Exploring Sandvik, Hamnö and the Seafarer Chapel in the Åland Islands

| Season 3 | Episode 47

Welcome to Season 3 of my channel!

On this episode we explore the guest harbor at Sandvik and make our way down the natural trail to Hamnö and the Seafarer Chapel.

Here is some info about the site:

The seafarer chapel was situated on the southern side of Hamnö, and was a small wooden building from the 13th century with walls around it. The chapel had a painted window and a brick roof, which indicates that it had an important function in the Middle Ages.

The monastery church, probably built at the end of the 14th century and in the beginning of the 15th century, was a large grey granite church with a sacristy and tower. The tower seems to have been built somewhat later, because older graves have been found under the wall, but most likely not later than during the first part of the 15th century. The ground plan of the church does not resemble Franciscan construction tradition, and it is therefore likely that the church used to be a regular parish church that the monks took over.

The Franciscan monastery:

Kökar is known to have had a monastery during the Middle Ages, Conuentu Tiokkakarlensis, the only one of its kind in Åland. The monastery was a Franciscan convent and is mentioned for the first time in 1472. It is, however, believed that the monks have been active in the area since the 14th century; first seasonally and then more permanently towards the end of the century.

A contributory cause why the monks came here may have been Hamnö’s importance as a medieval harbour and that there was a seafarer chapel on the island. Another reason may have been the importance of fishing for Kökar, which meant that a lot of people stayed here seasonally. The monastery activity was discontinued during the reign of Gustavus Vasa. All that remains of the monastery today are ruins, found by the church of Hamnö. On the monastery ruins there are nowadays a chapel, used in summer both for exhibitions and functions.

After I return from my adventure the winds kept building and I found the guest harbor had cleared out of boats in anticipation of a blow that was heading our way.

the next day the winds arrived and we rode it out tied up as the winds increased to 35+ knots.

This season will follow my time on board SV Arcturus as we explore the Åland Islands and beyond. We sail into cities, tie up on small islands, anchor bows to and ride out a blow before heading back to Sweden. I hope you will follow along with us on the trip.

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Fair Winds,
Sailor James

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