite was also broken here at the same time. In the 17th and 18th centuries, attempts were also made to mine iron ore here . It is even believed that small diamonds have been found in the local kimberlite deposits .
Flora and fauna
The island's three nature reserves protect places of particular importance for Alnö's flora and fauna .
The calcareous soils of the island offer good conditions for a species-rich flora with many calciferous plants. Wild yellow irises can be found in Starrloken .
Stornäset is one of the most important bird resting places in Västernorrland. Not far from here there is another resting place for migratory birds on the small island of Långharsholmen .
history
Although a few finds prove that there were people on Alnö as early as the Neolithic Age , it is not clear since when the island was actually settled. In Vindhem south of the island were cairns from the Bronze Age found, but everywhere along the coast of Norrland are and do not indicate a lasting settlement. However, burial mounds in the north of the island give reason to believe that there were individual farms here in the Iron Age .
Reliable information on the population of Alnös was only available from the 16th century. In 1571 there were between 300 and 350 people living on the island in 45 farms.
In the center of the main town Vi (or Wii) is the Sågverksmonumentet , which reminds of the time of the sawmills on Alnö between 1860 and 1963. The demand for workers in the wood industry caused the population to grow rapidly during this period.
Population development:
| year | 1571 | 1750 | 1800 | 1850 | 1900 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Pop. | ~ 325 | 549 | 704 | 1.004 | 6,817 | 7,441 | 7,583 | 7,819 | 7,700 | 7,726 | 7,718 | 7,812 | 7,874 |
Alnö Bridge
Alnön is connected to the mainland via the Alnöbron ( Alnö bridge ) spanning the Alnösund . The multi-span cantilever bridge made of prestressed concrete is one of the longest bridges in Sweden at 1042 meters and was completed and inaugurated in 1964. The construction work on the 42 m high ( clear height 40 m) and 9.4 m wide road bridge , carried out by Skanska AB , took around three and a half years.
tourism
The south of the island offers beautiful bays for swimming at Bänkåsviken, Tranviken, Slädaviken, Hartungviken and Grönviken. Here you can also find the typical fishing village of Spikarna.
Coordinates: 62 ° 24 ' N , 17 ° 28' E