Ratan - Sevärt

The natural harbor in the strait, a prerequisite for the shipping of the time, was the basis for Ratan's place in Swedish history. An inn for seafarers was built on Rataskär in the 1690s. Almost 80 years later, a customs house was built, where all goods transported by sea to and from Västerbotten passed. For some 40 years, Ratan was the center of the county's merchants.

At 6 o'clock on the evening of August 16, 1809, the Swedish armada, under the command of Chief Admiral Puke, anchored on the roadstead off Ratan. At three o'clock in the afternoon of August 20, the Russian attacks began and the battle of Ratan was in full swing. The battle lasted until 8 o'clock in the evening. The village of Ratan lay in ruins; the houses were shot up and the ground littered with fallen soldiers.