Åland Maritime Museum

Åland Maritime Museum
Ålands sjöfartsmuseum

The Pommern
Location in Åland
Location Mariehamn,  Åland Islands, Finland
Coordinates 60°05′49″N 19°55′35″E / 60.096944°N 19.926389°E / 60.096944; 19.926389
Type Maritime museum
Website www.sjofartsmuseum.ax

The Åland Maritime Museum (Swedish: Ålands sjöfartsmuseum) is a museum in Mariehamn in the Åland Islands, Finland. It is located in the western part of the town on the sea on Hamangtan, about 1 km at the other end of Storangatan. Along with Ålands Museum it is the most important museum in the islands and a monument to the past glory of Alanland's claim as the holder the world’s largest fleet of wooden sailing ships in the past. The major piece of the museum is a four-masted barque named Pommern moored in the harbour which was built in Glasgow in 1903, which is anchored behind the museum building. The traditional museum designed like a ship’s prow cutting into the land, has been called the “kitsch museum of fishing and maritime commerce.”[1][2][3][4]

Museum layout

The Åland Maritime Museum is considered as one of the world’s finest museums related to merchant sailing ships.[5][6] The building that depicts this glory is laid out in two floors with a plethora of objects relevant to the past glory of the shipping era. The museum has a library wing which has large collection of old archives of books and photos. Souvenirs of books, picture post cards are also available on sale in the museum shop.[5][7][8]

Another unique feature arranged by the Åland Museum, since 2005 on their web site, is information on the role of women in maritime history with particular reference to Åland Islands. The study brought out in the Article titled "Women in Maritime Communities – A Socio-Historical Study of Continuity and Change in the Domestic Lives of Seafarers' Wives in the Åland Islands, from 1930 into the New Millennium", a thesis by Dr. Hagmark is available on the Museum’s web site.[9]

Exhibits in the museum

The museum has created the central core of a ship depicting a mast, saloon, galley and cabins. The Ships figureheads, which have been moot witness to events of shipwreck, storms and other glorious or inglorious incidents, have been displayed along with boats; the prominent figurehead displayed is that of the male statue which once decorated the ship, the "California". In addition, nautical trappings, a number of ships in bottles and sea chests are also on display.[3] Portraits of the paintings of the ships (docked either in Hull, Antwerp or Hong Kong or elsewhere), done by local artists that were specially commissioned by the captain of every ship are exhibited in the museum. Even the models of the ships of different times have been prepared thought fully for display on a uniform scale model so that even now the difference between a Baltic schooner and an ocean-going windjammer could be easily discerned.[5][10]

Pommern – the museum ship

the museum ship Pommern at Åland
Main article: Pommern (ship)

The Museum Ship Pommern, a four masted merchant barque and windjammer which regularly operated on the grain trade route between Australia and England during the interwar years, is now anchored behind the museum as a display. This is considered as the symbol of Mariehamn. It is very well preserved. It was launched in 1903 in Glasgow, Scotland, under the name Mneme, and was later renamed Pommern.[11][12][13] Gustaf Erikson had bought the ship in 1929. With a 26 member crew, it used to carry several tonnes of merchandise (mostly wheat during World War II). It won the grain race twice in the 1930s, and completed the route under 100 days at least four times.[14][15] It has a record for running for 110 days at a stretch. It is the centrepiece of the museum since 1957 at its present mooring in the western harbour of Mariehamn, after sailing for over 70 years.[3][5][16] Many cabinets in the museum display curios of artifacts collected by the sailors from different lands; some of them are piranhas and sharks’ jaws, shells and corals. A unique display is the pirate's flag which is one of its kind in the world.[8]

Renovation

The museum is now under complete renovation and hence has been closed for visitors till the summer of 2011 by which time the additions and refurbishments are expected to be completed. The renovation envisages doubling the museum space with a new set of exhibits with an auditorium and a library wings. Exhibits would also cover a complete ship-owner office, a new captain lounge from a steamship, a steam engine, lighthouse prisms and artefacts. During the renovation, the museum is organising mobile exhibitions in Åland and also in Sweden and Finland.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Paul Harding, Mark Elliott (2007). Scandinavian Europe (8 ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 171. ISBN 1-74104-553-3.
  2. ↑ Brown, Jules (2004). The Rough Guide to Barcelona. Rough Guides. p. 728. ISBN 1-84353-218-2. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  3. 1 2 3 Symington, Andy (2009). Lonely Planet Finland. Lonely Planet. p. 246. ISBN 1-74104-771-4. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  4. ↑ Johnstone, Sarah (2007). Europe on a shoestring. Lonely Planet. p. 357. ISBN 1-74104-591-6. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Aland Islands: Travel Guide". so much world. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  6. ↑ "Mariehamn – Åland Maritime Museum". Planetware.
  7. ↑ "Åland Maritime Museum, The". Finland Sightseeing And Travel. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  8. 1 2 "Welcome to the Åland Maritime Museum – a museum for the entire family!" (pdf). Natwestislandgames 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  9. ↑ Hanna Hagmark-Cooper. "Is there a place for women in maritime history?". History in focus. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  10. ↑ "Australia, Cape Horn and stormy seas!". Aland Official Tourist Gateway. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  11. ↑ "The Ship Pommern (Mariehamn) (Åland)". Travellerspoint Travel Photography. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  12. ↑ Sandström, Fredrik (2000). "Mneme". Sailing Ships. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  13. ↑ Bruzelius, Lars (1996). "Sailing Ships: "Mneme" (1903)". The Maritime History Virtual Archives. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  14. ↑ Bellamit, Philippe. "The grain races". A memorial website for the ship Pamir. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  15. ↑ "Grain – From Plough to Port 2009" (PDF). Shipping Australia & the South Australian Freight Council. pp. 9 of 63. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  16. ↑ "Åland:Pommern Museum". travellerspoint. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  17. ↑ "The Åland Maritime Museum closes for renovation". Aland.com. 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2010-11-05.

Further reading

External links

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