Hanö

The entire island Hanö is a protected area of Natura 2000, the European network for sensitive natural areas. The southern half of the 60 meters high island in the Baltic Sea is predominantly forested with gnarled hornbeam and populated by a herd of fallow deer which was brought here in the 1950s.

In the forest you can find two mystical ground pits, Gamla and Nya Kar. According to the legend, the footprints of a giant. At the highest point of the island stands the white lighthouse Hanö Fyr from 1906. It is one of the brightest beacons on the Baltic Sea with a range of around 40 kilometers.

On the way through an open grassy landscape from the lighthouse towards the northern tip of the island lies the Engelska Kyrkogård, a former British military cemetery. In the Napoleonic wars, Hanö was used as a British naval base from 1810 to 1812.

About 30,000 people visit the island every year and immerse in the romantic beauty of Hanö. Most of them come with the ferry from the port in Nogersund. Others come with their own boats. There is a kiosk and a small restaurant in the harbor of Hanö. Also close to the harbor is the island museum Bödeboden, which tells fascinating stories of the past of Hanö. Those who want to enjoy nature and tranquility of the island a little longer, can stay in the hostel (vandrahem) in the former island school.

With an area of 2.14 square kilometers, Hanö is not particularly large. Around one dozen permanent residents living on the car-free island in Hanöläge, the only settlement and harbour of the island.