Sunday 30th July – Lighthouse workersAt the beginning there were three men working at the lighthouse: head and two lighthouse keepers. Soon the amount of staff was added to four men and later there were totally seven men working at the lighthouse. Each man worked a few weeks and then took a few weeks off. The head lighthouse keeper had his holidays from the beginning of June until the end of August. While not in duty at the lighthouse the men worked as fishers and as farmers. All of them had background as sailors, pilots or fishermen. Later there was a possibility to study the profession.
The lighthouse keepers’ main task was to maintain the light equipment. Besides they had to keep the lighthouse clean and carry out smaller reparations, e.g. install new windows, paint the buildings and do other normal maintenance works.
Among these normal maintenance works were most probably chopping wood. And that is exactly what we have been doing most of today: chopping and piling firewood. It was quite a large amount wood the lighthouse staff needed for one year in the old times, 18 cubic fathoms.
But it is not much smaller amount that there is at the moment inside and outside the lighthouse buildings waiting for our measures. Luckily enough we have today machines also for chopping firewood.
The light equipment was automatized in 1976 and since that the lighthouse has been uninhabited.
Monday 31st July Friends and relatives
The new lighthouse tempted visitors especially during spring and summer. Among the visitors were friends and relatives of the staff and many others who were interested to see how the life was in such an exotic place as the lighthouse island. The lighthouse was often mentioned in the press too.
The lighthouse keepers’ wives didn’t usually live in the lighthouse. There were a few exceptions. The first head lighthouse keeper’s wife spent so much time on the island that she once was almost swept to the sea by a heavy storm.
Later from the 1940’s onward lighthouse keeper Karlsson’s wife Stina spend long periods on the island. She took part in the daily work as well as in fishing. The other workers first doubted that she would not get on well at the lighthouse but had later to admit that she made a perfect lighthousewife because she could use fresh water and firewood reasonably.
We had today no visitors, but we used water reasonably and chopped a lot of firewood.
Tuesday 1st August – Sad histories and happy visitors
Today we participated in a dangerous job and that brought to our minds the numerous shipwrecks that have happened here before the lighthouse was erected and also after that.
A particularly destructive was the heavy snowstorm in October 1899. The storm lasted three days. Also the lighthouse suffered seriously in that storm. Totally three vessels hit ground near Märket.
First schooner Cherub from Sweden carrying bricks and clay damaged and sank in the deep water. The vessel was found days later and no person was saved.
Nikolai II had been the pride and joy of Åland’s fleet already for 20 years. Now it was carrying wood from Sundsvall to Bristol and was severely destructed in the storm and ended on the cliffs. The crew had to wait for rescue in the ship for 24 hours.
The third victim was bark Versternorrland from Norway which was driven to the shallows but could continue its’ voyage after the storm finally had calmed down.
A Swiss sailboat Rosa was driven to our Northern harbor today afternoon and the happy lot enjoyed the guided tour at the lighthouse. They came from Sweden and were on their way to Mariehamn. Luckily today is Switzerland’s national day. As far as they recalled there are no real lighthouses in the beautiful Swiss lakes.
Kornel, Rona, Maru, Kuno, David and Balz from Basel and Zürich.
Wednesday 2nd August – Stones then and now
Thorbjörn a son of lighthouse keeper Tor Schauman (1945-1966) told about raising stones which storm and ice had washed in the harbor. Thorbjörn visited Märket regularly from the age of 8 and participated in many works.
He told: ”First father exploded the larger boulders. Then the pieces were lifted in the rowing boat and sinked in deep waters. Other stones were lifted with a pulley and hooks. But it still was a lousy harbor. Damn it!”
We started today lifting stones from the South harbor. Exploding is out of question and hooks are not strong enough – so we used a pulley. But it is hard work and the day was hot.
Today’s visitors were family Wikstrand-Thiriet-Österman, originally from Åland. There were three generations of them. First they visited the lighthouse and then enjoyed the hot summer day picnicking and bathing in laguna.
Thursday 3rd August – Märket’s Diet
When the lighthouse started working in 1885 there was a strict diet for the workers. The state covered the costs for provision. And the rule was that on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays each lighthouse keeper got about 400 g of salted beef and on other days about 300 g pork per week. On Sundays they got either fresh or salted meat.
In a week each worker could use about 3 liters fresh water and 4 kilos of dry bread.
In addition sent state to the lighthouse every year a certain amounts of butter, coffee, syrup, tea, barley, wheat flour, mustard, vinegar, sugar and salt.
Our diet this week has been from another world – and period. Our magnificent hostess Reija has pampered us for instance with tortillas, texmex soup, chili con carne, salad nicoise and panna cotta. And even better: all the delicious meals have been served in time!
Today – though it has been a windy day – we had visitors. Three motorboats parked side by side n North harbor and their crews visited the lighthouse.
PS. We did it!! 11 cubicmeters firewood.
Friday 4th August – Crossing Borders
Märket is a very special little island because the border between Finland and Sweden goes through it. But not a straight borderline. There is a long and unique history behind.
For decades Finland was a part of Sweden and there was no need for a border. As a result of Finnish War Sweden lost Finland to the empire of Russia in 1809. A new border was drawn between Finland and Sweden but the work was not done very precisely is smaller, remote and uninhabited areas. Like Märket. The idea however was that the island should cut in two equal parts – Sweden and the Grand Duchy of Finland – by a straight line.
When the lighthouse was build in 1885 it was build on the highest point on the island and the authorities had the impression that the whole islet was Finnish territory. In reality the lighthouse was build on Swedish territory.
Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917. In 1921 the League of Nations decided that Åland should be demilitarized and self-governing part of Finland. The borderline on Märket based on the peace treaty from the year 1810.
The fact that the Finnish lighthouse actually stood on Swedish territory was not a big problem between our friendly nations. It took over 50 years until in 1979 the negotiations about a new border started. In 1982 the new border was marked on the rocks and the process was completed in 2005.
The idea behind the new border was that both nations would get an equal surface area of the island and that the lighthouse would stand on Finnish side. And at the shoreline the 1810 borders are valid. That is why the present borderline makes so many turns on such a small area. Now the border is well marked on the rocks. And there are chances to cross it many times in a day. There is however no customs, no border guards and no tax-free.
Today is our last day on Märket this year. Tomorrow comes a new crew with new tricks. We have to say good buy and hurrah Finland 100 Years, hurrah Märket!
Saturday 5th August – Too soon we said goodbye
Our crew was supposed to leave Märket this morning and a new crew arrive. But that did not happen. During last night the wind grew and it has been quite brisk all the day. And as the harbors here are few and not very good it has been impossible for Mats Sjöström to pick us up. But we got an extra day – maybe even two!
This is not the first time this happens in the lighthouse’s history. In fact it has happened several times that the lighthouse keepers have been unable to leave for their days off because of heavy storm or ice. A day or two days is really nothing. The men have been trapped here for weeks and a a legend tells that the longest period was three months. We have as they had in their time enough provisions but mentally the situation has been hard for the workers and their families.
Sunday 6th August – Rock and roll
Every heavier storm brings new rocks in the narrow and shallow harbor bay. The workers at the lighthouse had to do repeatedly hard work in removing them. The smaller stones were lifted manually but the really large boulders had to be exploded and lifted by pulley and tackle.
Some things do not change. We are still on Märket waiting for the surge to calm down and the removing of rocks from the old harbor has to be done at least once a year.
The source for the historical information is Jan Andersson: Märket, 2015 published by Finnish Lighthouse Society, in Finnish and in Swedish, available from the Society.