It is
quite likely that Eknö was inhabited in the 13th century and
possibly even earlier. A royal donation in 1289 is documented. It
says, that it is a donation to St Clara convent of 'Eknö and
surrondings' including the inhabitants. Other island included in
this donation is Runmarö
and Sandhamn.
Eknö
is 3
km long and 1 km wide, it is situated some 2,5 km NW Sandhamn or Sandön
which is the real name. Originally the pilots inhabited Eknö and
Sandön was uninhabited and used only for summer grazing. The story
of how the old village on Eknö was abandoned and moved to Sandhamn
is a very interesting chapter in the development of the Stockholm
archipelago.
The first
known pilot on Eknö was Eskil Rasmusson, a farmer recorded in a
taxation paper from 1626. He had to pilot the royal ships. A paper from
the royal navy in 1695 mentions five pilots on Eknö and one on Sandön.
Later royal navy papers mention pilots on Eknö all through the 19th
century. Not until 1850 the rest of the pilots moved to Sandhamn.
In the
beginning the pilots got their pay directly from the ships they
piloted. They were often manhandled by greedy captains and it
happened that they were hindered from coming aboard the ships they
were to pilot?!
The
summer of
1719 the village of Eknö was burned to the ground by the Russian fleet.
Compare Baggensstäket. The village
recovered from this disaster and 1754 five pilots and eight
pilothands lived in the village Eknö. At Sandhamn there lived at
the same time two pilots and three pilothands.
During
the following
one hundred years, more and more of the pilots moved to Sandhamn. In
1875 the last one moved together with his house. Today there is no
permanent population at Eknö, only summer houses.
Anchorage
| Getholmssundet |
59°18,3
N 18°52,7
E |
Getholmssundet |
There is a
well protected cove, with a 2 m threshold, in the
channel, Getholmssundet.
This cove was used by the old sailing ships and is best
approached from W. Mooring can be found in the NE part of the
channel.
|
