Some examples of places we can visit:
Mariehamn
The maritime city of Mariehamn is a large small town with its almost 12,000 inhabitants. The city centre holds a lot in a small area. Mariehamn have a large range of restaurants, hotels, bars, museums. In Mariehamn you are always close to new experiences.
In Västerhamn, where the ferries arrive you will find Pomern. The only four-masted bark in the world that has been preserved in its original condition. Nowhere else in the world can you find a ship like Pomerania; basically unchanged since the day she left the shipyard in Scotland in 1903. She has been lovingly cared for by generations of sailors who themselves sailed across the vast ocean’s solitary plains.
Kobba Klintar
The history of Kobba Klintar is connected with Mariehamn’s founding in 1861. For the city to develop in a positive direction, a well-frequented and functioning port was a prerequisite. To assist the ships to Västerhamn, the city already had its own pilot site in 1862 with a pilot cabin out on Kobba Klintar.
It is breathtaking to imagine how many different types of ships the pilots out on Kobba Klintar have boarded and taken to a safe harbor. The 110 years Koppa Klintars piloting, from the Åland shipping history point of view, was without a doubt the most expansive period.
In 1972, Kobba Klintar pilot station was closed down.
Märket
In 1885, the island was considered a no-man’s land, so the lighthouse was simply built upon the highest point of the island. The location selected was within the Swedish portion of the island. Though the lighthouse was formally on the Swedish side of the border, it was never considered Swedish, or administrated from Sweden.
As a result, the border was adjusted in 1985 so that the lighthouse is now located on Finnish territory. The adjustment was carried out such that no net transfer of territory occurred, and the ownership of the coastline was unchanged so as not to interfere with each country’s fishing rights.
The lighthouse is on the Finnish side of the current border, which has been unmanned and automated since 1979.
Märket is the only island in Finland where Sweden is on east side.
