Maarianhamina

Mariehamn (Maarianhamina in Finnish) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and more than half of the population of Åland live in the city. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 91% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.

The town, founded in 1861, was named after Marie Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. Åland and Mariehamn have a reputable heritage in shipping. The Flying P-Liner Pommern museum ship is anchored in the port of Mariehamn. The famous Dutch steamer Jan Nieveen (now called F.P. von Knorring) can also be found here.