Lågskär

Lågskär (Swedish for "low skerry") is a small island within the Åland archipelago of Finland. It belongs to the municipality of Lemland. It is situated about south of Mariehamn in the Baltic's Sea of Åland. The main island of Lågskär measures in area. Rock stacks, sea cliffs and rocky shores are found along the coastline of the island. As a breeding ground for waterfowl, Lågskär has the status of an Important Bird Area (IBA) and is frequented by ornithologists who use the Lågskär Lighthouse buildings during their stay. In the past, several vessels have sunk off the coast.

==History== thumb|right| which ran aground in heavy fog here during World War I The earliest habitation on the island was linked to a cairn and a wooden beacon that existed on the island during the 1600s and 1700s. In the 1840s, when the first lighthouse was constructed to replace the beacon, there were 20–30 inhabitants comprising the families of the lighthouse keepers. In addition to rearing livestock, fishing, and hunting wildlife, the families ran a school for their children; a lighthouse society functioned at the time. The wooden lighthouse was remodeled into a stone structure which was destroyed during World War I. The existing lighthouse, built in 1920, introduced a rotating gas lighting device, noted as the first of its kind in the world. After the lighthouse was automated in 1961, the lighthouse keepers vacated the island. It is uninhabited since.