Facilities

Arholma is in a military restricted area and are off limits for other than Swedes.

Marina at Österhamn.

Jetty, 65 m, on the W side of the bay, depth 2 - 0,5 m. The concrete dock should not be used at all. Österhamn bay is the best sheltered anchorage in the area.

Facilities:
Garbage, Sauna, Mailbox, Drinking water, Cafeteria, Slips, Telephone, Toilets, Hostel.

Passenger and commercial dock at the W side of Arholma.

Temporary mooring for provisions only. Consider Österhamn for overnight mooring.

Facilities:
Garbage, Petrol, Gas, Provisions, Post office, Passenger boat/ferry, Cafeteria, Telephone, Toilets, Hostel.

History

Arholma constitutes a particularly valuable archipelago environment with well-preserved buildings and a small-scale agricultural landscape. The village is an example of a living tradition which has been preserved where dwelling-houses, outhouses and other buildings show the varying ways the archipelago people used to earn a living and put food on the table. The settlement and the agricultural landscape together represents indispensable parts in this valuable environment.

Arholma usually counts as the northern-most outpost in the Stockholm archipelago. Together with Idö, the islands have a varied archipelago landscape with a cultural touch. The islands both contain middle and outer archipelago nature. The Archipelago Foundation has purchased major parts, of which Idö-Idskär constitutes the largest, connected preservation area in the Arholma surroundings.

The history of both Björkö and Arholma goes back to the middle ages. Arholma was early permanently settled by pilots. On the central parts of the main island, the settlement is surrounded by old, cultivated land. According to the county map which was instituted in the early 1900s, the area under cultivation per inhabitant was about 2,3 ha. In 1600s the area was only 1,5 ha. As everywhere else in the archipelago it was the fishing in combination with a small-scale farming which supported the inhabitants, but the shipping also came to be of great importance for this area. During the 18^th century the locals shipped stone and wood to Stockholm and other coastal cities. The period of greatness can be said to have occurred during the Crimean War (1854-56) and during the Franco-German War (1870-71) when salt was shipped to the blockaded Russia and wood to Germany. Memories of the importance of the shipping can be found in all the farms of local ship-owners and the little museum in Simpnäs.

In 1547 a village is mentioned on Arholma in the accountings of the king Gustav Vasa. For how long the island has been inhabited before this is not known. However, the settlement has always been located in the middle of the island. There was also Kvarnberget located, which was a gathering spot for the villagers.

The settlement and watch-beacon on Arholma was torched by the Russians in 1719. The village and the watch-beacon was rebuilt. The oldest farms in the 19^th century was named Hagas, Anders Larsgården, Anders Ers, Lassas, Simes, Järk Lars, Lass Pellas, Österstuga, Västerstuga and Ormängs. Many of the farms still retain their old names. The special so-called "Arholma boat" was the square sail schooner which was built at the Stenbacksnäs shipyard and at Notörn in the vicinity of Österhamn.

The farmers were for a long time obliged to pilot ships, but as of 1862 a system of royal pilots was introduced. Consequently the farmers lost a very lucrative opportunity to earn coin on the side.

During the 19^th century when the shipping was profitable, many of the ship-owners’ cottages were built with two floors. The Simes farm, which received its name from Simon Simonsson, is located farthest to the south in the village, surrounded by grazing land with the sea in the south-west. In the Simes farm, Mats Persson was born in 1712. As time progressed he became a captain in the Swedish East India Company and known by the name of Mathias Holmers. When he eventually came ashore he acquired the manor of Lidö in 1765. The Simes farm was burnt to the ground by the Russians in 1719. The present red two-floor cottage was constructed in the 1870s and have, as many other houses in the village, a framework of timber. Belonging to the farm are also an earth-cellar and outhouses designed for all the things you needed in those days (curing, salting, sawing, carpentry, storing as well as stables, barns and pig pens). The premises are owned by the Archipelago Foundation and is very well preserved. Another two-floor cottage is the August Andersson farm, which presently is the youth hostel of STF. In the converted barn there are beds for tourists. The variety of old well preserved buildings and examples of archipelago architecture through the last centuries form a very precious environment and gives a clear picture of life in older times. At Österhamn an abundance of old boat-sheds can also be found.

The official Arholma watch-beacon was, ever since its construction in 1768, the look-out point for the pilots. In 1875 the pilots and the look-out point moved further out in the channel. One can still see the little, red-painted pilot cabin on Källskären. In 1915 the pilot look-out was moved to Simpnäs.

When the shipping with sailing ships lost its importance just before the turn of the century, the tourism became, and still is, and important source of income.