{"id":3527,"date":"2018-10-17T08:33:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T08:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/?p=3527"},"modified":"2020-06-20T16:08:20","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T16:08:20","slug":"reisebericht-alandinseln","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/en\/travel-report-aland-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel report \u00c5LAND ISLANDS - A Scandinavian archipelago between Sweden and Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Visa and entry requirements \u00c5land Islands:<\/strong>
\nPassport required
\nNo visa is required<\/p>\n

Information from the Foreign Office about your trip to the \u00c5land Islands:<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.auswaertiges-amt.de\/de\/finnlandsicherheit\/211624<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u00c5land Islands are a predominantly flat territory between Sweden and Finland, with around 30,000 inhabitants. The Scandinavian archipelago is a politically autonomous region of Finland, although Swedish is the only official language.<\/p>\n

The \u00c5land Islands, however, regulate all political matters independently internally, have their own parliament and their own flag. The official national currency is the euro, but you can also mostly pay with Swedish krona.<\/p>\n

The \u00c5land Islands consist of over 6,750 islands or skerries. They are geographically located approximately 40 kilometers from the Swedish coast and approximately 15 kilometers from the Finnish coast.<\/p>\n

The main island of Fasta \u00c5land, with around 92 percent of all inhabitants, is located to the west, around 40 kilometers from the Swedish and 100 kilometers from the Finnish coast.<\/p>\n

The economy of the archipelago is now determined by tourism and ferry traffic to Finland and Sweden. Shipping to the \u00c5land Islands is attractively advertised with special regulations, such as tax-free shopping. As a result, this type of shipping now produces almost 45 percent of the domestic gross national product. There are now ferry connections from Stockholm, Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn and other Swedish or Finnish places to the \u00c5land Islands. There are also regular flights from Mariehamn Airport to Stockholm, Helsinki and Turku.<\/p>\n

Another important economic sector in this independent region is traditional agriculture. The main agricultural products of \u00c5land are potatoes, sugar beets, oats, onions, wheat and barley.<\/p>\n

The capital of the \u00c5land Islands is Mariehamn with around 12,000 inhabitants. The only town in the archipelago is located on the main island of Fasta \u00c5land and is the seat of the parliament of the autonomous province of \u00c5land.<\/p>\n

The center of the city is the market square, on which a bell tower and a music pavilion were built. Other sights include the parliament building, the representative town hall, the seafarers' quarter, the small ecumenical seafarers' chapel, the city library, the well-known seafaring museum, the seafaring school and the monument "The Man at the Wheel".<\/p>\n

In September 2016 I visited the Scandinavian \u00c5land Islands for the only time so far. I flew with the Nextjet airline from Stockholm to the capital Mariehamn in the morning and back again the next day.<\/p>\n

With surprisingly summery and pleasant temperatures of around 18 degrees Celsius, my city tour through the capital was very relaxing and refreshing. This coastal landscape, which was always somewhat windy, offered several excellent photo opportunities with its many colorful houses and countless boats of all kinds.<\/p>\n

My cozy and inexpensive middle-class hotel was located in the middle of downtown Mariehamn and was an ideal starting point for all activities. In the evening, I was able to end the eventful and great day comfortably in the in-house, well-attended restaurant.<\/p>\n\n