The Kingdom of Sweden (Sverige in Swedish) is the largest country of northern Europe, occupying the entire west coast of the Baltic Sea. Along with its lengthy coast Sweden has a distinguished lighthouse history and a good record of preserving its historic lights. The Swedish Lighthouse Society (Svenska Fyrsällskapet) works actively for the preservation of the lighthouses. Sweden is divided into 21 counties (län) and the counties are subdivided into townships and municipalities (kommuner). Öland is an island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the county of Kalmar (Kalmar Län). A long and narrow island, Öland lies parallel to the mainland coast of Kalmar Län, separated from it by a strait called the Kalmarsund. The island is about 136 km (85 mi) long and 8-16 km (5-10 mi) wide. Since 1972 the island has been readily accessible by the 6 km (3.5 mi) long Öland Bridge (Ölandsbron), which crosses the narrowest part of the Kalmarsund just north of Kalmar. Öland is popular among lighthouse fans for its five historic lighthouses. The Swedish word for a lighthouse is fyr. The front light of a range is the nedrefyr (lower light) and the rear light is the övrefyr (upper light). Ö is an island, holme is an islet, skär is a skerry (a tiny island or rocky reef), sund is a strait (often between an island and the mainland), vik is a bay, hav is a sea, udde is a headland, and hamn is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Sweden are maintained by the Swedish Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. SV numbers are from the Sjöfarsverket light list (Svenska Fyrlista) as reported by the Swedish Lighthouse Society. Admiralty numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 116.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Nyköping Area | East: Gotland | West: Kalmar
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Posted June 4, 2007. Checked and revised March 5, 2025. Lighthouses: 9. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.