Market
| Market | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Understen – Märket Passage, Baltic Sea | |
| Archipelago | Åland Islands | |
| Geographical location | 60 ° 18 '3 " N , 19 ° 7' 58" E | |
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| length | 370 m | |
| width | 170 m | |
| surface | 3.3 ha | |
| Highest elevation | 2 m | |
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Märket is a flat rock that rises out of the Baltic Sea on an area of about three hectares between the Swedish mainland and the Finnish Åland islands .
Märket belongs almost equally to Sweden (western part) and Finland (eastern part) and is therefore the world's smallest sea island with an international border (see list of divided islands ). Märket is also the only place where Sweden and Åland have a direct land border and at the same time the only place where the Finnish province of Åland has a land border at all. But there are even more borders on the small island. On the Swedish side, Märket is also divided into the municipalities of Norrtälje (south-west) and Östhammar (north-west) and thus also into the provinces of Stockholms län and Uppsala län . On the Åland side, the island belongs to the municipality of Hammarland . Märket is also the westernmost point in Finland.
After the end of the Russo-Swedish War in 1809, Sweden had to cede Finland to Russia as a condition of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn . In this context, the island of Märket, which until then belonged entirely to Sweden, was also divided. Russia erected a beacon in the middle of the 19th century , but erroneously on the Swedish side. The resulting entanglements could not be cleared until 1985 through an exchange of territory between Sweden and Finland on the island. The lighthouse was manned until 1979.
Märket is a flat, strongly fissured rock. Since the highest natural elevation does not measure more than two meters, the rock is completely flooded even in heavy seas . Since its first survey in 1810, Märket has gained around 30% in area as a result of the isostatic land elevation . The rock is almost bare, but 23 predominantly halophilic plant species have been identified in the few protected areas . Ringed seals and gray seals as well as numerous sea birds rest on the island, which has been part of a Ramsar area since 1974 . Märket is not permanently inhabited, although there are three brick buildings on Finnish territory. In addition to a beacon, there is an automatic weather station and a station for navigation systems.
Because of its relatively isolated location, the Finnish part of Märket is traditionally viewed as an independent geographical entity in amateur radio in connection with the acquisition of diplomas . On request, the special amateur radio prefix OJ0 may be used for operations in this area (otherwise OH0 as for the Åland Islands). This peculiarity (normally whole countries are considered as one entity) attracts radio amateurs time and again to so-called DXpeditions to Märket, each of which brings with it lively radio traffic.
The Åland Museum Association, in collaboration with the Finnish Lighthouse Society, manned the Märket lighthouse again from May to August / September 2007. During this time, guided tours of the lighthouse and the island were offered. The proceeds were used for the urgently needed renovation of the lighthouse. Trips to Märket start from Käringsund (Eckerö, Åland) and take about one hour 45 minutes each way. You can only land on Märket when the sea is calm because there is no berth for ships and you can only get to the island by disembarking .
Web links
- Märket - en märklig ö Information in Swedish about (the flora of) Märket. (PDF file; 148 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ J. Ekman, LG Bråvander, G. Ekman, E. Zachrisson: Märket - en märklig ö Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Daphne . 1998, pp. 56-58. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
- ^ The List of Wetlands of International Importance . January 21, 2016.
