An Eye For An Eye Will Only Make The Whole World Blind – Part Five
The Märket Lighthouse
As a result of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, signed on 17th September 1809, the defeated Swedes were forced to concede the whole of Finland, as well as all its territory east of the Torne River, to the victorious Russians. A new border between the two countries had to be established and as is often the way a line was drawn between Sweden and the Aland archipelago, bisecting the tiny, uninhabited island of Märket, all 8.2 acres of it.
That part of the Baltic Sea is particularly treacherous. In 1873 alone, eight ships foundered as they overcorrected their course to avoid the rocky outcrop. Something had to be done and the obvious course of action was to build a lighthouse. Finnish architect, Georg Schreck, was commissioned to erect the structure in 1885.
The point he chose was, not unnaturally, the highest spot on the island, some 3 metres above sea level. There was only one tiny problem – it happened to be in the Swedish part of the island. But the Russians ploughed on regardless and on 11th November 1885 the lighthouse was commissioned. Perhaps reluctant to provoke the Russian bear again, bearing in mind what happened in 1809, the Swedes accepted this illegal encroachment on to their territory but it was a festering sore.
Fast forward to 1917 and following the disintegration of the Russian Empire, the Finns gained their independence and with it, the Russian half of the island of Märket. They manned the lighthouse and carried on as if they owned the spot of land upon which it stood.
From time to time the illegal Finnish occupation of the lighthouse was a source of friction with the Swedes but the matter wasn’t pressed hard as the lighthouse was serving a useful service to passing ships. It was not until 1985 that the thorny problem was resolved and the solution was something that only experienced diplomats could dream up.
The answer was to redesign the border so that the Finns retained the lighthouse – by now it was unmanned, the last lighthouse keeper having departed in 1977 – and the Swedes gained an equal amount of territory to that which they ceded. Rather like an inverted S the new line started in the middle of the island, veering into the Swedish area to ensure that the lighthouse remained under Finnish control and then into the Finnish area to give the Swedes some additional territory. To ensure that the new border was correctly recognised, holes were drilled into the rocks marking the spot.
Just to add some further unnecessary complications, the Swedish portion now falls into two separate municipal jurisdictions. But at least as both countries are subscribers to the Schengen agreement, there is no need for any passport control.
Having legalised their claim to the lighthouse, that seems to have been it as far as the Finns were concerned. It is still operational but is suffering from what can only be described as a lack of tender love and care. It is crumbling and badly needs some maintenance work. Since 2007 groups of volunteers have spent their summers on the island patching it up and showing intrepid visitors to the island.
If you are thinking of paying it a visit, check the weather.
