Aland Islands 2 isles between Sweden and Finland

Mariehamn, Finland - First-time visitors to the Aland Islands, an archipelago of some 6,500 islands and islets between Sweden and Finland at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, can be excused if they feel confused. Though the islands belong to Finland, hardly any of the inhabitants speak Finnish.

Swedish is Aland’s sole official language, and that is what you see on street signs and restaurant menus. But the currency is the euro, as in Finland. The reason for the muddle is the islands’ chequered history.

Once part of the kingdom of Sweden, Aland was ceded to imperial Russia in 1809 together with Finland. It has remained part of Finland since Finnish independence in 1917. Today the islands are autonomous, which is partly responsible for their economic prosperity.

When Finland joined the European Union in 1995, Alanders’ rights were set forth in a separate protocol. They are allowed to make their own tax laws, and to make tax-free sales to their numerous visitors.

Consequently, up to 40 ferries a day head for the Aland Islands in the summer. Most of the passengers are less interested in the archipelago’s natural beauty than in cigarettes and spirits, which are cheaper there than elsewhere in Scandinavia.

Tourists who are fixated on shopping miss some things, however, such as the fascinating alternation of water and land. The archipelago covers a total area of nearly 6,800 square kilometres, of which only 1,527 square kilometres are land.

The biggest chunk of land is known as Fasta Aland (Main Island), the site of Mariehamn, the administrative capital and only town. About 10,600 of the 26,200 Alanders live there.

Idyllic inlets alternate at short distances with wooded headlands, rocky islets and flower meadows. Because of Aland’s relatively mild climate, summers see many kinds of wild orchids in bloom that are scarce in other parts of Scandinavia.

The climate also permits vegetable-growing. Tourists will often come across a road stand with tomatoes or cucumbers for sale. Honest customers put money in an unmanned cash box.

Honesty and peacefulness are signature traits of Alanders today. Crime is virtually unknown - the archipelago’s only prison was closed in 1975 and is now a prison museum. After centuries of changing military rule, the Aland Islands have been demilitarised since 1921.

The most prominent sign of Aland’s violent past are the ruins of Bomarsund Fortress. The Russians began building it in 1832, as Aland was a strategically important Baltic Sea outpost on the western edge of the czar’s dominion. But a combined British and French force captured and destroyed the uncompleted fortress during the Crimean War (1853-56).

Seeing the ruins is worth an excursion. Their lovely location, with a view of nearby islands, banishes any thoughts of the bloody history of the place.

The tug-of-war over the Aland Islands did not end with Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War. Russian troops were forced to quit the islands, but returned during World War I. They left for good in autumn 1917, when the Bolsheviks took over the Russian government. German troops briefly occupied the Aland Islands in 1918, after Sweden had sent warships to protect the Swedish-speaking population.

Being fought over by their Baltic neighbours only seemed to strengthen Alanders’ desire for autonomy, which the League of Nations granted them in 1921.

To this day, the Aland Islands have their own postage stamps, car number plates and, of course, their own flag: a red-and-yellow Nordic cross on a blue background.

Alanders are proud of their independence and of their maritime tradition. Evidence of the latter is the four-masted barque Pommern, which is moored in Mariehamn’s western harbour. Now a museum, the vessel was built in 1903 for a Hamburg shipping company and was first named Mneme. It is reputed to be the only ship of its kind in the world that is preserved in its original condition.

Gustav Erikson, an Aland sailing ship owner, bought the Pommern in 1923. While most other ship owners at the time relied on steamships and motor vessels, Erikson kept his fleet of sailing ships until his death in the 1940s.

People curious about rural life on the Aland Islands in the 19th century can view farmhouses from that era at the Jan Karlsgarden open-air museum. Nearby lie the partially restored ruins of Kastelholm castle, where Gustav I, king of Sweden and founder of the Vasa dynasty, spent several months in 1556.

INFO BOX: The Aland Islands

LOCATION: The Aland Islands lie in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia.

GETTING THERE: In the summer up to 40 ferries arrive daily in the capital Mariehamn from Stockholm, Helsinki, and the Estonian capital Tallinn. Mariehamn also has a small airport, with connections to Stockholm, Helsinki, and Turku.

CLIMATE AND TRAVEL SEASON: Summer is the best travel season. Summer days are very long because of the islands’ northern position. The average daytime temperature in July is about 18.5 degrees centigrade.

CURRENCY: Although the Aland Islands are strongly oriented toward Sweden, they belong to Finland and therefore use Finland’s currency, the euro.

INFORMATION: Aland Tourism Board, Storagatan 8, 22100 Mariehamn, Finland (Tel.: 00358/18/240 00, Internet: www.visitaland.com, www.aland.fi.)

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