Highlights
Åland has many fine sights of high class. If your time on Åland is
limited and you don't have time to see everything, there are still a
few sights you don't want to miss.
The Åland Maritime Museum with the Museum Ship Pommern
The
Åland Maritime Museum is a colourful museum that tells the story about
the Åland shipping era. Among the model ships, figureheads and
photographs there are many interesting stories about shippers and
weathered sailors to get acquainted with.
Don't miss to go onboard the stately museum ship Pommern in
connection with your visit to the maritime Museum. The four masted
steel-bark is moored just by the museum and is the only trade sailing
ship of its type in the world that has been preserved in its original
state.
The Åland Museum and Art Museum
The
Åland Museum and Art Museum by the City Hall in Mariehamn are two
separate museums in the same building. Apart from the basic exhibitions
about Åland history and art history, the museums often cooperate
through short specialty exhibitions with a common theme. It can be
everything from culture and history to art, design, film or photos.
In
the cosy Maritime Quarter in the eastern harbour of Mariehamn, the ship
building traditions live on. Make a visit to the smithy or the boat
building ship yard or visit the boat exhibitions in the museum and in
the newly built lighthouse. Here you can also purchase art handicraft,
made in Åland.
The castle of KastelholmThe
castle in Kastelholm is the only medieval castle in Åland. The castle
was built in the 1300's and has since had several royal guests. In 1556
the Swedish king Gustav Vasa visited the castle and in 1571 king Erik
XIV was prisoner there.
Near the
Kastelholm castle is also Jan Karlsgården open air museum that depicts
a typical Åland farm from the end of the 1800's. In the same area is
also the old prison Vita Björn from 1784. The prison was used for
almost 200 years and is now a museum.
The
Russian fortress in Bomarsund was an incredible structure before the
British and French destroyed it during the Crimean War in 1854. This
was an event that founded the Åland demilitarisation. But still today
the ruins are worth a visit; for example, don't miss the fantastic view
from Notvikstornet.
If
you want to learn about wine and liquor making in Åland we recommend a
visit to Tjudö Vineyard where you enjoy a guided tour.
Ålands Bryggeri
Ålands Bryggeri produces Åland
beer such as Stallhagen dark lager and Export. A tour in the brewery
will give you an experience that covers everything from the beginning
to the end of the brewery process. In the pub you can sample the beer
at the same time as you have a view of the beer making process.
The
museum in Eckerö tells fascinating tales about how the natives hunted
and fished long ago. Children can also dig for glass pearls and cast
their own museum souvenir made of pewter, in the shape of an animal.