A daily demonstration against Russia's war on Ukraine, since the invasion in 2022, mostly with a few dozen participants.
By far the most popular attraction in the whole of Åland! Pommern (built as Mneme) is a windjammer turned into a museum ship, kept in original shape, except arrangement for wheelchair access etc. She is a four-masted barque built at J. Reid & Co shipyard in Glasgow in 1903. She soon became one of the Flying P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. Later she belonged to Gustaf Erikson of Åland, who used her (and the rest of his windjammers) to carry grain from the Spencer Gulf area in Australia to harbours in England and Ireland until the outbreak of World War II. She was thus one of the last cargo-carrying large sailing ships. In 2018–2019, Pommern was placed into a dock, to lessen stress on her hull. Tickets to go aboard her are sold at the Åland Maritime Museum close by. Show the QR code you received from the ticket office to the customer service on board.
Ålands sjöfartsmuseum
This impressive museum preserves memories of the sailing ships, one of its exhibits being the captain’s saloon from the famous four-masted barque Herzogin Cecilie. She was built as cargo-carrying sail training ship for Germany, bought by Gustaf Erikson after World War II and used by him for the Australian grain trade. She ran aground off the coast of England in 1936; her saloon was salvaged and brought to Åland. You will also see all sorts of ship paraphernalia from sextants to sails, souvenirs sailors brought home from their travels, and learn about e.g. shipbuilding and the 19th century seaman's hotel in Mariehamn, and try out being a captain in the museum's ship simulator. One of the treasures here is an original 18th-century Jolly Roger! Also English literature for sale. The archive of Gustaf Erikson was declared an immaterial world heritage by UNESCO in 2023.
A former pilot station on an islet off Mariehamn, where the fairways from Sweden and mainland Finland to Mariehamn meet. In these narrow channels the tall ships of Gustaf Erikson had to manoeuvre by sail to get to their home port. The mist siren machinery of 1910 required the big house that still stands. The islet and the pilot station have become an important symbol and a popular outing destination; they are owned by the city and there is an association caring for them. Museum and summer café.
Sjökvarteret
Boat building traditions are kept alive at the Maritime Quarter in the Eastern Harbour. Among the red sheds there is a boatyard and a smithy as well as a free-entrance boat and shipbuilding museum. Several small ships have been built here, including the galeas Albanus and the schooner Linden. Restaurant and a handicrafts shop. There is a small chapel by the sea open to visitors. The view of this site is often used in Åland tourism marketing.
Ålands kulturhistoriska museum
The Åland Museum exhibits the history of Åland from prehistoric times up to the present day. Plenty of artefacts from fossils and archaeological finds to the interior of an entire pharmacy. The Åland Art Museum displays pictures by both old and young Åland artists.
Mariehamnsmuseet
A vast gallery model of Mariehamn in the 1920s with its wooden houses. Information about the design and history of the town. Also an art exhibition.