Örö

We had ordered a boat taxi to take us for a day trip to the Örö island. It was 30 minutes boating from Rosala to Örö. Örö island has interesting history and it is the most beautiful place!

Landing was prohibited on the Örö island from 1915 until the end of 2014, and the island was opened for boaters and tourists in June 2015.

In the early 1900s, Örö island was a popular pasture island for the local people of the archipelago. It didn't have continuous habitants but was used in peace by people from neighbouring villages that lived by fishing and farming industries Also the island has been a popular anchor base for ships travelling from England, Sweden and the Russian Empire.

During these times Finland was still par of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov's Russia. As 1912 the World War I was about to flame, Russia decided to build a strong fortification net for both sides of the Gulf of Finland in order to protect it's capital Saint Petersburg. Russia's navy had recently been destroyed in a war against Japan. This fortification was named Peter the Great's Naval Fortress after well respected  historical figure. After this the military forces of Russia took over the island and it was closed from public.

In a record time there were built three artillery batteries and their magazines, scouting towers, barracks, food cellars, electricity centres, wells, harbour and rouds. The work force was brought from Asia.

After Finland gained its independence 1917, the island was officially expropriated from locals and it went under the possession of Finnish Defence Forces.

In 2015 the island with its buildings was transferred from Defence Forces to the Finnish Forrest Administration and was included in the Archipelago Sea National Park. The island has 60 buildings from different decades as well as the old fortifications built by Russian Empire. Of the old artillery batteries there's left two Russian Obuhovs and their casemates. There's also four unactive Canet-cannons and ruined battery.

Örö island has a lot of forest, sand and pebble beaches, spectacular peninsulas, fine natural grass fields and heaths. Thanks to its history as a closed fortress island, Örö has evolved into one of Southern Finland's key concentrations of threatened species and habitat types.

We rented bicycles and cycled all small roads of the island. The photo is from the northern part of the island, where this old phone booth stands. The military used phone booths as weather protectors for guards.


+19 C, sunny