Adelsö
| Adelsö | |
| Island | |
 |
|
| Country | Sweden |
|---|---|
| County | |
| Municipality | Ekerö |
| Location | Mälaren |
| - coordinates | 59°22′51″N 17°29′46″E / 59.38083°N 17.49611°ECoordinates: 59°22′51″N 17°29′46″E / 59.38083°N 17.49611°E |
| Area | 26.08 km2 (10 sq mi) |
Adelsö is an island in the middle of Lake Mälaren in Sweden, near southern and northern Björkfjärden. The administrative center of the important settlement Birka (on the neighbouring island Björkö) was situated at Hovgården on Adelsö.
The Adelsö landscape consists of pine-clad rocky hills and moraine ridges dotted with fields and deciduous trees, mainly oak. The highest spot on Adelsö is Kunsta Mountain, which is 53.2 m above sea level. The top of Kunsta has an outlook tower offering a great view of the middle of Lake Mälaren.
There are many edible mushrooms and fruit that can be found on Adelsö including chanterelles, black trumpet, blue berries, lingonberries, juniper berries, cherries, apples, and pears.
Adelsö has about 700 permanent residents, a number that has been quite stable throughout the centuries. Many residents commute to jobs in , but there are also farmers and fishermen. During the summer months, the island is popular with tourists.
Swedish saunas can be found all along the waterfront. Saunas are very popular in Sweden to sweat out impurities then jump in the ice cold lake water.
Buses (lines 311 and 312) run from the bus terminal at Brommaplan in the middle of Bromma, to Sjöängen on Munsö. From here, the Adelsö Ferry, a vehicular cable ferry crosses to Adelsö. Bus 312 travels on the ferry and traverses the whole island. The ferry runs every half hour during the day and hourly during evenings and nights. The night ferry runs less frequently during the summer months.
The history of Adelsö began with the Stone Age. Adelsö at that time consisted of small islands which emerged from the sea at the end of the Ice Age. Mälaren, a freshwater lake, did not yet exist, so the skerries that were to become Adelsö lay beneath the Baltic Sea.
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Wikipedia