The wreck Swiks – a stranded legend on northern Öland
On the beach in Trollskogen on northern Öland rests the remains of Swiks – the three-masted schooner that ran aground here in the winter of 1926. Today, the wreck is a quiet reminder of the forces of the sea, the conditions of shipping and the dramatic event that has made Swiks one of Öland's most talked about stranded legends.
Swiks, also known as Swix, was an Åland three-masted schooner built in 1902 in Upesgrīva, Latvia, of pine and oak with galvanised iron bolts. During her 24 years in operation, she sailed around the world with changing cargo and owners, but is today best known for her last voyage.
On December 21, 1926, on the way home to Mariehamn from Germany for Christmas celebrations, Swiks was hit by a heavy snowstorm off the northeastern tip of Öland. In severe weather, the crew tried to round the cape to seek shelter, but the ship came too close to land and ran aground in the dunes just off the beach. The crew of seven men managed to get ashore by lifeboat and walked through the twisted Trollskogen forest before finding shelter in a cabin in Kauniainen.
The wreck lay on the shore for a long time until a winter storm in the 1950s threw her onto land, where she eventually broke in two. Today, parts of Swiks are still to be seen. She lies up on the pebble beach where storms over the years have moved her
On December 21, 1926, on the way home to Mariehamn from Germany for Christmas celebrations, Swiks was hit by a heavy snowstorm off the northeastern tip of Öland. In severe weather, the crew tried to round the cape to seek shelter, but the ship came too close to land and ran aground in the dunes just off the beach. The crew of seven men managed to get ashore by lifeboat and walked through the twisted Trollskogen forest before finding shelter in a cabin in Kauniainen.
The wreck lay on the shore for a long time until a winter storm in the 1950s threw her onto land, where she eventually broke in two. Today, parts of Swiks are still to be seen. She lies up on the pebble beach where storms over the years have moved her