The Maritime Quarter of Mariehamn

By Jerker Örjans

Mariehamn, situated on a narrow peninsul, has two harbours. The deep and well sheltered Western Harbour which used to be the home port of famous square rigged sailing ships, is today used by large car ferries. The Eastern Harbour with a large marina is visited mostly by leisure craft.

In the Western Harbour the four-masted barque Pommern is permanently moored by the renowned Aland Maritime Museum. Here the strong Aland traditions of deep sea seafaring are preserved. The Eastern Harbour on the other side of the town was the port used by fishing boats, coastal schooners and small steamers. Here is the Mariehamn Maritime Quarter. The site looks like a miniature traditional coastal village with small houses, a pier with sailing schooners and boathouses grouped around a sheltered pool with traditional crafts of varying size and type. The houses and boats are all wooden, the houses mostly traditionally painted red and the boats mostly tarred. Here boat builders maintain the traditional skills of the archipelago. In recent years artists and jewellers with more contemporary styles have found their way to the Maritime Quarter.

Two small sheds were erected on what used to be a rubbish dump along the eastern shore of Mariehamn - one to house a saw and a plane, the other to protect the builders from rain and snow while having their breaks. Two years later a beautiful white two- masted schooner was launched. This success gave a taste for more. The keel of a three masted schooner was laid on the same site and was given the name Linden. It was to become a symbol of Aland.

The Town Council now realised the potential of the former wasteland area and helped stimulate development. The original enthusiasts were joined by others, more houses were built and many more boats but no large ships. However, the reputation of the craftsmen was growing and in a three year project a large museum ship from Turku, the Sigyn, was practically rebuilt there. Plans for a new ship project are currently taking form.

The business of ship and boat building has attracted the other one - different houses of designers and jewellers have been established in the Maritime Quarter which is today governed by a Town Council controlled trust. Over 20 years the Maritime Quarter has developed into a little oasis of great variety which is popular with tourists not least because of the annual Aland Sea Days which are organised in July.