Archipelago

© Nagu Municipality

Nagu
LOCATION The Municipality of Nagu is located in the SW corner of the Province of Western Finland, in the heart of the largest Brackish Water Archipelago in the World, with up to 100 000 islands. The major city in the region is Turku, the former capital of Finland, at 55 km distance, as the nearest town is the mining and industrial centre Pargas / Parainen, at 25 km distance in the NE. Major ship lines to Sweden, the Baltic countries and Germany pass all through Nagu, as always. AREA The total area of Nagu is 1250 km2, of which 244 km2 is land, consisting of 1500 islands, reaching from the heart of the Great Archipelago till the international waters in the South. Less than c. 8 % of this land area is under cultivation. NATURE The base rock of Nagu is c. 2 mrd years old red granite. The landscape has eroded altogether some 15 kms down from the original surface, leaving only the roots of mountains left, like the bottoms of the ancient volcanic magma chambers, still visible in the structure of the Archipelago as 3 km wide circles, see e.g. the ë?va Openingí or the ëMossala Openingí. In the Inner Archipelago the nature is the richest in Finland, joining abundantly the contradictory elements of the Siberian Tundra with the European broad leaved flora ñ with their respective faunas. However, towards the remotest islets on the edges of the Outer Archipelago, this natural richness fades gradually into the barrenness liking more or less to Lapland. The Baltic Sea was born as the 2 km thick Continental Ice began to retreat some 16 000 yrs ago. Its pool has since then been twice soft water lake and twice salty sea. This is because of the max 700 m land recession caused by the huge weight of the Ice (over 2 million kg / sq m). FennoScandia is still rising up unevenly. This process has sometimes opened direct channels to the Atlantic Ocean (like ëYoldia Seaí before 5500 BC, through the Stockholm region), and sometimes closed them. Still today Nagu is rising c. 50 cm / 100 years from the sea. This is why our scenery changes constantly. New rocks and islands are coming up all the time. Old men used to row where we have corn fields at the present. The ënational plantí of Nagu is chives, a delicious pioneer herb of the newborn islands. INHABITANTS There are c. 1500 inhabitants in the Winter Nagu, and c. 12 000 of them in the Summer Nagu. Our population consists of over 20 nationalities. It is generally divided into two main groups, Swedish speakers (73,5 %), and Finnish speakers (26,5 %). However almost all here can speak both the main tongues ñ as well as English, occasionally also German, however Russian is generally unknown. ACCOMMODATION Tourism has lately developed into a serious livelihood in Nagu. Our visiting boat harbour offers new all-round sanitary services (saunas, dishwashing and laundry) for 120 boats. The 650 beds (equal to the number of our working persons!) in our hotels, B&Bs and cabins do offer varying accommodation opportunities. RESTAURANTS The Nagu kitchens vary from the Napolitanian ñ GammelgÂrdís Pizzeria with its wood oven - to Nizzan ñ Restaurant LíEscale in the Main Harbour (the Menu aíla Blanche de Namur with its 7 dishes on golden plates may take well over three hours!) - to Thai - Cafeteria at the Prostvik ferry harbour (Thai-pork-festivities take occasionally place in Nagu). However, if you wish to have all cultures in one, take the ëCross-Kitchení at Lanterna Magica. There are c.1400 seats altogether in our restaurants and cafeterias to choose from - equal to the number of our inhabitants! CULTURE Nagu has been inhabited for well over 4000 years. It has always been in the avant-garde of Finland, due to its geographic location on the European-side corner of the country. Here we find e.g. the first signs of agriculture in this country ñ the pollen finds of the originally Mesopotamian corns found in the swamps of Hˆgsar-island. Many of the highest points of Nagu (max 64 m asl) are still crowned by altogether tens of prehistoric rock pile tombs, including the most extensive of them all in Finland (length c. 50 m, on ÷jen-island). Nagu has always been a centre for ship building and shipping. Already the Swedish king Gustavus Wasa used to build his military ships here. Agriculture is well specialised, due to the 180 days, i.e. the longest growing season in Finland (potatoes, sugar rootsÖ). LEGENDS Gilgamesh and Nagu The Epic of Gilgamesh tells us about the legendary adventures of this historic King of Uruk , who ruled according to the Mesopotamian king lists c. 2400 BC. One of the stories describes how he searched the secrets of eternal life. For this purpose he travelled to meet the sole person surviving the Great Flood, his relative called Utnapishtim. Our hero travelled from Mesopotamia across the wall-like mountains, through the deep dark forests, and the coldness of the un-experienced winter till the end of the World. Gilgamesh froze almost to death in the ëLand of no Sunriseí where ëSun God Shamash is not rulingí. Finally, the Sun however rose again, moving curiously enough horizontally around the keen observer, instead of the vertical way at home in Mesopotamia. Actually the Sun rose and set behind one single mountain alone (just like in the Nordic countries). As the continent ended, Gilgamesh had a boat to be built. With its builder he paddled across the sea surrounding the continent, or the ëSea of Wisdomí (Bronze Age paddling boats are well known in the Nordic Archaeological sources). Curiously enough the island, where Gilgamesh finally harboured was called ëNaguí, which in the Akkadian language means both ëLandí and ëAreaí, not unlike our habit to use parallel toponyms for the two ëlandsí or main islands of our municipality of Nagu: ëStor Naguí = ëStorlandetí (The Great Nagu/Land) and ëLillandetí = ëLill Naguí (The Little Nagu/Land). Here, on the ëisland landí Nagu, lived Utnapishtim, the fore-figure for Noah as described in the Bible. After finally meeting him, behind the borders of the continent, the exhausted Gilgamesh fell at a deep sleep. Utnapishtim asked his wife to bake one bread a day, setting them in an orderly row on the table, so to be able to indicate the number of the days Gilgamesh had slept. Baking bread at Bronze Age Nagu fits nicely with the early corn pollen finds in Nagu. In the foreword of the great epic of Gilgamesh, the hero is described as the brave man who brought the story of Great Flood from behind the edges of the World, i.e. from Nagu to Mesopotamia. Is this story possibly reflecting the Great Flood of c. 5500 BC, as the waters of the Baltic Sea ñ then ëLake Ancylusí ñ suddenly burst out lowering until it reached the level of ëthe Litorina Seaí, some 200-50 metres lower. This catastrophic flood dug out 1/3 of the original land mass of Denmark into the Atlantic Ocean, creating the Belt sounds. The area of Mesopotamia has nothing comparable to tell about. The oldest known world map, preserved in the British Museum, shows Babylon in the middle, the rounded continent with an ocean surrounding it. On the top it reads ëthe island of Naguí, ëthe Land where the Sun is not shiningí. Next to them there reads ëUtnapishtimí. According to the linguists, the Finnish language has still today some originally Akkadian words, like ëmaksuí, or ëpaymentí. St. Olav and Nagu Our Mediaeval stone church is named after the Viking king Olav Haraldsson of Norway (995-1030 A.D.). After Olav had ruled happily a decade Knut the Great of England and Denmark, together with the pagan Norvegians, overthrew him in 1027. He left for Novgorod to get support. In 1030 Olav left the waters of Nagu to take back his seat in Norway with the support of the international mercenaries bought from Novgorod. The hopeless battle of Stiklestad followed on July 29, 1030 A.D. St. Olav died at once. After this he however gained a unchallenged reputation by any other Norwegian King or Saint. By dying St. Olav managed to unite Norway as one kingdom, and made it Christian. For centuries St. Olav has constituted a uniting force in Norway, and is continually referred to as îRex Perpetuus Norwegiaî ñ ëNorway's Eternal Kingí. Pilgrims and visitors have for centuries visited the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim where St. Olav is buried, the near by battlefield of Stiklestad, as well as at the numerous St. Olavís churches in the various countries, including some 20 in Finland, one of them in Nagu. Here, as well, is the day of Olavís hopeless fight at Stiklestad still dedicated to his memory, and considered as the birthday of the congregation as well as the municipality of Nagu. Olav was canonized in 1164 A.D.Our first wooden church may well have been built after that. The present stone church was built around the walls of the older log church in the end of the 14th century, or in the beginning of the 15th century. The oldest direct reference to the congregation of Nagu has been made in 1395, which makes the current year the 611th anniversary of Nagu. Our church is known of its wooden shingles, some of them being the oldest in the country, preserved under the roof of the later southern entrance, as well as the oldest organs in the country, type Schwann. Blanche de Namur, íDrottning Blankaí and Nagu Blanka the daughter of count Jean I of Namur was born in c. 1320. She was a lady of great beauty and intelligence. She was also a very powerful woman, knowing exactly how to use her wits and assets to get what she wanted. In 1335 she was married happily with Magnus Eriksson, the young King of Sweden, Norway, SkÂne ñ as well as Finland. She gave birth to two princes, Erik and HÂkan. In 1347 Blanka visited Nagu, while his husband prepared a war against Novgorod. She was so taken by the beauty of our Archipelago that she threw her golden crown right into the sea, stating that this superb environment deserves it much better than she herself. This crown can still be seen on our Coat of Arms, as well as in the local toponyms, like ëGullkrona (an island)í or ëGullkrona fj‰rdení (an opening between the groups of islands). The Scandinavians do still generally remember their dear queen e.g. by a childrenís rhyme (ëRida rida rankaÖí). We still have a distillery in Nagu, a novelty from Blankaís time, as well as Blanche de Namur bier, Blancheís French Menu, etc. Moreover, slavery is still forbidden, the land borders of Finland do exist, and our country has the Land Laws, all unknown before Blancheís reign. Above is the famous painting of Blanka, a copy of which hangs on the walls of so many homes in Finland, painted by Albert Edelfelt 1877 (oil 96,5 x 70 cm. Art Museum Ateneum, Helsinki). Wellcome to experience Nagu! Nagu Folkpark 2006





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