Every municipality has at least one church that is worth seeing. Twelve of them are medieval stone churches while three are newer wooden churches with roots in the Middle Ages. In addition there are the ruins of two medieval stone chapels and the remains of a wooden chapel alongside the navigable channels.

The churches are usually built of red rapakivi granite and located centrally by the parish’s prehistoric grave field close to the harbours of the time. At the beginning of the time when Åland belonged to Sweden, the Ålanders were Catholic and there was much contact with the Continent.

The churches were lavishly decorated with frescoes and wooden sculptures. The characteristic western tower, sacristies and church porch were added in later building phases.

Finström church is one of Finland’s best preserved medieval buildings and its current shape dates from the mid-1400s. Its predecessor was made of wood, from which a few sculptures from the late 1100s have been preserved.The chapel church in Geta, dating back to the 1400s, has a separate bell-tower instead of a west tower.

Sund church, from the 1200s, has some well-preserved frescoes and sculpturesand is beautifully situated at Kyrksundet near Kastelholm. Vårdö chapel dates back to the 1470s and is located close to the old postal route.

Kumlinge church is built in grey stone and has unique wall-to-wall frescoes from the late 1400s. Brändö has a wooden church that was opened in 1893 but a chapel had been mentioned from as early as 1544 in connection with the Reformation.

Saltvik church dates from the 1200s and archaeologists now believe it is located where there was a significant commercial hub in the early Iron Age and in the Viking Age.  Jomala church, partly rebuilt in the 1800s, may well be the oldest church. It has magnificent frescoes from the 1280s in its tower arches.

Hammarland church, built in the late 1200s, has an unusually placed tower and soaring cupola vaults. The church in Eckerö is light with enormous windows. Coins from the early 1200s indicate that there had been an earlier chapel in existence.

Lemland church dates from the end of the 1200s and has a madonna from the 1300s as well as frescoes. The ruins of Lemböte chapel are also located in the municipality. The chapel church of Lumparland was rebuilt in 1728 after the Greater Wrath. The altarpiece is a work by Victor Westerholm, painted in 1887.

Föglö church was built around 1860 and stands today as a cross-shaped church made of grey granite. All that is left from medieval times is the tower and the west end. The precursor to the wooden church at Sottunga that was built in 1730 was mentioned for the first time in 1544 but had roots in medieval times.

The church in Kökar was built in 1784 on the ruins of a medieval monastery by an ancient fairway. A splendid votive ship hangs from the ceiling. Kökar is known for its Franciscan convent and today there is an ecumenical chapel in the ruins of the monastery basement.

Åland’s newest church building is Sankt Göran’s church in Mariehamn, built in 1927 and designed by Lars Sonck. Other churches in Mariehamn are St Mårten’s chapel in Strandnäs and Margaretagården in Västernäs, where Catholic Mass is said every month.