A bit of Sweden in Finland - Aland province

By Birgit Karnath Sep 6, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Mariehamn, Finland - One can naturally fly to the islands province of Aland, but there's more style in travelling with the ferry, at best from Stockholm.

This is because although Aland officially belongs to Finland, it is actually pretty much Swedish. And because for the first two-thirds of the journey one can delve deeply into the world of the Baltic Sea archipelago off the Finnish coast. And after about 6 hours, one can land directly in Mariehamn, Aland's capital.

It is not only the best location in order to start exploring the Aland islands, but this year it has something a bit extra special going for it - Mariehamn has turned 150 years old.

In the mid-19th century Aland desperately needed a new capital because during the Baltic campaign of the Crimean War the French had virtually destroyed the old one. The new founding took place in the middle of the century during which the Russian czars ruled Finland.

Czar Alexander II decided on the thin strip of peninsula in the south of the Aland mainland. This gave the new capital two ports from the outset, one in the west and the other in the east. The czar's wife, Maria, came up with the name of the new city: Mariehamn, or Maria harbour.

The big vessels from Stockholm, Turku and Helsinki arrive at the western port. This is practical for visitors, because the western side of Mariehamn is the prettier part. Here the proud four-masted sailing ship 'Pommern' lies at anchor, the last remnant of the fleet of Aland shipper Gustaf Erikson. Today, the vessel is a museum.

Right behind it one arrives at the nicer of the two sailboat marinas - nicer above all, because it is here that the Art Deco-style villa of the Aland Sailing Society is situated. The wooden edifice is a dream of deep-red, and from its terrace visitors can enjoy an evening meal while watching the setting sun.

The shopping and governmental centre of the city of 11,000 is on the eastern side, a mere casual stroll away, for the peninsula is scarcely wider than 1 kilometre.

A good place to cross over it is the tree-lined avenue Norra Esplanadgatan which starts where the 'Pommern' is berthed and along which the wooden villas of the old shipping merchants are lined up.

Likewise on the eastern side are the local parliament and government, symbols of Aland's autonomy.

This year Aland is marking yet a second anniversary. Besides that of its founding 150 years ago, it was 90 years ago, in 1921, that the erstwhile League of Nations decided that Finland should have sovereignty over the Swedish-speaking Aland islands.

However, the Alanders were accorded the right largely to govern their own affairs. Over time, Aland got its own flag, its own anthem, automotive license plates, postage stamps and its own internet domain: ax. And to crown this autonomy, Aland's children do not even have to learn Finnish in school.

By bus, visitors can easily explore the fields, pastures and stone churches in the rest of the 'Fasta Aland' (main island) and the two harbours on the eastern part of the island, where the archipelago ferries start from.

These ships provide excursions to some of the other islands of the archipelago off the coast of Finland. Altogether, there are 6,757 islands, of which 65 are inhabited.

There are two routes, a northern and a southern one. Those who are not travelling by car can ride the ferries for free and spend hours sailing past the small islands, some with wooden houses on them.