Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Starting or ending in Eckerö,
cycle
the archipelago's fantastically flat, well-marked
routes alongside green fields, red granite and sparkling seascapes
Running the ramparts of the cannonball-scarred ruins at
Bomarsund
Climbing aboard the four-masted barque
Pommern
outside Mariehamn's state-of-
the-art maritime museum
Sipping blueberry beer on the terrace of Finnstrom's
Stallhagen Brewery
after a
behind-the-scenes tour
Touring Sund's magnificent 14th-century castle
Kastelholms Slott
on a picturesque
inlet
Imagining the empire that constructed Storby's majestically over-the-top post office
Post och Tullhuset
while browsing its artisan galleries and shops
Kayaking
around Vårdö's islets of rustling silver birches and rippling bays
Cooking with local Åland produce at 'taste village'
Smakbyn
on a culinary course
History
More than a hundred Bronze and Iron Age
fornminne
(burial sites) have been discovered
across the Åland archipelago, attesting to over 6000 years of human habitation. Though all
are clearly signposted, most are in fairly nondescript fields. The discovery of fortress ruins
confirm the archipelago was an important harbour and trading centre during the Viking
era.
During the Great Northern War of 1700-21 (dubbed the 'Great Wrath'), most Ålanders
fled to Sweden. Further Russian incursions took place in the 1740s and 1809. When Fin-
land gained independence in 1917, many Ålanders lobbied to be incorporated into
Sweden, but Finland refused to give up the archipelago. The dispute concluded in 1921,
when Åland was given its status as an autonomous, demilitarised and neutral municipality
within Finland by a decision of the League of Nations. Åland joined the EU in 1995, but
was granted a number of exemptions, including duty-free tax laws that allow ferry services
to mainland Finland and Sweden to operate profitably.
Today peaceful Åland is divided into 16 municipalities, 10 on 'Fasta Åland' (the main
group of larger islands). The other six municipalities cover the far-flung archipelago and
its multitudes of tiny islands.
