Vårdö

Vårdö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.

Vårdö
Municipality
Vårdös kommun
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Vårdö in Finland
Vårdö
Location in Åland
Coordinates: 60°14.5′N 020°22.5′E
Country Finland
RegionÅland
Sub-regionÅland Archipelago sub-region
Government
 • Municipal managerMagnus Sandberg
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total572.56 km2 (221.07 sq mi)
 • Land101.50 km2 (39.19 sq mi)
 • Water471.16 km2 (181.92 sq mi)
Area rank298th largest in Finland
Population
 (2019-01-31)[2]
 • Total444
 • Rank309th largest in Finland
 • Density4.37/km2 (11.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Swedish91.8% (official)
 • Finnish4%
 • Others4.2%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1416.9%
 • 15 to 6459.7%
 • 65 or older23.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]17.5%
Websitewww.vardo.ax
Vårdö church and cemetery

The municipality has a population of 444 (31 January 2019)[6] and covers an area of 572.56 square kilometres (221.07 sq mi) of which 471.16 km2 (181.92 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 4.37 inhabitants per square kilometre (11.3/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Swedish.

Two notable Finnish authors, Sally Salminen and Anni Blomqvist, were born in Vårdö. Blomqvist spent her whole life on the small Vårdö island of Simskäla.

The word "vårdö" means "the guardian island". On the highest mountain of Vårdö people used to light bonfires to warn the other islands of danger.

The old post route road from Stockholm to Turku went through Vårdö, from Båthusviken to Hullvik. The local citizens took care of the mail transport in all kinds of weather. The dangerous mail transport lasted for over 300 years (1638-1910). Many people drowned on these journeys and in the memory of them the municipality of Vårdö has erected a memorial on the seashore of Hullvik. Today the post route road is marked with milestones.

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Tammikuu 2019" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  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.
  6. "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.

Media related to Vårdö at Wikimedia Commons

Boathouses in Vårdö



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