Östra Mörskär – a time capsule in a fishing hut

Östra (Eastern) Mörskär is one of the old fishing locations out in the Kökar archipelago. I visited its sister island, the western Mörskär and now it was time to conquer the eastern of these two faraway islands.

The distance between Östra and Västra Mörskär is less than a mile, i.e. a little over one kilometer. I decided to tour the island from its south side, this way I would tour almost the whole island and I could see what it looks like.

The island itself is as gorgeous as its sister, so I won’t go into more detail about its rocks and shores. I supposed you have heard enough of those, lol.

I even thought I’d see a cave in the middle of the island, but I’m not sure. I have to go some other time to see and explore the whole island on foot as well.

Östra Mörskär’s fishing hut

The absolute highlight of Östra Mörskär is the fishing hut at the northern tip of the island with its sheltered port.

With the elevation of the land, the port was now narrow and shallow, but earlier it must have been quite a splendid, sheltered port for fishing boats (middle picture below).

As I paddled into the little bay, I tried to imagine what it looked like full of boats. On shore, there were three grey buildings, and I thought that the biggest one of them must be the fishing hut. 

I walked cautiously around the huts, I don’t even know why I was so cautious. I guess I was afraid of the spirits of the island, who knows-

I peered in through the windows of the hut. Finally I went to the grey door, took out the logs in front of it, which are meant to prevent the door from opening, and entered the porch, and then the hut itself.

If walls could speak (and they did)

And oh, what a hut it was. Like a museum, yet “real”, here, in its authentic environment, and preserved, as it has been centuries ago.

Inside, on the table, there was some information about the owners and the history of the hut. The owner of the hut lives in Kökar. The hut was erected on the island by his great-great-grandfather. The hut was originally built as early as the 18th century.

There were originally five fishing huts on the island, but this one is all that remains today. When herring fishing stopped, all other huts were moved to Kökar.

In the 1960s and ’70s, renovations were made, including a refurbishment of the roof, following the old style and renewing the window.

I wonder why there have only been five huts on this island when there have been many more people and huts in the neighboring Västra Mörskär island. The walls didn’t tell me that.

The walls told other stories instead. The cardboard-type materials on the walls had guest writings, the oldest one I found was from 1932, and the latest was from the 80s.

Then, apparently, a booklet was invented, in which guests can make their entries. Last year, there were 14 entries in the guestbook. This year I was the 8^th person on the island, or at least 8^th to write on the guest book. 

There was a shelf on the wall with some porseline dishes. By the fireplace, there was a coffee pan. All the food was cooked in the fireplace, on an open fire. I wondered where they got all the firewood. Well, of course they had to bring it with them.

Here’s a gallery with pictures of this fine fishing hut.

What has the hut seen?

My mind was wandering the same way as the day before on Västra Mörskär. What all has this hut seen? Who has been sitting on these benches? What were they thinking of life?

I can’t even think about what was going on in people’s minds at the time. Have they accepted the harsh conditions as part of life, or have they desired for more, believed in a better future, been disappointed, rejoiced, grieved, and loved?

I sat in the silent hut for a long time. 

Apparently, the cabin seemed to function as a wilderness cabin, meaning you could also stay there overnight. However, the beds were quite short, so I can’t imagine having a good night’s sleep there! 

I walked around in the surroundings of the hut for a while. On the north side there is a slightly higher cliff, they must have looked at the weather as well as fishermen returning from the sea from here.

On top of the cliff there was a small cairn, a formation of a few stones, easily seen from the far sea.

One of the smaller buildings has served as a salt storehouse in its time. The fish were salted here as soon as they were caught. So a lot of salt was needed.

I didn’t find out the purpose of the third building.

I want stay a night on this island sometime! Now it was time for me to head towards Kökar and more sheltered waters, as the wind was picking up.

The visit to these remote islands was the highlight of my summer!

Remember to read about Västra Mörskär:

How to get here?

A visit to the island can only be made by boat or kayak. If you paddle, note that the islands are far away by the open sea and are therefore sensitive to strong winds. There are no islands here to provide shelter.

For boaters, the waters are challenging. There are rocks and shallow everywhere. There are no official waterways to get here.

The mooring is also challenging, there are no trees, although there are mooring hooks in the rock, but the former harbour bay is shallow and small.

If you’re not a paddler, you might want to ask the locals in Kökar for a ride. According to what I have heard, at least Sandvik Gästhamn & Camping organizes charter trips to the Kökar archipelago. Ask here.

Another island worth visiting is Källskär: