Djurö National Park
An old wooden shed by Noludden.Foto: Ulf Wiktander

History

The Crown was the first formal owner of Djurö during the late 16th century. The islands then were part of the Thorsö parish, where most homesteads were owned by the government.

Island residents who moved in during the same period supported themselves with fishing and farming on a small scale. At the most, four families lived on the islands at one time. When the resident population moved away from the islands at the end of the 19th century, those activities were replaced by hunting, and a hunting lodge was built.

In 1979 the government took over Djurö, but before that, ownership shifted between the government and private individuals during various time frames.

Lighthouse station in Vänern

Nowadays Djurö is best known as the lighthouse station in Lake Vänern. For hundreds of years people on the northern point most likely have had bonfires or lit up the night in other ways to warn boats about dangerous sunken rocks. The first lighthouse was erected in 1874. It was connected with a residence and employed lighthouse keepers lived there. In 1969 the last year-round resident left the island. He was a lighthouse keeper and fisherman combined. In 1912 the old lighthouse was replaced by the lighthouse station that now stands by Malbergshamn.

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