Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

A number of fishing stations around the coasts of the Baltic islands of Fårö and Gotland recall the heyday of the herring trade, when farmers would become fishermen for a few weeks.

article summary —

Abandoned places have often featured in hidden europe, with our repertoire of lost communities ranging from a Russian mining town in the Arctic to an Italian village drowned by the rising waters of a new reservoir. The Baltic islands of Gotland and Fårö, featured in this issue of the magazine, have around their coasts a number of very distinctive settlements which are either abandoned or, insofar as they are still used, have entirely lost their original function.

In the heyday of the herring trade, many farmers on Gotland and Fårö supplemented their income by becoming part-time fishermen. This led to a development of a number simple fishing stations around the coast; the remains of many still exist today.


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About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 53.