Gotska Sandön National Park
Gotska Sandön is the most isolated island in the territorial waters of Sweden and the entire Baltic Sea. It is remote, desolate and barren, but at the same time strangely beautiful. With its miles of sandy beaches, its dense pine forest, and broad horizons in every direction, Gotska Sandön is a very special place that has fascinated visitors for centuries.
Gotska Sandön is the most isolated island of the Baltic – a deserted and barren but beautiful island. As the name suggests, the island is a kingdom of sand, with kilometere-long deserted sandy beaches. Almost the whole of Gotska Sandön consists of sand, with some stone and gravel. The sand dunes are covered by windswept pine forest. The beaches are constantly changing. After a storm or extremely high tides, the shoreline can change and small bays or peninsulas form.
There have always been people living on Sandön. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there was sheep farming, and later also crop and cattle farming.The environment of the island favours the unusually rich beetle fauna. The only four-footed animals are forest hares and toads.There is also a small colony of grey seals. The flora is remarkably rich considering the conditions.
The foremost sights of Gotska Sandön are the deserted sandy beaches, the distinctive dune landscape with pine forest, the rich flora, the migratory birds, the remarkable beetles and the interesting buildings of the island.
