Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If the creaking wooden
observation tower
causes trepidation, the views from the adjoining
cafe alone are gorgeous. The espresso machine is busy and the pancakes are superb (skip
the rest of the menu).
Getting There & Away
Rd 2 from Mariehamn takes you to Godby. Buses 2, 3 and 4 from Mariehamn all go via
Godby (€2.80).
Sund
018 / Pop 1030
Situated 30km from Mariehamn just east of the main island group and connected to
Saltvik by bridge, Sund is Åland's action hero, with a muscular medieval castle, mighty
open-air museum, and battle scars in the ruins of a Russian stronghold.
Finby is the largest town, with all services.
Sights & Activities
Kastelholms Slott
CASTLE
( 018-432-150;
www.kastelholm.ax
;
adult/child €6/4.50; 10am-5pm mid-May-Jun & Aug-mid-
Sep, to 6pm Jul)
One of Åland's premier sights is this breathtaking 14th-century castle on a picturesque
little inlet (signposted off Rd 2). The keep towers are 15m high in parts, with walls of 3m-
thick red granite: it's easy to see how it would once have ruled over Åland. Exhibits show-
case the castle's evolution and archaeological finds including a medieval silver-coin hoard.
English-language tours (included in admission) depart at 2pm Saturday and Sunday from
June to early August, lasting around 45 minutes.
Several extensions followed the castle's initial construction, most notably by Gustav
Wasa. Mad king Eric XIV, deposed by an uprising in 1569, was moved from prison to pris-
on around the Swedish kingdom. He spent three months here, shut up (according to tradi-
tion at least) in a tiny chamber in the Kuretorn keep. A fire in 1745 reduced the castle to
ruins: only the northern wing survived.
