Archipelago of Gothenburg

Archipelago of Gothenburg
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Göteborgs skärgård

Archipelago of Gothenburg
Geography
Location Kattegat
Coordinates 57°37′N 11°47′E / 57.617°N 11.783°E / 57.617; 11.783Coordinates: 57°37′N 11°47′E / 57.617°N 11.783°E / 57.617; 11.783
Country
Sweden
Panoramic view across the Archipelago of Gothenburg (Göteborgs skärgård).

The archipelago of Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborgs skärgård) comprises northern and southern archipelagoes. The southern archipelago is part of Gothenburg municipality located in the province of Västergötland while the northern archipelago is Öckerö municipality, located in the province of Bohuslän.

Trafikverket has ferries from Lilla Varholmen to the northern archipelago. Some of the islands are interconnected by bridges. Southern archipelago ferries go from Saltholmen, plus a freight ferry from Fiskebäck.

Northern archipelago

Main article: Öckerö Municipality

The main islands of the Northern Gothenburg archipelago are:

Southern archipelago

The island of Styrsö, in the archipelago of Gothenburg, as seen from the sea.
Böttö, one of the smallest islands.

The Southern Gothenburg archipelago lies off the coast of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. It has 5,000 permanent and another 6,000 summer residents. The archipelago is completely car free. Transportations is carried out by means of cycles, delivery mopeds, electric cars and ferries.

In the Norse sagas, it was called Elfarsker (the river islets), as the river Göta älv had its estuary there. The islands appear to have been famous as a location for holmgangar during the Viking Age.

Sagas where the location appears:

One of the islands, Brännö, is described as an important location for fairs in the Laxdæla saga, and it is also considered to be the likely location of Breca and the Brondings of the Anglo-Saxon poems Widsith and Beowulf.

See also

References

  1. Hið íslenzka Biblíufélag (The Icelandic Bible Society): «Örvar-Odds saga» (original text in Old Norse)
  2. Hið íslenzka Biblíufélag: «Bósa saga ok Herrauðs» (Old Norse)
  3. Hið íslenzka Biblíufélag: «Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar» (Old Norse)

External links

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