Utö Island, Länsi-Turunmaa, Finland

Utö is a small island in the Finland Archipelago Sea. It is the southernmost year-round inhabited island in Finland. The written history of island dates back to the 16th century. Since the 17th century, it has been a base for pilots, lighthouse keepers, custom officials and soldiers.

The first lighthouse in Finland was built on Utö in 1753. The round lighthouse building was blown up during the Swedish-Russian war of 1808-1809. The present lighthouse was built in 1814 under the supervision of Chief Pilot Gustav Brodd. The lantern and the lights have been modernized several times. The present lens was installed in 1906.

Today Utö is popular place for a day trip. You can visit on lighthouse, a small museum and village with old wooden cottages.

User Reviews

Ronny Nedermo (2 months ago)
Utö är Utö, finns hotell, restaurang, butik och fina vyer.

Niko Sjöblom (2 years ago)
The parents live on the magnificent lighthouse island of Utö. Stunning Lighthouse Church which I have had the honor to see. My parents' green house is different from other island homes in the middle of the lighthouse and kiosk. Have a nice summer memories?

Niko S (2 years ago)
The parents live on the magnificent lighthouse island of Utö. Stunning Lighthouse Church which I have had the honor to see. My parents' green house is different from other island homes in the middle of the lighthouse and kiosk. Have a nice summer memories?

Rami Kuisma (2 years ago)
Gorgeous island.

Tibe Groenendijk (2 years ago)
Very nice island with lots of people and rocks!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Steve Clasper

Historic Site of the week

Kraków Cloth Hall

The Cloth Hall in Kraków dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978).

The hall was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe already from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw in the very end of the 16th century. The city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.

The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as Charles, Prince of Wales and Emperor Akihito of Japan, who was welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski had briefly liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall still is still used as a center of commerce.

On the upper floor of the hall is the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum, Kraków. It holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch. The museum was upgraded in 2010 with new technical equipment, storerooms, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout for the display.

The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened on October 7, 1879. It features late Baroque, Rococo, and Classicist 18th-century portraits and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics.

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