Käringön i Bohuslän - en idyllisk ö utanför Orust

Käringön is an idyllic island off Orust in Bohuslän. Here you can sunbathe and swim, walk in picturesque alleys and hang out in cosy restaurants in the harbour. We made a lovely day trip by boat from Tuvesvik on Orust.

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Käringön in Bohuslän

Käringön in Bohuslän is a car- and bike-free little island far out in the sea, perfect for a day trip.

Käringön is located just south of the islands of Gullholmen and Härmanö off Orust, in Bohuslän on the west coast of Sweden.

Why is the island called 'Käringön'?

Käringön has a history of fishing and became a permanent settlement as early as 1596, when a group of young fishing families from Orust chose to move here to be closer to the fishing grounds. Since then, fishing has been an important part of life on the island and in the 18th century the community grew with the 'great herring season'.

But where does the name "Käringön" come from? It seems to be a bit unclear. According to the island's own website, the word comes from the Scottish word "Cairn", which means sea mark. West Sweden's website tells a story about 'lucky cairns' and 'unlucky cairns' that fishermen would meet on their way to the jetty, and that the term 'cairn' was eventually used to name a sea mark at Saltskär.

Whatever the connection, a statue of a 'bitch' can be found on Käringön today. The statue was made by Franz Glatzl in 1996, and a plaque reads: "The skirt is built like a hake, a fixed sea mark. Another word for hake is käring'.

The Käring statue is something of a landmark on the island, as is the huge whale jaw, which stands up like a gate. The jaw came to Käringön in 1990 as a gift from a summer visitor, and comes from a bowhead whale.

Käringstatyn på Käringön i Bohuslän — The Carrington statue

Valkäken på Käringön i Bohuslän — The Carrington statue

Travelling to Käringön from Orust

If you do not have your own boat, or choose to take a water taxi, you can easily travel to Käringön by ferry from Tuvesvik on Orust. From here, the line Tuvesvik - Gullholmen - Käringön is operated by Västtrafik, and the journey to Käringön takes about 40 minutes. As Käringön is both car- and bicycle-free, you must leave all vehicles in Tuvesvik.

We parked our motorhome in the nearest car park, and then walked to the ferry terminal. We bought a ticket from a machine before boarding, but another option is to buy a ticket via the app "Västtrafik ToGo".

Parkering i Tuvesvik, Orust — We left our motorhome in Tuvesvik and took a ferry to Käringön.

Gullholmen

Before reaching Käringön, the ferry docked at Gullholmen. This is a small and wonderfully charming island where the houses are close together. In fact, because of the dense development, the island is often called "Sweden's most densely populated island".

However, the other part of the island community consists of Härmanö, which is instead one of Bohuslän's largest nature reserves. There are several hiking trails and excellent places for bird watching.

In Gullholmen's harbour there are a few restaurants and cafés, and we considered getting off here. However, we chose to prioritise Käringön on our excursion.

The harbour on Käringön

When you arrive by ferry to Käringön, you will of course come to the harbour. This is a truly idyllic place with red boathouses, small boats, restaurants and cafés. Here you will find Peterson's krog, Crêperiet, Samson's wine café which serves luxury pizzas and a grill where you can buy sausages and chips.

You'll also find a bunch of cute little shops selling clothes, accessories, furnishings and gifts.

Nice swimming spots on Käringön

Right next to the harbour is a nice little swimming area, which was extremely popular when we were here. There are both bathing ladders and floating docks, and the children had great fun catching crabs with small fishing rods, bait and buckets.

In addition to this bathing place, there are of course many other bathing places around the island. These include the Trampoline Bath by a rocky lagoon, the Open Air Bath dating back to the 19th century and the Cold Baths, where nude bathing is the order of the day, ladies for themselves and men for themselves.

Beautiful cliffs and charming alleys

In general, it is super charming just about everywhere on the island. We went for a spontaneous walk over the cliffs and passed the cute little lighthouse.

Then we entered the alleys where the fine red and white houses are densely packed, surrounded by greenery and hollyhocks.

Käringön's church - and Samson the priest

We also checked out the lovely little church. The first settlers on Käringön, who moved to the island at the end of the 16th century, had to do without a church. It was only in 1796 that a church could be built, thanks to the good herring fishery.

Just over fifty years later, the priest August Simson arrived on the island and left his mark on life there. Simson was both a priest and a teacher and, according to the Kärringön website, was very influential. Among other things, he introduced:

Three new public holidays: The preacher's birthday, ordination and landing on the island would be celebrated with a service and the ringing of bells.
New names for the locals: Parishioners with son names were given new names, such as Västerberg or Österberg, depending on where they lived. Samson also often decided the names of newborns, preferably something biblical.
Marriage cancellation: Samson believed he could judge who was suitable for each other, and cancelled marriages that he considered unsuitable.

Samson's vicarage - now a restaurant

Simson also had a new vicarage built for himself and his wife Fredrika with his own funds.

The building is currently managed by one of the island's associations and the ground floor is rented out to the Simsons restaurant. Here you can eat a seasonal menu in five sittings, but there is also a bistro menu.

The pilot's lookout

We also walked to Lotsutkiken, which is a cute old pilot's house of ten square metres.

Here, from the south-western tip of the island, there are beautiful views of the sea and the surrounding islets and skerries.

Lunch at Peterson's Tavern

After all the walks around the island we were hungry and longed for lunch. The choice fell on Peterson's restaurant in the harbour where Helena ordered a "sea wallenbergare" and Peter ordered a fish soup. Very good, and a fantastic place to enjoy lunch!

Karingo Oyster Bar

Another restaurant we have to tell you about, even though we weren't there, is the Karingo oyster bar. Located in a small red fishing shack, this exclusive place offers an oyster tasting or spa with champagne and oysters. This sounds both luxurious and cosy! Note that the oyster bar is open most of the year, but is closed in July.

Return to Tuvesvik on Orust island

For our part, we lay down and sunbathed, and rested, on the rocks for an hour after lunch. Then it was time to return to Tuvesvik on Orust. What a wonderful day! An absolutely fantastic excursion, which we can highly recommend!

Film from Käringön

Here you will also find a short film from Käringön.

See more in the neighbourhood

When you are satisfied with Käringön and Gullholmen, there is of course more to experience at Orust. For example, Mollösund, Malö and Flatö are beautiful. It is also nice to experience Tjörn and the islands of Dyrön and Åstol.

Have you visited Kärringön?

Have you visited Käringön in Bohuslän? Or perhaps you have experiences from other islands on the west coast? Please tell us!

Facts about Käringön in Bohuslän

Landscape: Bohuslän
County: Västra Götaland County
Municipality: Orust municipality
Population: About 60 permanent residents and a couple of hundred part-time residents.
Read more: You can find more information at the island's own website.

History of Käring Island

1596: The island became a permanent settlement when some fishermen's families chose to move to the nearest fishing grounds.
1664: The fisherman's son Olof Knape was born on the island. He went to sea at the age of 8 and soon saw France, England, America and the East Indies. Over time, he played an important role in the island's history.
1700: Olof Knape was hand-picked as an Admiralty captain by King Charles XII, which meant something akin to a state 'pirate' career. Knape participated in successful battles against attacking Danes, but was mainly involved in the privateering activities of the time. In time, he was knighted as Olof Strömstierna.
18th century: Herring fishing provided abundant catches for many years, during the so-called herring fishing seasons, and the community on the island grew to a population of over 300 people.
19th century: The population of the island increased further.
1849: August Simson gave a trial sermon in Käringö church and was subsequently elected chapel preacher, and was given the position of both priest and teacher. Simson was a schartauan and gave strict sermons.
1877: Samson had a new rectory built with his own money.
1900: Samson died and was buried on Käringön.
1912: A total of 662 people were registered on Käringön, which is the largest population the island has ever had.

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READ MORE: Things to do in Bohuslän - tips, sights and experiences

9 Comments

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Annar Aas says:

I have many fond memories of Kärringön. For 15 years I sailed every spring with the mission boat Elida. The island was oblgatory, where we celebrated mass in the church and had baptisms for the unbaptised confirmands, unforgettable. Being dependent on home care now, I have met a couple of those who were baptised there - they are between 35-50 years old now - they remember with joy. Andrea and I got engaged at the lighthouse in 2002, ate at Pettson's pub and stayed overnight. Kerringön has a big place in my heart's memory bank.

07 August 2022 - 9:15

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  What a nice place to have nice memories from! 🙂 Great that you travelled right here, sooo nice on Käringön really!!!
  
  07 August 2022 - 14:20
  
Ditte says:

How nice that you took a trip out to Kärringön. A clear favourite with us. Have friends who have houses/apartments here.
Her father used to be an archipelago priest here among the islands, so he has told her many exciting stories...
Glad you tried Petersons krog. I also like it
Too bad you missed the oyster bar. On the other hand, you can't do everything in one day. We usually have more time and there are good places on Kärringön to stay overnight. But you have to plan ahead.
Glad you enjoyed the visit.
Very nice pictures where the recognition factor was high.
In the past we have also sailed out here. Really nice too.

07 August 2022 - 13:54

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Glad you have been here so much and have such a relationship here! Understand that the oyster bar is an experience, it seemed so! But we were extremely happy with the visit anyway! 🙂
  
  07 August 2022 - 14:22
  
Peter H says:

There is a book about Samson and Käringön. "The Liberator" by Lars Hesslind. It is several years since I read it. But as I remember it, I thought it was really good... It's a novel so not everything is true to reality. In the book the island is called Stormö and the priest Morath... At least in the book he not only advised couples against marriage but also controlled who would marry each other.

07 August 2022 - 21:23

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Thank you for your comment! How exciting! It seems to have been a very special man - in a special place - so I can see how it could make an interesting book!
  
  08 August 2022 - 7:27
  
bmlarstravellingblog says:

Imagine how many times we have talked about going to Käringön, but we have not got there. On our campervan trip to Tjörn and Orust in 2019, we did the opposite of you; we got off the ferry at Gullholmen and strolled around there, so cosy, so Käringön is still on that long list of destinations to visit.

07 August 2022 - 22:25

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  There are so many islands to choose from, so it is impossible to get to all of them. We have also had to choose, which at the same time means opting out ... But Käringön is really nice, so a visit there is recommended! 🙂
  
  08 August 2022 - 7:28
  
Lena - good for the soul says:

Wow, how nice it is on the West Coast. Have been there far too little. Would like to go back.

Hehe, a bit funny that the priest Samson changed his surname for people except for himself then, apparently 🙂 ).

Hug Lena

25 October 2022 - 17:59

Käringön in Bohuslän - an idyllic island off the coast of Orust.

Käringön in Bohuslän

Why is the island called 'Käringön'?

Travelling to Käringön from Orust

Gullholmen

The harbour on Käringön

Nice swimming spots on Käringön

Beautiful cliffs and charming alleys

Käringön's church - and Samson the priest

Samson's vicarage - now a restaurant

The pilot's lookout

Lunch at Peterson's Tavern

Karingo Oyster Bar

Return to Tuvesvik on Orust island

Film from Käringön

See more in the neighbourhood

Have you visited Kärringön?

Facts about Käringön in Bohuslän

History of Käring Island

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9 Comments

Annar Aas says:

Helena says:

Ditte says:

Helena says:

Peter H says:

Helena says:

bmlarstravellingblog says:

Helena says:

Lena - good for the soul says:

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