Audio: Åland

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast we’ll be talking about Åland, an autonomous and demilitarized archipelago of Finland, which lies between Finland and Sweden, although it is closer to the latter by around 20km. Åland (which can also be spelled Aaland) is the smallest region of Finland by both area (1,580 km2 or 610 sq mi) and population (30,000), constituting around half a percent of Finland’s land area and half a percent of its population. Despite being Finnish, the only official language is Swedish and the capital city is Mariehamn. Aaland is made up of around 6,700 islands, making it one of the world’s largest archipelagos. 

Since the end of WWI, Åland has been politically neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defence Forces.

Fasta Åland or Main Åland is the largest island in the group and accounts for more than 70 percent of the total land area and is home to about 90 percent of the archipelago’s population, as well as the capital Mariehamn. In terms of land area, Aaland is comparable to the Faroe Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Oahu (Hawaii). Out of approximately 6,500 islands, 65 are inhabited with several connected through causeways and bridges. The rest are linked by ferries and private boats. 

Åland’s original name was in the Proto-Norse language Ahvaland. Proto-Germanic ahwō is related to the Latin word for water, aqua. In Swedish, this first developed into Áland and eventually into Åland, literally ‘river land’—even though rivers are not a prominent feature of Åland’s geography. For reasons I’m sure we’ll get to, almost all the houses, and pretty much all the roads, are red. There are also roughly as many deers here as there are people.

Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in Toronto, Canada, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Dublin, Ireland. Our theme music and other stings come from Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella.

Some further reading material is provided below:

• If you’re curious about the tourism industry on Aland, check out visitaland.com.
• The article “CLAY FIGURINES FROM THE ALAND ISLANDS AND MAINLAND FINLAND” can be found here, and further info on Funnel Beaker Culture is available here.
• A handbook on the History of Finland is here, containing some extensive info on Aland.
• Mark discussed the treaty of Nöteborg, more on which can be found at tandfonline.com “Finland’s eastern border after the treaty of Nöteborg: An ecclesiastical, political or cultural border?“
• Some further information on the League of Nations’ role in Åland can be found here.
• If you’re interested in the Grain Race which mentioned, see shippingwondersoftheworld.com, as well as Gustaf Erikson‘s extensive page on Wikipedia.
• Euronews asks “Is time running out for Europe’s oldest DMZ?“
• And on the snuff tobacco issue, check out this article on EUObserver and the related Reddit thread.

Music includes:

• The recording on Svea Jannson’s “Who Can Sail Without Wind” is here on Wikipedia.
• You can find Oolanin Sota (the Finnish Crimean war song) on YouTube.

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