Mariehamn

Mariehamn

Mariehamn

Capital and the largest city of the Åland Islands

Mariehamn (/məˈriːəhɑːmən/ mə-REE-ə-hah-mən,[8] Finland Swedish: [mɑriːeˈhɑmn] ⓘ; Finnish: Maarianhamina [ˈmɑːriɑnˌhɑminɑ]; Latin: Portus Mariae) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded by Jomala, the second largest municipality in Åland in terms of population; to the east it is bordered by Lemland. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 82% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.[5]

Quick Facts Country, Region ...

The theme of the coat of arms of Mariehamn refers to the city's main livelihood, a maritime transport, and the city's parks, which are typically lined with linden trees.[9][10][11][12] The coat of arms was designed by Nils Byman and confirmed in 1951.[13]

Due to its central location in the Baltic Sea, Mariehamn has become a major summer resort town for global tourism; as many as 1.5 million tourists visit there annually.[14][15][16]

History

Map of Mariehamn with the pre-1961 territory of the town marked with hatched outline

The town was named after the Russian empress Maria Alexandrovna (1824–1880), literally meaning "Marie's Port". Mariehamn was founded on 21 February 1861 around the village of Övernäs,[2][17] in what was at the time part of the municipality of Jomala. The city has since expanded and incorporated more of Jomala territory. Mariehamn was built according to a very regular scheme which is well-preserved. One of the oldest streets is Södragatan where many wooden houses dating from the 19th century can be seen.

Following the First World War, Mariehamn was home to the Mariehamn Grain Fleet.[18]

On November 8, 1963, a devastating plane crash occurred in Mariehamn, in which 22 out of 25 people lost their lives, which made it the second-deadliest aviation accident in the history of Finland.[19]

Transportation

Harbours

The city is located on a peninsula. It has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore, which are ice-free for nearly the whole year, and have no tides.[20] The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden, Estonia and mainland Finland. A powerful incentive for Baltic ferries to stop at Mariehamn is that, with respect to indirect taxation, Åland is not part of the EU customs zone and so duty-free goods can be sold aboard. Åland and Mariehamn have a reputable heritage in shipping. The Flying P-Liner Pommern museum ship (part of the Åland Maritime Museum) is anchored in the Western Harbour. The Eastern Harbour features one of the largest marinas in Scandinavia. The famous Dutch steamer Jan Nieveen (now called F.P. von Knorring, after Åland teacher and vicar Frans Peter von Knorring) can also be found here.

Airport

Mariehamn Airport serves the city; it has scheduled flights on two airlines including Finnair.

Roads

At three of Åland's four highways, Mariehamn serves as a starting point for Main Road 1 to Eckerö, Main Road 2 to Sund and Main Road 3 to Lumparland.

Culture

The city is an important centre for Åland media; both of the local newspapers (Ålandstidningen and Nya Åland), several radio stations and the local TV channels (TV Åland and Åland24) operate out of the city. The islanders are traditionally fond of reading, and had public libraries before 1920. A printing works was established in the town in 1891.[20] The municipal library, which was built in 1989, is one of the most interesting modern buildings.

Museums

Architecture

Architects

Mariehamn features several buildings drawn by Finnish architect Lars Sonck, who moved to Åland as a child. Buildings drawn by him include the church of Mariehamn (1927), the main building of the Åland Maritime College (1927) and the town hall (1939). Hilda Hongell also designed several buildings, although only a few are still standing.

The Church of St George

The main parish church of Mariehamn was opened in 1927 and has been expanded in 1959 and renovated in 1972. when the pews were painted blue. The visible decorations include painted wooden ceiling panels, one for each of the followers of Christ. The unnamed panel is that representing Judas Iscariot. The church paintings and decorations are the work of Finnish artist Bruno Tuukkanen. These include the golden mosaics behind the altar which show the life of Christ. Gifts to the church include the font and the ship that hangs from the ceiling. This is the Tjerimaj. The church houses a 37 stop organ built in stages (1969, 1982).[21]

Demographics

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More information People with a foreign background, Country of origin ...

Geography

Climate

Mariehamn has a transitional climate between humid continental climate (Dfb) with certain maritime (Cfb) influence as a result of the strong maritime moderation from being an island in the Baltic Sea. This causes summers to be cooler than both the Swedish and Finnish mainlands, with winters being similar in cold to the adjacent coastal part of Sweden but milder than Finland's mainland. The lowest temperature at Mariehamn airport was −32.9 °C (−27.2 °F) in February 1979, and the highest temperature on record was 31.3 °C (88.3 °F) in July 2022 and July 1941.[25]

More information Climate data for Mariehamn Airport normals 1991-2020, extremes 1914 – present, Month ...

Twin towns and sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Mariehamn is twinned with:[28]

Notable people

Sport

  • Aerial view of Mariehamn.
  • Wooden houses of Mariehamn.
  • Södragatan, one of the oldest streets of Mariehamn.
  • St. George's Church [sv].
  • Ålandsvägen, a typical street in Mariehamn, with linden trees.
  • An esplanade along Storagatan.
  • The museum ship Pommern is anchored in the western of Mariehamn's two harbours, Västerhamn.
  • Nordea bank office in Mariehamn.
  • Åland Museumn in Mariehamn.
  • Municipal library of Mariehamn.

See also

  • Godby – the second largest urban area in Åland
  • Jomala – the municipality surrounding Mariehamn

References

  1. [1]
    "Turism - Mariehamns stad". Mariehamns stad. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Sjöfarts promenaden: Upptäck Mariehamn till fots" (PDF) (in Swedish). City of Mariehamn. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Immigration record high in Finland in 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. [5]
    "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Åland Islands Postal codes". zippinpostal.com. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. [8]
    "Mariehamn". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. [9]
    Suomen kunnallisvaakunat (in Finnish). Suomen Kunnallisliitto. 1982. p. 171. ISBN 951-773-085-3.
  10. [10]
    "Ahvenanmaan kuntien vaakunat 1947-1987 (I:15) Maarianhamina" (in Swedish). Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Ennen 8.4.1949 annettua kunnanvaakunalakia vahvistetut vaakunat (I:7) Maarianhamina". Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto (in Swedish). Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Mariehamns vapen" (in Swedish). City of Mariehamn. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  13. [13]
    Mitä-Missä-Milloin, Kansalaisen vuosikirja 1980 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. 1979. p. 165.
  14. [14]
    Mariehamn – Visit Åland
  15. [15]
    Tourism Mariehamn & Mariehamn Travel Guide – Discovering Finland
  16. [16]
    Åland: many travellers, far fewer overnighters – Nordic Labour Journal
  17. [17]
    Mann, Robert (2011). Żaboklicki, Paweł (ed.). "Mariehamn Celebrates". Union of the Baltic Cities (1). The UBC Bulletin: 34.
  18. [18]
    Derby., W L A (1937). "Mariehamn's Grain Fleet - Shipping Wonders of the World". Shipping Wonders of the World (21 July 1937): 746–749.
  19. [19]
    Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-35-DL (DC-3) OH-LCA Mariehamn Airport (MHQ)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  20. [20]
    Prothero, G.W. (1920). The Åland Islands. Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section. p. 5.
  21. [21]
    The Church of St Goran (St George), (anonymous) parish leaflet (2011) Mariehamns Tryckeri Ab
  22. [22]
    "PX-Web - Select variable and values".
  23. [23]
    http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_032.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=726cd24d-d0f1-416a-8eec-7ce9b82fd5a4 [dead link]
  24. [24]
    "PX-Web - Valitse muuttuja ja arvot". Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  25. [25]
    "Suomen maakuntien ilmasto" (PDF). helda.helsinki.fi.
  26. [26]
    "FMI normals 1991-2020" (PDF). fmi.fi. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  27. [27]
    "FMI open data". FMI. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  28. [28]
    Mariehamns stads vänorter. Archived 2015-09-21 at archive.today Accessed July 14, 2015
  29. [29]
    "Dags att avbryta ryskt vänortssamarbete helt?". Nya Åland (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-03-31.

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