Saltvik

History

The municipality has a rich history. When Åland emerged from the sea about 8,000 BC, Saltvik was the first land to be seen. During the Viking ages, Kvarnbo used to be a central crown court- and place of merchandise. Today, people can visit the medieval church and at the court place see the memorial monument. The church St:a Maria is located by Kvarnboviken in the east of Saltvik. The red granite church is one of the oldest in Åland, and was once the main church in the province. The church has been rebuilt and extended several times. The oldest parts are from the late 13th century, but various reconstructions have been made from the 14th century until today. For example, the chalk drawings on the walls have first been painted, then covered and then uncovered again. Around and under the church, there are traces of houses from Viking Age. This is not so strange, considering the church is located in the middle of the biggest grave field from Iron Age in Åland. Håkan Skogsjö has documented the permanently residing population of Saltvik 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. A former Finnish government lands official claims a 17,800-square-meter (0.004 acre) plot on the island of Saltvik "had been handed over to Russia's Foreign Ministry in 2009, in accordance with a 1947 post-war peace treaty that saw German holdings in Finland transferred to the Soviet Union".

Most-observed species

• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,186
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  524
• Willow Warbler

  Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  472
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  464
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  451
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  400
• Yellowhammer

  Emberiza citrinella Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  384
• Bird's-eye Primrose

  Primula farinosa L. · Magnoliopsida
  349