Vårdö
Vårdö | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Vårdö kommun | |
Boathouses in Simskäla, island in the north of Vårdö | |
Location of Vårdö in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 60°14.5′N 020°22.5′E / 60.2417°N 20.3750°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Åland |
| Sub-region | Archipelago |
| Government | |
| • Municipal manager | Erik Brunström |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 572.56 km2 (221.07 sq mi) |
| • Land | 101.75 km2 (39.29 sq mi) |
| • Water | 471.16 km2 (181.92 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 298th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• Total | 468 |
| • Rank | 303rd largest in Finland |
| • Density | 4.6/km2 (12/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Swedish | 85.6% (official) |
| • Finnish | 4.1% |
| • Others | 10.2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 16.7% |
| • 15 to 64 | 53.3% |
| • 65 or older | 30% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.vardo.ax |
Vårdö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.
The municipality has a population of 468 (31 March 2025) and covers an area of 572.56 square kilometres (221.07 sq mi) of which 471.16 km2 (181.92 sq mi) is water. The population density is 4.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (12/sq mi) of land.
The municipality is unilingually Swedish.
Håkan Skogsjö has documented the permanently residing population of Vårdö from the 17th century to the present, covering the history of the municipality as a whole, its individual hamlets, down to each original farmstead and the families who lived there.
Two notable Finnish authors, Sally Salminen and Anni Blomqvist, were born in Vårdö. Blomqvist lived her whole life on the 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 from Stockholm to Turku went through Vårdö, by road from Båthusviken to Hullvik on the main island, otherwise by water. 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.