Sollerö parish

Sollerö parish in Mora municipality includes the island of Sollerön in Siljan and the forest area west of the lake, a total of 500 km2. The island is nearly 8 km long and 4 km wide, the highest point is 204 meters above sea level, which is 43 meters above the average level of Siljan. On the mainland is the highest point in the parish, Säliträdberget, which is 597 meters high. The distance from Sollerö church to the center of Mora is about 150 km. The settlement is spread over seven partially contiguous villages on the island and two villages, Gesunda and Ryssa, on the mainland.

Sollerön and the Siljan area are the result of a gigantic meteorite impact more than 300 million years ago, which formed the large crater that is now called the Siljan Ring. The name Sollerön comes from Solund (sun island) – on Sollerön the sun shines!

Like the rest of the Siljan region, Sollerön can be best characterized as rural and "intermediate". The landscape is varied and attractive with cultivated land mainly on the island. Contact with the sea gives character. Deep uninhabited forests spread out towards Västerdalarna. Gesundaberget at a height of just over 500 meters is a well-known eye-catcher.

The strongly varying natural conditions have given Sollerön several faces. A fault escarpment runs in a north-south direction across the middle of the island. East of the escarpment, up on the island's central and gently arched hill, lies the majority of the island's settlements, gathered in larger clusters of villages surrounded by farmland. To the west, the island is significantly more low-lying and the land is dominated by forest and some marshland. The mainland is mountainous and high.

Sollerön is classified as a nationally significant site from both a natural and cultural point of view. Sollerön's long cultural history has left many traces in local customs and in the landscape. The first known ones are 5,000 years old. A golden age came around the 11th century when the area developed with iron production as its base. Rich finds from a large burial ground from the Viking Age, Dalarna's largest Iron Age burial ground, provide evidence of this.

During the late Middle Ages, Sollerön was a chapel parish under the Mora parish. In 1775, the people of Sollerön were given permission to form their own parish and build their own church. The parish was named Sofia Magdalena after the then Queen of Sweden, but after just over 100 years changed its name to Sollerön parish. Sollerön was its own municipality until the municipal merger in 1971, when the current Mora municipality was formed.

The parish has 1,700 people living there, of which about 1,200 live on the island and the rest on the mainland in the villages of Gesunda and Ryssa and in the "Sollerö sparsely populated area", including some of the old mountain huts.

The population has remained more or less constant over the past 50 years. From around 2,000 people around the turn of the last century and into the 1930s, it fell and reached a low point in the early 1970s of just under 1,500 people. Since then, there has been a welcome increase again.

The net migration is positive and births now largely outweigh those who die. The age distribution is fairly good. There are good conditions for continued small growth in the parish's population in the future.

Sollerön was previously dominated by small-scale farming with forestry and other complementary activities. The pastoral system was extremely well developed. There are now no dairy farmers left in the parish, but there are a few farms with meat animals, one with a large sheep herd. Some have small-scale animal husbandry with sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, etc. The number of horses has increased and today helps to keep the landscape open. It is not just a question of "pleasure horses" but also of commercial breeding, training, riding and trotting. One company grows strawberries and raspberries on a large scale and horticulture for its own use is common. Fruit growing has a long history on Sollerön and there is now a small apple cider house, where apples from the three-kilometer-long apple tree avenue can be juiced, among other things.

There have never been any major industries in the parish, but there are plenty of small businesses in a wide variety of industries. They are involved in tourism, crafts, house building, service, trade, graphic design, hair and body care, etc. Construction work is still an important activity. Timbering and church boat building are old specialties that live on. Tourism is becoming increasingly important. Tomteland on Gesundaberget is popular and provides many jobs. Unfortunately, the ski resort is closed, but efforts are being made to reopen it and develop the business. There are several holiday villages, as well as a campsite, golf course, etc. Consulting services in new industries are becoming increasingly common.

Sollerön is now largely a commuter village for work in Mora but also to places further afield. Commuting is not a new phenomenon, however. There is a long tradition of seeking work elsewhere, such as "men's work", forestry work and construction jobs. The fäbod system also meant a kind of nomadic life.

A wind farm on Säliträdberget and on Skuruberget with eight turbines was put into operation in 2008. Agreements with the owner on wind/district money provide the local associations with a welcome resource boost. Since the start, SEK 1,665,000 has been distributed to 38 associations for 963 investments and projects.

The community life with about 65 associations is varied and active. A local history association, a sports association with several sections, two choirs, a housekeeping guild, a golf club, a weaving hut, a recycling/flea market, a community forest and a fisheries conservation association are some examples.

All the villages except the most centrally located ones, including the church village, have their own village associations that manage village cottages, bathing areas and boat docks, organize maypole raisings and village festivals, etc. In several of the mountain pastures there are mountain pasture associations that have corresponding activities and also manage ponds and pastures.

The service is relatively well developed, although a lot has disappeared in recent years. There is a well-reputed school for grades 1-6, after-school care, two preschools, an attractive retirement home, library, community facilities, well-stocked shops and some with special ranges, a petrol station, pub, restaurant, hairdresser, car repair shops etc. There are good bus connections to Mora.

Sollerö parish association was formed in the autumn of 1994 with the aim of stimulating and coordinating development work in the parish and being responsible for external contact with the municipality, county administrative board, etc. The parish association has worked very actively with many different projects and in good cooperation with the many associations and companies in the area.