Ingmarsö and Brottö

Ingmarsö is a living island with farming, industry, a shop and a guest harbour. The island has about 180 permanent residents. Feel free to walk the marked hiking trails in the beautiful archipelago landscape, ride an Icelandic horse, hire a kayak or a bicycle. The island is several kilometres long from southwest to northeast, so you can take proper walks or discover the island's open landscape by bike. If you are paddling - don't miss Paradiset, a beautiful lagoon between Ingmarsö and the neighbouring island of Finnhamn. The Ingmarsö-Brottö heritage museum is worth a visit, as is the village hall Lurkan. On Ingmarsö there are both cottages and bed & breakfasts. The island's tourism industry offers packages that include, for example, overnight stays and meals at the inn. Other elements that can be included are accommodation combined with kayaking or cycling, hiking or Icelandic horse rides. Seven thousand years ago, what would become Ingmarsö, Brottö and Finnhamn began to rise out of the sea. In the Viking Age the sea level was five metres higher than today and the islands were just islets. Characteristic of Ingmarsö are the many lakes that a thousand years ago were sounds and bays. One theory is that it was these so-called inmarer that gave the name Inmars-ön. The island was already inhabited in the Middle Ages. Around the year 1540 there were four farms here – Norrgård, Södergård, Västergård and Nästegård. About 25 people lived on the island then. Ingmarsö got its first boatswain in 1694. The boatswain's croft still remains. The Brottö archipelago farming cultural reserve The Brottö archipelago farming cultural reserve is Stockholm County's first cultural reserve, established in 2004. The small-scale farming is typical of how people have made their living in the archipelago through the ages. It has produced rich biodiversity with roadside flora, field islets, stone cairns, flower meadows and light-open forests. The area covers about 138 hectares, of which the land area is just over 65 hectares. Brottö used to be its own island, but with the land rise has become Ingmarsö's westernmost outpost. Those who walk the road up from the steamboat jetty meet a beautiful, undulating archipelago landscape with field and meadow, stately oaks and grazing cows. The road runs along a fence built according to old methods. It has the same course it has had since time immemorial. On the crest, old buildings stand out – Brottö village with origins far back in time. There is evidence that there was a farm on Brottö already during the Middle Ages. To help the archipelago farming live on, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm County established the Brottö archipelago farming cultural reserve in 2004. Historical maps, today's flora and the older generation of Brottö residents are sources that tell how the land has been cultivated over the centuries. Based on the sources, overgrown lands have been restored. Knowledge of how the land was cultivated in the past is also included in today's modern farming. Here Scottish Highland cattle graze - long-haired cows with huge horns and characteristics reminiscent of older native breeds. They are hardy and can stay outdoors all year round, like to graze far out on the shore meadows and keep reeds and brush in check. Far to the west there was a brickworks between 1875 and 1900. An old cart road leads to the spot, where a sign tells the history of the brickworks. Here is the County Administrative Board's brochure about the Brottö cultural reserve Travelling to Ingmarsö and Brottö Waxholmsbolaget serves the jetties North Ingmarsö, South Ingmarsö and Brottö all year round, but the boats do not run as often year-round. Travel from Åsättra on Ljusterö, Stockholm or Vaxholm. Regular services to the jetty on northern Ingmarsö run from Åsättra on Ljusterö, where you can also park the car. Most services connect with the buses from Danderyd Hospital. Regular boat trips from Stockholm also go to Ingmarsö North during high season, spring and autumn. Raise the semaphore on the jetty if you want to come aboard! The jetties on Ingmarsö and Brottö are not accessibility-adapted. But South Ingmarsö jetty has a bench to sit on. Near the South Ingmarsö jetty there is a shop, but the opening hours may be limited. Timetables and the jetties' positions – Waxholmsbolaget You can also get to Ingmarsö by water taxi, among others from Åsättra on Ljusterö. For those travelling by their own boat there is a guest harbour at southern Ingmarsö: Position: 59° 27,9N 18° 45,4E Guest berths: 15-20 Mooring: buoy, Y-boom or alongside