Vårdö

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Vårdö
Municipality
Vårdö kommun
Flag of Vårdö
Flag
Coat of arms of Vårdö
Coat of arms
Location of Vårdö in Finland
Location of Vårdö in Finland
Vårdö is located in Åland
Vårdö
Vårdö
Location in Åland
Coordinates: 60°14.5′N 020°22.5′E / 60.2417°N 20.3750°E / 60.2417; 20.3750Coordinates: 60°14.5′N 020°22.5′E / 60.2417°N 20.3750°E / 60.2417; 20.3750
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
 (2021-03-31)[2]
 • Total460
 • Rank304th largest in Finland
 • Density4.53/km2 (11.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Swedish91.8% (official)
 • Finnish4%
 • Others4.2%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1416.7%
 • 15 to 6453.3%
 • 65 or older30%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]19%
Websitewww.vardo.ax
Vårdö church and cemetery

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

The municipality has a population of 460 (31 March 2021)[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 4.53 inhabitants per square kilometre (11.7/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 any type 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. ^ Jump up to: a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Preliminary population structure by area, 2021M01*-2021M03*". StatFin (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  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 (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. ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2021" (PDF). Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.

External links[]

Media related to Vårdö at Wikimedia Commons

Boathouses in Vårdö


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