Singö

Six villages since medieval times

Singö is first mentioned in a mortgage deed from 1334. Six villages — Söderby, Tranvik, Backby, Norrvreta, Boda and Ellan — have been known since medieval times. On a map from the 1640s the island is called "Singsöö" and already had its own church.

The island is large: around 25 square kilometers, making it one of Sweden's larger islands. In the middle lies the lake Storträsket.

The church and the altarpiece from Lübeck

Singö church stands on the same site as its predecessor and was built in 1753. It is counted as one of few preserved older archipelago churches. The altarpiece is older than that — from the 1490s, made in Lübeck.

The island long belonged to Häverö parish. Only in the late 1500s did the islanders get permission to build their own chapel.

Lime, brick and green marble

In the 1740s all of Backby was purchased by a man from Östhammar who established a lime and brick works. In the middle of the 1800s a marble works was added at Enholmen.

The traces of this are most visible in the churchyard: many of the gravestones are carved from green Singö marble.

Things to see

• Singö church — 1753, with late medieval altarpiece.
• Svartklubben lighthouse — on the barren skerry Svartklubben east of the island, at the entrance to the Åland Sea. A national historic monument.
• Öland stone labyrinth — ancient monument on the coast, probably medieval and connected to fishermen's customs and practices.
• Storträsket — the island's lake.

The bridge that replaced the steamship

Singö is connected to the mainland by road via among others Fogdö and Väddö. The bridge was inaugurated in 1955 — before that, daily services ran with Waxholmsbolaget's boats from Strandvägen in Stockholm, via Norrtälje, Väddö canal, Trästa and Singö pier, with Östhammar or Öregrund as the destination. The last service ran in 1951, after which a passenger boat operated the route Singö–Herräng until the bridge was completed.

How to get there

Bus from Norrtälje and Stockholm. The bus stop Ellan on northern Singö is the northernmost in SL's entire network. From Grisslehamn, a short drive away, ferries depart for Åland.