The southern part of the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea is dominated by a vast limestone plateau. Human beings have lived here for some five thousand years and adapted their way of life to the physical constraints of the island. As a consequence, the landscape is unique, with abundant evidence of continuous human settlement from prehistoric times to the present day.
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The landscape of Southern Öland takes its contemporary form from its long cultural history, adapting to the physical constraints of the geology and topography. Southern Öland is an outstanding example of human settlement, making the optimum use of diverse landscape types on a single island. The square mills of Öland is one of the particularities of this longish island. Each farmer was supposed to have his own mill, and at the end of the 17th century there were about 2000 mills on the island. Today about 300 are still left.
The Öland Bridge from Kalmar to Färjestaden [Ferry Harbour] was opened in 1972, and is more than 6 km long. Since the opening the number of tourists to the island has more than quadrupled.
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