- Mariehamn
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Mariehamn — Town — Mariehamns stad The museum ship Pommern is anchored in the western of Mariehamn's two harbours, Västerhamn.
Coat of armsLocation of Mariehamn in Finland
Location in Åland
MariehamnCoordinates: 60°06′N 019°56′E / 60.1°N 19.933°ECoordinates: 60°06′N 019°56′E / 60.1°N 19.933°E Country Finland Region Åland Sub-region Mariehamn Charter 1861 Government - Town manager Ritva Sarin-Grufberg Area(2011-01-01)[1] - Total 20.75 km2 (8 sq mi) - Land 11.79 km2 (4.6 sq mi) - Water 8.96 km2 (3.5 sq mi) Area rank 335th largest in Finland Population (2011-01-31)[2] - Total 11,186 - Rank 92nd largest in Finland - Density 948.77/km2 (2,457.3/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]
The town was named after Maria Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. 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. The city is located on a peninsula, and has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore. The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden 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.
The Eastern Harbour in Mariehamn.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.
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.
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 has also designed several buildings, although only a few are still standing.
Contents
Demographics
Saint George's churchA 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 International relations
Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in FinlandTwin towns — sister cities
Mariehamn is twinned with:[6]
Kópavogur, Iceland
Kragerø, Norway
Kuressaare, Estonia
Lomonosov, Russia
Slagelse, Denmark
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Valkeakoski, Finland
Visby, Sweden
References
- ^ "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/sites/default/files/pinta-alat_2011_kunnannimenmukaan.xls. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ^ "Population by municipality as of 31 January 2011" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://vrk.fi/default.aspx?docid=4258&site=3&id=0. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=7996;193801. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ Mariehamns stads vänorter. Accessed May 27, 2008
External links
- Official website (Swedish)
- Official Tourist Gateway of Mariehamn - Maarianhamina
- Mariehamn travel guide from Wikitravel
- Map of Mariehamn
- Mariehamn. Tourist route (Russian)
Municipalities of Åland 
Åland · Finland Categories:- Mariehamn
- Cities and towns in Finland
- Populated coastal places in Finland
- Municipalities of Åland
- Populated places established in 1861
- Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea
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