Junkön is an island in the northwest of the Swedish sector of the

Bay of Bothnia The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is Post-glacial rebound, still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers ha ...

, in the Luleå archipelago.

Location

Junkön is one of the larger of the islands offshore from

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

. It is said to be named after a

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

named Junker who grazed his reindeer on the island. The sandy western part of the island has been used by the air force as a firing range since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and is off limits to civilians. The eastern part of the island is well-forested, including pines that are over 200 years old. The Larsgrundet lighthouse is located on a shoal in the channel between the islands of Junkön and Storbrändön. It was built in 1965, and was still in operation as of 2013. The focal plane is .

History

The first records of the island date to 1491. The island would have been quite new then, having formed as the terrain rose due to

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

. The first permanent resident settled on the island in 1783. There is a solidly built windmill dating from the late 1700s, in the past used by the residents of Junkön and nearby islands to grind their flour. It is not certain who built it, but based on its design it may have been a stranded fisherman from Finland. Since the early 1900s the population has steadily diminished. As of 2013 there were only three resident families. A number of professional fishermen still make Junkön their base, fishing for

Baltic herring Atlantic herring (''Clupea harengus'') is a herring in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the world. Atlantic herrings can be found on both sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. ...

, whitefish and sea trout in the summer. They net a local species of whitefish in the autumn to harvest its roe, which is called the "gold of the sea".

Village

The marina can accommodate about ten boats. There is a café that opens in the summer, toilets, saunas, showers and drinking water. The "Junkön fishing village" was inaugurated in 1998, a group of newly built houses in traditional style with an exhibition on life on the islands in the old days. The

Luleå Municipality Luleå Municipality () is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Luleå, which is also the county seat of Norrbotten County. Localities There are 18 localities (or urban areas) in Luleå Municipality: ...

has also built a quay, boathouses and a boat motor museum. Two cottages are available for rent.

References

Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Junkon Swedish islands in the Baltic Islands of Norrbotten County Luleå Municipality