Mariehamn
Mariehamn (Finnish Maarianhamina ) is the capital of the autonomous Finnish Åland Islands, and the only city in the Åland Islands. It is located on the main island Fasta Åland and forms one of the three administrative Communities Åland. Mariehamn is Swedish speaking, and has 11,343 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2012). It is the seat of Lagtinget ( the Lagting, formerly county council ), the parliament of the autonomous province of Åland.
Named Mariehamn ( " Maria Harbour " ) to Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II, who in 1861 founded the city, as Finland and Åland belonged to the Russian Empire.
History
From the twenties to the forties of the 20th century was home port of Mariehamn one of the last great windjammer fleets, under the shipowner Gustaf Erikson. His ships were among several former Flying P-Liners, the famous for their speed ships of the Hamburg shipping company F. Laeisz, the 1957 decline under the German flag Pamir and the sister ships Passat and Beijing, which are today held as a museum ship in Travemünde or New York. Remained in the port of Mariehamn is furnished as a museum four-masted barque Pommern, also a former Flying P -Liner.
The population of the city is in the last 20 years increased steadily (as at 31 December 2007):
Economy and Transport
Mariehamn is easily accessible by boat. The big ferries from Stockholm, Kapellskar, Turku, Helsinki and Tallinn ferry companies Viking Line, Silja Line and Tallink lay partially several times a day in Mariehamn. Mariehamn is measured by the tonnage of the merchant fleet is the second largest Finnish port city to Helsinki. The attractiveness of the port based on the duty exemption of various products, as seen release Åland is outside of the EU common customs zone, and therefore certain goods duty-free on the islands can be sold.
The Mariehamn Airport is located in the neighboring municipality Jomala, about 3 kilometers north- west of the center of Mariehamn.
Mariehamn is the headquarters of most large companies Åland. Thus the Åland shipping companies Viking Line and Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö, the chip factory Taffel and Ålandsbanken headquartered here.
Twinning
- Sweden Visby, Sweden
- Kópavogur Iceland, Iceland
- Norway Kragerø, Norway
- Denmark Slagelse, Denmark
- Faroe Torshavn, Faroe Islands
- Estonia Kuressaare, Estonia
- Valkeakoski Finland, Finland
- Russia Lomonosov, Russia