Bridges of Åland Islands

A postcard from Åland Islands with the 2018 Europa bridges stamp 

Åland Islands is a demilitarised, autonomous archipelago province in Finland, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. Åland's autonomous status means that those provincial powers normally exercised by representatives of the central Finnish government are largely exercised by its own government. The autonomous status of the islands was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the Åland Islands dispute. Åland has its own postal administration but still uses the Finnish five-digit postal code system, using the number range 22000–22999, with the prefix AX. The lowest numbered postal code is for the capital Mariehamn, AX 22100. Mariehamn is the capital of the Islands. 

This postcard is from the Mariehamn postcrossing meetup and carries the Europa stamp of 2018 from the Islands - Bomarsund Bridge. 

Designer- Sandra Henriksson. 

The Bomarsund Bridge is a small arch bridge connecting Bomarsund with the Pröstö Islands.Located next to the water on the main island of Åland is the Fortress of Bomarsund. It stands witness from the heydays of the Swedish Kingdom to the golden years of the Russian Empire.The Fortress of Bomarsund was the most western defense post for the Russian Empire. However, the fortress was never finished before it was destroyed by French and Brittish forces during the Crimean war in 1854. Interestingly enough, the war is also the reason to why Åland still is a demilitarized zone. In other words, according to international law, no armed forces are permitted to the islands.

The bridge across Bomarsund was actually built with stones taken from the fortress ruins. There are six Russian military cemeteries on Prästö, as well as two museums. In 1906, Russia built a telegraph line from Åland to the Finnish mainland. This was because Russian revolutionaries used the Åland Islands on their smuggling route from Stockholm to St. Petersburg