Mariehamn

Mariehamn
—  Town  —
Mariehamns stad
The museum ship Pommern is anchored in the western of Mariehamn's two harbours, Västerhamn.
Coat of arms
Location of Mariehamn in Finland
Mariehamn Location in Åland
Coordinates: 60°06′N 019°56′E
Country	Finland
Region	Åland
Sub-region	Mariehamn
Charter	1861
Government
• Stadsdirektör	Edgar Vickström
Area(2011-01-01)
• Total	20.75 km2 (8.01 sq mi)
• Land	11.79 km2 (4.55 sq mi)
• Water	8.96 km2 (3.46 sq mi)
Area rank	335th largest in Finland
Population (2012-01-31)
• Total	11,286
• Rank	92nd largest in Finland
• Density	957.25/km2 (2,479.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Swedish	87.7% (official)
• Finnish	5.8%
• Others	6.5%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	14.8%
• 15 to 64	67.8%
• 65 or older	17.4%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate	16.5%
Website	www.mariehamn.ax

Mariehamn (Finnish: Maarianhamina) 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. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 88% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.

The town was named after Maria Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. Mariehamn was founded in 1861, around the village of Övernäs, in what was at the time part of the municipality of Jomala. The city has since expanded and incorporated more of Jomala territory. The city is located on a peninsula, and has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore. The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden 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. Mariehamn Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Jomala, some 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-west of Mariehamn city centre.

The Eastern Harbour in Mariehamn.

Åland and Mariehamn have a reputable heritage in shipping. The Flying P-Liner Pommern museum ship 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.

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.

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 has also designed several buildings, although only a few are still standing.

Demographics

Saint George's church

A chart on population growth.

Year	Population
1987	9,966
1990	10,263
1997	10,408
2000	10,488
2002	10,632
2004	10,712
2006	10,824
2008	11,005
2009	11,123

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — sister cities

Mariehamn is twinned with:

• Kópavogur, Iceland
• Kragerø, Norway
• Kuressaare, Estonia
• Lomonosov, Russia
• Slagelse, Denmark
• Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
• Valkeakoski, Finland
• Visby, Sweden

External links

• Official website (Swedish)
• Official Tourist Gateway of Mariehamn - Maarianhamina
• Mariehamn travel guide from Wikitravel
• Map of Mariehamn
• Mariehamn. Tourist route (Russian)