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Öland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the German island, see Oland (German island).

Öland (help·info) is an island in the Baltic Sea, located off the coast of Småland. At 1,342 km² it is the second largest Swedish island, after Gotland. Administratively, it is now part of Kalmar County, (Kalmar län). Historically, however, Öland (or Latin Oelandia) formed one of the Provinces of Sweden (landskap).

**Öland**
The provinces of Sweden with Öland highlighted
	Land	Götaland
	Main corresponding county	Kalmar County
	Area	1,342 km²
	Flower	Rock rose (Helianthemum oelandicum)
	Animal	Thrush nightingale

1 County
2 Population
3 History
4 Geography
5 Environment
6 Culture
7 Heraldry
8 References
9 See also
10 External links

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County

For current affairs see: Kalmar County

There was an Öland County between 1819 and 1824; otherwise, the island has belonged to Kalmar County since 1634. The island is connected to the mainland across the Kalmar Strait through the Öland bridge, which opened in 1972.

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Population

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History

Archaeological evidence indicates the island of Öland was settled about 8000 BCE, with excavations dating to the paleolithic era showing the presence of hunter-gatherers^[1]. In the early Stone Age settlers from the mainland migrated across the ice bridge that connected the island across the Kalmar Strait

The people of the island appear to be mentioned as early as 98 AD, by Tacitus, who called them the "Aviones". The same tribal name appears in Widsith as "Eowan", and Wulfstan of Hedeby later called the island "Eowland", the land of the Eowan.

There are nineteen Iron Age ringforts identified on the island, only one of which, Eketorp, has been completely excavated, yielding over 24,000 artifacts.

Evidence of habitation of Oland (known in earlier times as Oelandia) occurs at least as early as 6000 BC, when stone age settlements occurred at Alby and other locations on the island. Burial grounds from the iron age through the Viking era are clearly visible at Gettlinge, Hulterstad and other places on the perimeter ridge including stone ships.

In Swedish history, the island long served as a royal game park; particularly Ottenby and Halltorps were selected by the Swedish Crown in the Middle Ages as royal game reseserves.

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Geography

Main article: Geography of Öland

Öland.

Öland was historically divided into one chartered city and five hundreds.

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Cities and villages

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Hundreds

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Facts

Highest mountain: Högsrum 55 meters
Largest lake: Möckelmossen
Length: 137 km
Width (at widest point): 16 km

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Environment

The dominant environmental feature of the island is the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement which is the habitat of numerous rare and endangered species. The first known scientific study of the biota of the Stora Alvaret occurred in the year 1741 with the visit of Linnaeus^[2]. The underlying bedrock layer is chiefy Ordovician limestone that dates to at least 600 million years ago^[3]

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Culture

Main article: Culture of Öland

The Borgholm Castle was built in 1669-1681 for Queen Hedvig Eleonora, and designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. In its vicinity sits the Solliden Palace, summer home to the royal family.

The limestone pavement habitat of southern Öland, known as Stora Alvaret. has been entered as a site of the UNESCO World Heritage program^[4]. Features of this are the many rare species found; prehistory sites such as Gettlinge and Eketorp; numerous old windmills left standing; and the special geological alvar landscape.

Öland has since a decade back organized an annual harvest festival Skördefesten every October in which the island farmers come together with farmers from the rest of the country and sell their crops and let those that are interested take part of the every day life on their farms only to mention a few among many activities. There are also many art exhibitions for display during Skördefesten especially during the art night Konstnatten.

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Heraldry

Main article: Heraldry of Öland

Öland was granted provincal arms in 1560, but it would not be until the 1940s that the province was assigned its proper ones. The arms granted to Öland had been mixed up with the arms granted to Åland and this was not discovered until the 20th century. While Öland changed its, Åland, which was now a Finnish (autonomous) province, kept its established but originally unintended coat of arms. The deer is meant to symbolise the status of Öland as a royal game park and the arms are topped by a dukal crown. Blazon: "Azure a Deer Or attired, hoofed and gorged Gules."

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References

^ C. M. Hogan, The Stora Alvaret of Öland, Lumina Technologies, Aberdeen Library Archives, July 9, 2006
^ Carolus Linnaeus, Species Plantarum, Uppsala, Sweden (1753)
^ L.K. Königsson, The Holocene History of the Great Alvar of Öland, Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 55, Uppsala (1968)
^ Hakan Sandbring and Martin Borg, Oland: Island of Stone and Green, May, 1997