Mariehamn Things to Do

The pedestrian street Torggatan has all the souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants you could wish for. The most pleasing thing to do here is just wander around the main street. The streets are attractively tree-lined and handsome houses to gawk at abound. There are a plethora of street cafés for a cooling beer.

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A beautifully preserved four-masted barque, this ship was built in Glasgow in 1903 for the transport of goods between England and Australia, and stands today as a testament to Finnish nautical skills.

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The fortress of Bomarsund is an exciting destination for an excursion. It was built in 1832 by the Russian army and the work continued until the fortress was overthrown during the Crimean War in 1854 when it was surrounded by 12,000 French soldiers and some 40 British war ships. Even though the battle ruined the fortress, it is still one of the Åland Island’s most interesting sights. As a consequence of the Crimean War, the Åland Islands were demilitarised and still remain so.

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The castle of Kastelholm is the last surviving fortification in Åland. Dating back to the 14th century, the castle was greatly augmented in subsequent centuries. After being deposed, King Eric XIV of Sweden was held in darkness there in 1571. The castle was abandoned in the late 17th century. The 20th century reconditioning was done beautifully with the aim of illustrating the castle’s different stages of construction and various uses, and one building now houses an exhibition on the castle’s history.

The fortress of Bomarsund was built during the years 1832-1854. Aland was Russian at the time and the fortress was intended for the Russian contingents on the islands. The establishment was calculated for 5000 men, which by Aland standards was an enormous building project. It had a big impact on the Aland society and still today the expression "the Bomarsund era" remains. The Bomarsund era got an abrupt ending. The establishment was thoroughly ruined when attacked by the allied English-Frenchmen. Even though the Bomarsund fortress was a parentheses in the Aland history, the consequences of it's rise and fall remains today; Aland became a demilitarised zone. The ruins of the fortress is now one of Aland's most remarkable historical monument. On the other side of the channel, next to the bridge of Prasto, is a small museum where pictures and objects from Bomarsund are on display. The Bomarsund museum in the Pilot cottage of Prasto.

The 4-mb Pommern in the West Harbour in Mariehamn serves as a memory of the great fleet of sailingships, who once had the town as their homeport.

Pommern is unique in that she is still in orginal condition and is shown as the chargoship she once was. All other existing ships in her class having been rebuilt at some time.

As new, Pommern was a very modern ship with brass and fallwinches and a boiler for steam power to assist in loading and unloading. Pommern was a cargo ship and during her German years she sailed between Europe and South America. From Europe she sailed with general cargo and returned with saltpeter (guano).

An average voyage from Chile took 85 days, which meant an average speed of 5,5, knots.

You must see Torggatan because thats the town center and the street with the shops