Description

In 2006, 150 years had passed since the demilitarization of the Åland Islands. The demilitarization means that Åland is guaranteed neutrality and may not be fortified. In March 2006, in accordance with a decision of the Ministry of Finance, a commemorative coin was issued to honor the event.

Åland is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population. Its only official language is Swedish and Mariehamn is the capital city.

Åland is situated in an archipelago, called the Åland Islands, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. Of Åland's thousands of islands, about 60-80 are inhabited. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Roslagen in Sweden by 38 kilometres (24 mi) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish archipelago. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden. From Mariehamn, there is a ferry distance of about 160 kilometres (99 mi) to Turku, a coastal city of mainland Finland, and also to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

The designer says that he has chosen the subjects of obverse and reverse to complement each other: both boating and nature are essentially part of archipelago life. He placed the dove of peace on the rudder as a leader - to guide action in all fields of life.

Designer: Pertti Kalervo Mäkinen