Mariehamn

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Mariehamn
Town
Mariehamns stad
View of Mariehamn
View of Mariehamn
Coat of arms of Mariehamn
Coat of arms
Location of Mariehamn in Finland
Location of Mariehamn in Finland
Country  Finland
Region Åland
Sub-region Mariehamn
Charter 1861
Government
 • Stadsdirektör Barbara Heinonen
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • 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 (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 11,521
 • Rank 92nd largest in Finland
 • Density 977.18/km2 (2,530.9/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Swedish 87.7% (official)
 • Finnish 5.8%
 • Others 6.5%
Population by age[4]
 • 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[5] 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.[3]

History

Södragatan, one of the oldest streets of Mariehamn.

The town was named after the Russian empress Maria Alexandrovna. 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. Mariehamn was built according to a very regular scheme which is well-preserved. One of the oldest streets is Södragatan where many wooden houses dating from the 19th century can be seen.

Harbours

The museum ship Pommern is anchored in the western of Mariehamn's two harbours, Västerhamn.

The city is located on a peninsula. It has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore, which are ice-free for nearly the whole year, and have no tides.[6] The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden, Estonia 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. 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.

Culture

Municipal library

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. The islanders are traditionally fond of reading, and had public libraries before 1920. A printing works was established in the town in 1891.[6] The municipal library, which was built in 1989, is one of the most interesting modern buildings.

Architecture

Saint George's church

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

Demographics

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
2010
11,190
2011
11,262
2012
11,345
2013 (May)
11,446

International relations

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — sister cities

Mariehamn is twinned with:[7]

References

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  7. ↑ Mariehamns stads vänorter. Accessed July 14, 2015

External links

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