Houtskär by boat – church village, wooden church and archipelago museum

Houtskär is a former archipelago municipality that has been part of the City of Parainen since 2009. It is known for its tranquillity, its nature and its own culture. The church village of Näsby is a peaceful harbour village with a sheltered guest harbour and services close by.

The village's best-known sight is Houtskär Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, on the shore of Hålaxviken. The red-ochre wooden cruciform church was built in 1703–1704 under the direction of Erik Nilsson from Ostrobothnia. The church has 450 seats and an altarpiece, Jesus in Gethsemane, painted by Victor Westerholm in 1887. The lower part of the bell tower dates from 1753 and the upper part from 1871. The Finnish Heritage Agency has designated the church surroundings, which also include the vicarage built in 1874 and the old parish hall, a nationally significant built cultural environment.

The Houtskär area has about 1,600 islands and skerries, and because of post-glacial land uplift the islands are still growing and multiplying. Swedish-speaking settlement in the area is estimated to date from the 13th century, and most of today's villages are already mentioned in Gustav Vasa's land register of 1540. Houtskär belonged to the parish of Korppoo until 1867. The traditional livelihoods were fishing and seafaring, and the population was at its highest in the late 19th century, about 2,000.

Locals speak their own dialect among themselves, houtskärska, which differs from other Swedish dialects and can be hard for outsiders to understand. You can get to know the dialect in the book 'Läsåbook e hootsjärskå', published by Houtskärs Kulturgille.

The trip suits groups who want to spend a full day on the water and combine a long crossing with a walk in the church village, a meal and learning about the history of the archipelago.

Houtskär also suits people interested in nature and birds. The parish flower is the protected elder-flowered orchid, which blooms yellow and red in May–June, and the parish bird is the eider. In summer, you can see swans, white-tailed eagles, great crested grebes, goosanders and shovelers in the archipelago, and on land deer, roe deer, elk and the rare Apollo butterfly.

In summer, races for traditional peasant boats are held in Houtskär and on the nearby islands almost every weekend, and beautiful old boats can also be seen in the harbours. On Midsummer Eve, a decorated midsummer pole is raised in almost every village, and each village has its own traditions. According to Visit Houtskär, the 32-metre pole in Mossala is the tallest in the world.

You can also rent the Buster Magnum from us for longer, as long as you need, and combine Houtskär with an archipelago trip of several days.

Näsby guest harbour has about 50 guest berths, and its coordinates are N 60° 13.5′, E 21° 22.1′. Moor your boat according to the harbour's instructions. According to the harbour description, the depth is 2–6 metres, shallower close to the shore. The jetty has drinking water and electricity, and the harbour has toilets, showers, a sauna, a laundry, wifi and a barbecue area.

The harbour office is at GrillCafé Skagen, and according to the harbour description you can moor briefly in front of the café. The Seapoint fuel jetty is a little further into the same bay. The ferry jetty is reserved for the ferry, so do not moor there. The septic emptying point is at Vitteludd, just before the harbour.

There are also a few buoy berths in front of the archipelago museum where you can moor during your museum visit.

Berth availability cannot be guaranteed in advance.

The services of the church village of Näsby are within walking distance of the harbour. The village has a K-Market, as well as an Alko order point, a Matkahuolto parcel point, a bank, a hairdresser and a service station. The harbour has a harbour shop selling clothes and small items, and bicycle rental. The village also has a mini golf course.

Houtskär's archipelago museum by the sea displays boats, hunting and fishing equipment, boat engines and a boatbuilding workshop where wooden boats are built and restored using traditional methods. Up on the hill is the local history museum, whose buildings display objects related to farming, handicrafts and domestic life. The local history museum is housed in the parish hall built in 1885 in the church grounds, and the museum also includes a windmill and a shore storehouse.

The Norrbacka croft shows how a crofter's family lived in Houtskär in the late 19th century. One admission ticket gives access to all the buildings, and the museum is run by volunteers from Houtskärs Kulturgille. The museum is open in summer, and the church is open daily during the summer season.

By bike you can get further out on the island. The Borgberg lookout tower is in the western part of the island, in the village of Jervis. From the tower, built on the rock in 1993, you can see all the way to Åland in good weather, and it is a popular spot for watching bird migration. The climb up the rock is steep, with steps in the most difficult places, so it is not suitable if you have limited mobility.

The village of Björkö has a village shop museum. It is a different place from the island of Björkö in Korppoo, which has its own trip guide on our site. Albert Blomqvist founded the village shop in 1915, and his daughter Mildred Bergman ran it until 1976. The current shop was built in 1954, and its goods are mainly from the 1940s and 1950s. The neighbouring house, 'Mummon Mökki' (Granny's Cottage), has objects from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The shop museum and Granny's Cottage can be visited from Midsummer until early August by arranging your visit in advance.

Keep an eye out for the bus stops along the way: Houtskär's bus stops are colourfully decorated, and some feature the village's own animal, such as a gull, a horsefly or a cat. The island also has well over ten geocaches, some of them suitable for beginners. Check the distances on a map before your bike ride so that you get back to the boat in time.

You can refuel at the Seapoint Houtskär card machine, which is available around the clock from April until the ice arrives. The Buster Magnum runs on 98E5.

Opening hours, admission fees and harbour fees for services and museums may change, so check the latest information before you set off.