Mariehamn,  founded by the Finnish in 1861 as a commercial centre around its shipbuilding and ship owning families, is the seat of administration for the 6500 Aland Islands, geographically situated between Sweden and Finland, a demilitarised neutral oasis between the two nations currently applying to join Nato in light of their perceived threat from across their borders, Russia. 

These islands, a self governing part of Finland, are fiercely independent in thought and deed, they are also a tourist mecca with regular ferry services from its two large neighbours. 

 

 

The main street from the port to the town of Mariehamn is like a boulevard lined with Linden (lime) trees, one of which, significantly right outside the Russian Consulate, bears the colours and is named for Ukraine.

 

The Pamir - A New Zealand Connection

In 1941 a four-masted barque the "Pamir" under the Finnish flag was captured as a war prize when she arrived in Wellington with a cargo of nitrate from Chile. Pamir subsequently sailed under the NZ flag until 1949, manned by New Zealanders and was in fact the last commercial square-rigged vessel to round Cape Horn in 1949 when she was sailed back to Europe to be returned to her owners.

During her time under the NZ flag, she was managed by the Union Steam Ship Co. Ltd. Pamir then became a German cadet training ship and was lost in 1957 in a storm off the Azores with only 7 survivors of a total company of 87. One of her recovered lifeboats is in the Cathedral in Lubeck in Germany to commemorate the tragedy, her sister ship the Passat is permanently berthed close by in Travemunde. 

The connection with Mariehamn is that both these ships were part of the Gustaf Erikson fleet, Pamir was one of the flying "Ps" engaged in the grain trade from Australia to Europe, "Herzogin Cecilie" was Erikson's favourite and fastest ship, so much so that when she went aground off Falmouth in 1936 and became a total loss, he ensured that he recovered from the ship the masters cabin, saloon, and pantry, capstan, lifebuoys and other paraphernalia before the ship broke her back, that he then set up as central to the Maritime Museum. "Pommern", another of Erikson's fleet is permanently moored and forms an important part of the Maritime Museum.

 

 

Gdansk

Gdansk is a city with 1000 years of history, founded as one of the members of the Hanseatic League along with other cities such as Tallinn, Rostock, Lubeck, and Bergen, suffered at the hands of the liberating Russian Army in 1945 when as an act of revenge against the German occupiers they destroyed 95% of the city to remove forever any vestige of German history through its buildings, to this day the destruction is still evident in some areas. However, the old heart has been remarkably restored to its former glory, such that if you were not made aware you would believe the buildings had all survived. 

A remarkable achievement that has made Gdansk a real tourist magnet for Europeans, partly because, and for Norwegians in particular, it is seen as a very inexpensive destination compared to their own country, but also because the beaches on the Baltic coast are an attraction in themselves for holidaying families.

Evidently, a characteristic of the Hanseatic cities was the overt display of wealth through the ornate homes of the merchants and the public buildings, including St Marys Cathedral, which purported to be one of the three largest brick buildings ever constructed, capable of holding 25,000 people during a visit by the Polish pope some years ago.