Åland’s first UNESCO honour – Gustaf Erikson’s shipping company archive included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register.
Gustaf Erikson once owned Åland, Finland and the world’s largest sailing ship company. The archive that was left behind provides a unique insight into our shipping history. The autonomous island province of Åland has received its first UNESCO heritage honour as the Gustaf Erikson’s shipping archives were included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Register, thus joining the same echelon of invaluable cultural heritage as England’s Magna Carta, the French Declaration of Human Rights, the Gutenberg Bible and Isaac Newton’s manuscripts.
What does a sailor without a ship do?
One of the world’s finest and most detailed ship models was built without drawings or tools in a prison camp during World War II by Åland sailor Runar Husell. Our exhibition “What does a sailor without a ship do? An exhibition about the model of Ponape – a miniature miracle” tells the touching story of a sailor, a war and the power of creativity.
