What today is only a rest stop at the border between Lemland and Lumparland has a much richer history. Over the strait, known as Lumparsund, there is today a small bridge. However, this very place was once the sea passage for Vikings. Swedish Vikings are believed to have passed through the strait on their voyages from Swedish Roslagen to the east, to today’s Russia.
An Important Past
Seafarers have for centuries passed through the strait of Lumparsund, which connects the bay of Lumparn with the Baltic Sea. Vikings on their voyages to Russia might have been some of the first known travellers to pass here. They certainly were not the last. Swedish and Danish sailors continued to pass through here during the Middle Ages and it later became the main sea route to reach the Castle of Kastelholm.
For people traveling on land, the first ferry service across the strait probably started sometime in the 1670s. It was originally the inhabitants on the island of Lumparland who paid for the service. Lumparsund had for a long time both a harbor and a shipyard. The largest ship built here in the bay was Carmen, who left the shipyard in 1921. Carmen was a three-masted barque that met her end in 1934 on the Baltic Sea.
The first bridge across the straight was completed in 1894 and the current concrete bridge was built in the year 2000.
Finding Your Way to Lumparsund
Lumparsund is on one of the main roads on the Åland Islands. Road 3 between Mariehamn and Långnäs, also known as Lemlandsvägen and Långnäsvägen, passes by the rest stop at Lumparsund. Here is also a bus stop for the ones who are able to locate one of the few buses in service.
The rest stop offers a great view out over the strait. Sadly further exploration might be considered intrusive by the residents as the area mostly consists of private properties with residential houses.
Looking to Explore more of Åland and Finland?
