Gotska Sandön
Swedish Baltic Sea island
Gotska Sandön (literally translated as "The Gotlandic Sand Island") is an uninhabited Swedish island north of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It has been a national park since 1909.
Geography
Sandön is situated 38 km (24 mi) north of Fårö in the Baltic Sea. Legally a part of Gotland province, it is approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) long and 6 km (3.7 mi) wide, with a total area of approximately 36 km2 (14 sq mi). The island is part of Fårö socken (not to be confused with parish). It comprises the same area as the administrative Fårö District, established on 1 January 2016.
On the northwest tip of the island is a church, Gotska Sandön Chapel. As of 2019, Gotska Sandön Chapel along with Fårö Church belong to Fårö parish in Norra Gotlands pastorat.
During the summer, there are regular boat tours from Fårö Island and Nynäshamn on the mainland.
Nature of Gotska Sandön
The island consists mostly of sand and is dominated by beaches, dunes and especially pine forests.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Gotska Sandön” as swedish Baltic Sea island. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as swedish Baltic Sea island. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q387843. VIAF identifies the subject as 235102200. The Library of Congress control number is sh2001001415. Authority coordinates are 58.361, 19.248. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1909, 2016 and 2019.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gotska Sandön”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gotska Sandön primary sources, Gotska Sandön archive and Gotska research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gotska Sandön”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gotska Sandön” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.