Lotstornet

If you want to spend the night at Öja, Lotstornet, (the old harbour pilot tower), could be what you are looking for. There's also a restaurant in the tower called Svedtiljas. You will have a great view from any of the rooms. All managed by Åke and Lotta Svedtilja. The hotel is open year round. www.g-mo.se/

Artillery battery

ERSTA-batteri at Norrhamn on Öja. A four-story facility used during the cold war. 25 people lived and worked underground here 24/7. Supposedly it could withstand a nuclear blast. There to protect the inlets to Nynäshamn, Stockholm and Södertälje. In operation between 1977-2000. There are guided tours daily during the Summer. It will set you back 100SEK. Today this is a listed building.

Saltboden

Back in the day a "saltbod" was a building where you kept your fishing tools out in the archipelago. Today it is more likely to be a cafe, restaurant, pub and grocery shop, like here at Västerhamn on Öja. We stopped by a couple of times. Not overcrowded, but there were a few Americans enjoying the salmon at the next table. From Wisconsin. On our second sitting 12 or so canoeists showed up.

Living in the archipelago

Only twenty people live at Öja year round. But they sure live nicely. Nearly all the houses on the island has a sea view as you can see by looking at these photos.

The maritime pilot

Albert Holm was a maritime pilot at Öja. He lived between 1848 and 1939. It is partly thanks to Albert that a road was constructed on the island. Having come halfway with that work Albert figured that he had had enough and he chiselled his initials by the side of the road at Saltmarsbacken and promptly told everyone that he had now done his part and that it was up to the young people on the island to continue with the road. Diabase sculpture made by Ole Drebold an artist who lives on the island.

Landsort Lighthouse

Öja is a tiny island. It is famous for a few things. This is one of them. The Landsort lighthouse. Built back in 1670, this is the oldest lighthouse in Sweden. There was an earlier lighthouse on the island but it was destroyed in a fire. That first lighthouse had been constructed by the Dutchman Johan van der Hagen and it was a few relatives to him that also built this lighthouse. It has been modernised a few times over the centuries and is today fully automatic. If you visit during the Summer there is a guided tour twice a day.