@@yeshiyangzom8532 Taiwan is not recognised as a state by the United Nations and therefore, it is not a state although it may be a country (if you wish). England is a country, not a state!
I have family in Åland and lived there myself for several years. No one who is actually from Åland ever refers to it as a country. Yes it has a flag and an anthem and a parliament, but so do the states of the US, doesn't mean they are countries.
That`s what I thought too. It`s just a clickbait. The same could be said about any other autonomous region in the world that it`s a country. Well, it isn`t.
@@lordjim3109there is no straight definition of what a country is. The closest eqvialent in usa would probobally br porto Rico. Or possibly the us Virgin Islands. The fact that finland is medberoende if EU and Åland is not kind of suget a large amount of autonomi. Apart from faeroe island and greenland i can't think of other regions with thst amount ot autonomi that is not a true Un recognized country.
@@matsv201 Island of Man, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands and many more, mostly under British rule as leftovers of colonization. Porto Rico and Virgin Islands are not independent countries, they are oversee's territories governed by the US. The same with American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau. France also has some of these and even the Netherlands. Not sure about Spain and Portugal however and as far as I know other former colonizers have no overseas dependencies anymore.
Åland (Ahvenanmaa) is not a country, is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland. Not state or country, it is one of the provinces of Finland.
Wikipedia: "A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity." Cambridge Dictionary: "an area of land that forms an independent political unit with its own government; a nation considered esp. as a place".
As has been pointed out by others in the comments, Åland is *not* a country, but an autonomous part of Finland. And it's *not* pronounced "Ahland," but "Ohland."
@@lucone2937 Mainly because the Finnish and Swedish languages are not actually related many place names are often quite different in Finnish and Swedish. Though one can see the similarities in Mariehamn/Maarianhamina (which was actually established in 1861 under the Russian rule so the Finnish name is as original as the swedish one and not just a translation) and Stockholm/Tukholma, but then we have things like Åbo/Turku.
My father was born on the Aland Islands in 1908. He left to see and go around the world in 1926 with the intent of getting back to Aland but the depression starting in 1929 changed those plans. He stayed and settled in Canada.
If Finland is the happiest nation, and Åland is the happiest part of Finland, then the question immediately arises: what is the happiest place on Åland?
The water and the air in the Baltic countries are the finest quality in Europe. I'm on Kalmarsund. Denmark has been happiest too. Democracies work when allowed to. USA was tied with Denmark on the GINI ratio in 1976 because it was a democracy, before reagan and maggie tossed the middle class in the ditch.
It's not an independent country. It's an autonomous region. The independence movement is nowhere near as strong as in Catalonia or Scotland. Even though it's demilitarised, Finland is responsible for its defense. If it ever became independent, it would have to organise its own defense, which is hard as it has only 30 000 people. Instead of calling it a country, I'd say that it's more like the Channel islands are to the UK. An autonomous region that is taking advantage of the tax status. Åland is technically not in EU, which is why the ships going there and back can sell tax free alcohol.
The Channel Islands are not an 'autonomous region' of the UK as such, they are 'Crown Dependencies' which owe their status to the fact that they belonged to the Duke of Normandy who became King of England, and the UK government assumed oversight of the Islands and the UK parliament can ultimately pass laws that overrule local laws. They were never part of the UK, the inhabitants have British citizenship but didn't have free movement in the EU when the UK was a member.
@@EdMcF1 I know. I k ow a guy from Guernsey and he had to pay full oversees tuition fees at the UK university. So, it would have been better to be from Bulgaria than Guernsey when it came to university fees in the UK. (Of course this was all before Brexit).
He is saying that like 30 seconds into the video. Its a series about unknown pseudo countries. It's not really that clickbaity. Of people call Greenland a country nobody complains. Same thing.
@@matsv201 not a pseudo country but a region inside a sovereign country that has autonomy to decide certain things. I'd call the countries that are recognised by some by not all other sovereign countries as pseudo countries. Such as Palestine or Kosovo.
@@MrGunnar69 The national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish by constitution, Åland cannot change that. Swedish is the majority language in Åland and thereforr they don't need road signs in Finnish etc. But not using Finnish does not erase the official status of it.
First off, Åland is not a country. It's a part of Finland that has had a Swedish population since pre-historic times. Åland is not the only region in Finland that has or once had a majority Swedish population, going back to the Middle Ages or earlier (not surprising since Finland used to be part of the Kingdom of Sweden). Secondly, Åland wasn't converted to Christianity in the 12th century (the 1100's). This process took place a century before, in the 11th century (the 1000's), same as in the rest of Sweden. Thirdly, while Åland was temporarily occupied by Russia during the Great Nordic War (1700-1721), Finland, including Åland, remained part of the Kingdom of Sweden until 1809, when it was lost to Russia due to the War of 1808-1809.
@@DanielTaddone I'd say that's about right, although the islands have of course been populated for many thousands of years, going down into the Stone Age, both from the east and the west. Around 500 AD, though, there is a new wave of "Swedish" settlements, judging by the prevalent building types in the archeological record, and we also know that Åland were part of the Viking era expeditions of the Rus.
The Swedish population arrived to the Åland Islands only during the Viking age. They had been previously populated by the Finnish-speakers. Swedish colonialists arrived to some coastal parts of the continental Finland only during the 1200's-1300's.
If you want to teach people about Åland, you could start be learning how it is pronounced! As I am sure many have pointed out already, it is not a country but a part of Finland, though with some special rules pertaining to it. Sweden accepted the verdict of the League of Nations under protest but accepted it nonetheless. Today, Swedes, Finns and the people of Åland live in peace and prosperity. Others could learn a lot from this... (looking at the middle east) The camping in nature rule applies to Sweden and the rest of Finland too. It is part of a very old tradition, the freedom to roam, from the days when these today separate countries were one.
If anyone were left confused after seeing this video and wonder if there are equally governed areas around the world and there is. Even here in the Nordic countries. There are in fact a total of three autonomous regions/territories in the Nordic countries: Greenland and Faroe Islands (Denmark), and Åland (Finland). Greenland and Faroe Islands have chosen not to be a part of the EU, while Åland is. In addition I choose to mention that the Sámi people have their own parliaments in Finland, Sweden and Norway (and in Russia, seems yet more limited) that works with matters concerning Sámi interests. Language, cultural matters, education etc are things they deal with. Without going too much into details, the Sápi area aren't autonomous, but the Sámi parliaments and other institutions do play an essential role in the work for Sámi interests. They do have their own National Day, flag, languages and so on. Sámi language is regarded as official language, but is more in use in some areas. Back to talking about Åland, I think most people in the Nordic countries have heard about Åland, we do know that Swedish is the most spoken language on this archipelago as well as being spoken many places particularly in the costal areas of the Finnish mainland. Yeah, and one more thing that he forgot to mention in this video is that the Baltic Sea is one of the most contaminated seas world wide. Sadly. I'm not sure how badly affected Åland is by this, as it varies between areas and some parts of the Baltic Sea is more or less dead. It's really a shame how countries surrounding the Baltic Sea have caused pollution to an extent that there's health risks connected to eating fish, especially fat fish such as salmon.
Finnish is the Swedish word for Suomi . Finland is the Swedish word for Suomi. Suomi is the native language of Suomi ( Finland) Suomi language is related to the Language of Estonia .
@@rudewalrus5636 I know. But I was responding to: "Finnish is the Swedish word for Suomi ." In Finnish and in Swedish the names of languages are not capitalized. So. It should read: "Finnish is the English word for suomi." In Swedish, the language is called "finska".
I've been to Åland a number of times and loved it. Many people in Europe know Åland, it's a popular tourist destination for lovers of Scandinavia. For me, it's one of the most beautiful places I ever visited. I still keep a flag of Åland that I bought there because I loved it so much. It's not a country, just like North Rhine Westphalia (with flag and parliament of its own) is no country but a federal state.
What you say about there being a large community of independence supporters is pretty much a lie. Have you even been to the islands or where do you get your information from? Ålands Framtid has been around for a very long time and only has one seat in the regional parliament. In the last election (2019) they got one seat out of 30 with 666 votes out pf a total of 14 594 votes cast. Throughout the party's existence they have never held more than 3 seats. I wouldn't call that a öarge movement. Most people prefer the arrangement with Finland because they can pretty much make their own laws about things that affect them, and many worry that reuniting witj Sweden (the ultimate goal of Ålands Framtid) would make them just a random Swedish island among many, and they would lose their autonomy.
Thank you. I am happy to have learnt about Aland, but being American I think you do not quite understand Aaland's situation. Like Greenland, it is part of but autonomous. Not the same as a separate country. The Basque country ( split in two: French and Spanish regions), the Corsicans and the Bretons have their own flags and national anthems, but they are not separate countries. Each Canton in Switzerland has a distinct flag. Same difference. Note I used the old spelling as I cannot reproduce the little o over the a. Aa and a with an o over it are pronounced "o". Jag talar Svenska. Jag ved.
Try setting your keyboard for Swedish. Of course it helps to have a Swedish keyboard but it types Engelska when I don't want it to if not set up right.
i spent 15 summers in Åland. Visited all churces including Kökar and Kumlinmge. Cottage was build by Erhard Erikson in Hammarland Frebbenby. Marsund was my major swimming and diving area.
Min familj och jag åkte varje år till Norge på våran semester i över 10år!!. Norge är ett underbart land! Men har blivit så dyrt! så dom sista 10-Åren åker vi till Åland och Finland!. Underbart land!.och på Åland pratar ALLA Svenska!. Finland pratar också Svenska på västkusten i Finland. Älskar detta land! Vilka underbara människor! LOVE från södra Sverige!
youtube promotes lies. this vid is a lie. Aland is not a sovereign country: it is part of Finland that gained govt autonomy in 1920 (ie municipal autonomy). Aland has no jurisdiction and authority over immigration.
The old Finnish name for Åland was "Oolanti" like the Finns would pronounce it. A certain company in Ahvenanmaa still use it as a trademark for many potato based products especially "Oolannin ranskalaiset" (French fries of Åland) that is a frozen product. Because the long common history the Finnish and Swedish alphabets are identical with twenty-nine letters. Letter Å or å is called as the Swedish O in Finland and it is pronounced as /oː/. It's only used in some Finnish proper names like the first president of Finland K.J. Ståhlberg.
@@MrGunnar69 If the Finnish alphabet hadn't included the letter Å, it would have probably replaced with double-O in spelling to match the pronounciation. For instance a famous epic poem "The Tales of Ensign Stål" is known in Finnish as "Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat" and in Swedish "Fänrik Ståls sägner".
Apart from the various inaccuracies of research that the comments below indicate it would have helped if the narrator had pronounced the name correctly. The Swedish letter åÅ is pronounced like the 'aw' sound in the English word 'awful' and not like the 'a' in 'father'. You could say that his pronunciation was not awful enough!
Sooo FUNNY. Always wanted to know how "that" particular letter was pronounced. Thanks for "that". FINALLY, at age 70, I now know THAT! :D Incidentally, my grand-father, Hinling (Henry) Selin left Sweden at the age of 16 at the turn of the 20th century. He married a Finn, Karen Kortii, from Nothern Finland. This makes me a 2nd generation Swede + a 2nd generation Finn. :D Ken, Toronto, CANADA
A few things I suppose a program like this will not know or understand. When Russia in the war of 1808-09 took the eastern part of Sweden, that is Finland, Åland also fell to Russia and become the Grand Duchy of Finland until 1917 when Finland declared itself independent as the Russian Empire fell in the Russian revolution. When the question of to whom Åland belongs, people of Åland understood very well that should Åland become a part of Sweden then rich Swedes from Stockholm would soon buy up most of it for themselves and the time as a Åland society would end. The type of autonomy Finland suggested/accepted was something Sweden in practice would never have stuck to. The question of autonomy was very important and known to Finland who was lucky to have been granted a very extensive autonomy from Russia keeping old Swdish law, private property rights and a Nordic society with a parliament , Finland is a country with two official languages, Finnish and Swedis and you get along well in Finnish on Åland too as they read it in school. The "freedom to roam" is an old Nordic tradition and not Åland specific at all. To quote the Wikipedia. " he freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the "right to roam". In Scotland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, the freedom to roam takes the form of general public rights which are sometimes codified in law. ... Today, the right to roam has survived in perhaps its purest form in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Here the right has been won through practice over hundreds of years[1] and it is not known when it changed from mere 'common practice' to become a commonly recognised right. And PS. If you have a look at the telephone directory of Åland you will find that it's very diverse much because the big sailing ships of Gustaf Erikson and other came to Åland and a lot of "foreign" crew decided to stay, just look at the names. Tourism is also one big important industry on Åland. Judging from this video I think a rather strong "separatist" provided "his" rather narrow views for this otherwise well made video.
Amazing! I have heard a lot about ÅLAND but never been there. Even I live for years in Sweden. If I have time after my retirement next year, summer 2024, so I will really visit ÅLAND for a weekend. Thank you for sharing of this video clip. 😇 Best Wishes from STOCKHOLM - SWEDEN 🎁
@@trollberger no it's not. They don't really have a national identity separate of the all the other Swedish speakers in Finland (about 300 000, while the population of Åland is about 30 000). They've never been independent and even though the video tries to make it a big deal, the independence movement there is insignificant. As an autonomous region holding one seat in the Finnish parliament, they have far more power than they would ever have as an independent nation that would have to look after its own defense. It's in a very strategic location in the Baltic. So, it's in a very different situation than say Monaco or San Marino that are surrounded by friendly France and Italy. Finnish army still prepares for a Russian landing there in case of war. Try to defend a Russian landing with 30 000 people. They are lucky that someone else does it for them, which is why they have no interest to become independent.
@@srelma But realistically, how hard would it be to stop a Russian invasion? All you have to do is leave a few cases of vodka for the Russians to find, and their invasion will grind to a halt in a matter of hours. Then it's just a mop-up operation. The Ukrainians discovered this, but unfortunately not soon enough.
It is a nice place to visit in the summer. I have its flag on a little pole along with the flags of the Shetlands, Orkneys, Tahiti, Normandy, Catalan, Basque, conch republic, Magallanes Region of Chile, and other regions I have been to as well as the related country flags.
Some important additions. First, modern day Finland and Sweden were the same country for centuries, before Russia attacked Finland and the Swedish army just abandoned Finland, which then became part of Russia. When Finland became independent in connection with the Russian revolution, the case that the League of Nations dealt with was pretty scandalous as Sweden intentionally produced an incorrect map to fool the League, but Finns had information of this via Japan (!) and were able to rectify things. Historically Sweden could not defend its eastern (Finnish speaking) territory and then tried with cheating to regain part of it (Åland) from Finland. It should also be remembered that there is still a sizable Sedish-speaking Finnish population in Finland - larger than the population of Åland.
Most people in the South of England, the English ones anyway, know about this island, it's the large one to the west. The say Ireland, but they actually pronounce it Åhland. It's very confusing. Just listen to BBC.
The settlement to resolve the conflict between Finland and Sweden reminds me of the compromises that were set forth in the Minsk II agreement signed by the current belligerents over Ukraine. Such a tragedy that it wasn't fulfilled.
Fun fact. The treaty between Finland and Sweden does not allow any of the mainland countries to ever put militaries on the Åland Islands ... so when a Swedish prime minister visit Åland, he/she have to take a regular flight and are not allowed to use the official airplane, since it is registered as a military aircraft with military pilots ... I guess that is the same if they want to visit the island from Finland.
As many people in this comment section pointed out: it is not a country. But I would not compare it to Wales or Friesland. I would rather compare it to the island of Man, or the Channel Islands. They too, are not part of the UK. They have their own parliament. But their foreign policy and financial policy are decided by the UK.
I was ready to be skeptical. But this turned into a wonderful 'love of Aland' video. They are not fully independent, however. But since it made me want to uproot and move there (not likely / am American), i'd say you did a good job with the video. I would opin that they need to be certain of what's best for their people: full independence or continue to let Finland be sovereign.
At least the archipelago is close to both Sweden and Finland - here in Oz, we seem to have inherited Offshore Territories whose sole uniting factor is that they are all tiny dots thousands of kilometres from the mainland (east and west). I'm sure we inherited this fascination with far flung territories from the British - who could forget the surprise that many Brits felt when they realised they were going to war over islands off the coast of Argentina. . Living 4,000 km from Canberra has it's share of challenges, but the politicians still find their way up here when it suits them - those tiny islands are barely mentioned by anyone in Oz and maybe that's the way they like it. I salute the people of Aland if they can maintain their identity squeezed between two relative giants.
I have a map of Åland actually. I once met a sailor off a Finnish freighter that was in town for a load of newsprint from the local mill. He was from Mariehamn.
Can,y believe how nazis the filands have became , i used to have a good finland friend when i was living in Ámsterdam and wasnt like that at all , i dont understand what happened to be one of the most fascist places in world
Important historical fact about semi autonomy can be found in the uK’s context. Scotland was responsible for creating the United Kingdom of today, by taking over and merging the English crown with the Scottish crown therefore England is a crown dependency of Scotland and not the other way round. There have been more Scottish UK prime ministers than English ones. In the last 30 years only 2 of the the UK’s 7 prime ministers were English - Theresa May and John Major. Tony Blair, David Cameron and Gordon Brown were Scottish, current prime minister Sunak is Indian and Boris is American of Turkish ancestry.
I wonder if it's something like the Isle of Man situated in the Irish Sea. This is a self-governing British Crown Dependency with its own parliament the Tynwald and with a chief minister. It belongs to neither the UK nor the EU, but it is very much dependent on its big neighbour as the inhabitants travel on a British passport.
Just to make it clear and avoid spreading misinformation, Åland is NOT a country. Åland is an autonomous region that belongs to Finland. The autonomy extends to things such as taxes, gambling, postal services and related things. In addition it’s demilitarization through international conventions. In all other aspects the same laws applies as in the rest of Finland.
You have received a thumbs down from me for your insistence that Aland is a country, which it is not. Is Guam a country separate from USA? No. Is Quebec a country? No. I had never heard of Aland before, and it sounds like an interesting place. I had to stop halfway through after I looked it up and will now see if there is a factual video about the place.
Like 'Freesia' in the northern Netherlands, they have a distinct society with their own language and cultural traditions. North Americans could compare this scene similar, even analogous, to Quebec within Canada.
Freesia is a type of highly scented flower growing from bulbs. the province in the northern netherlands is called Friesland. Or in English Frisia. Friesland is just a province like any of the other provinces in the netherlands. it has no autonomy and is not even remotely close to being a "country".
@@lawrenceweinzimer so what? so does every other of the 12 provinces of the netherlands. and every other region in every other country in europe. Friesland is no different from any other province.
The title is totally misleading. No one knows about the country of Aland because there is no country of Aland. It's an autonomous part of Finland, NOT A COUNTRY!
Stop calling Åland a country and a nation. It is simply a lie and incorrect. Åland is an autonomous region of Finland just as Corsica belongs to France and Sardinia to Italy. Åland belongs to Finland, but the inhabitants speak Swedish. There are several regions in Finland with a Swedish-speaking population. Åland is pronounced "Ohland". This beautiful, small island with 30,000 inhabitants is not a country. Please.
Texas was an independent country. Before the Civil War every state in the US was a country. Now the states are de facto provinces. I am sure someone will disagree with me.
People have already pointed out the incorrect classification of this place. Why did the producer go down the home schooling rabbit hole? That is truly bizarre.
"Due to the growing refugee population, Swedes complain that the quality of education in schools is declining". People complain about school quality in Sweden for lots of reasons, including a shortage of teachers and ridiculously low requirements for people who want to become teachers because they cannot afford to turn people away. Laws intended to protect children but which at the same time end up making discipline in the classroom impossible are also often blamed. Likewise the introduction of for-profit schools where part of the resources go to investors has been debated a lot. A high number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds of course don't make things easier, but blaming it all on refugees is rather simplistic, don't you think?
Swedish families who move to Åland do so because they want to home-school their children. Sweden was the second country in the world to ban homeschooling, after Germany which banned it in the 1930s. It was the "liberal" education minister General Björklund who banned home schooling. That for-profit schools are allowed and the right to choose a school is the only positive thing about Swedish schools. The large profits the school companies make are a clear sign of how ineffective the non-profit schools are.
Åland has a unique sport called "Yank the Yoke". A chair is constructed with each leg attached to ropes that thread over pulleys. One player called the yoke sits in the chair, and the rest of the players pull on the ropes as fast as possible, hurling the player high into the air. Then they try to catch the player in the chair but often he falls, getting badly injured. When the yoke is too incapacitated to continue, another yoke is selected and they start all over again.
Just because it has a flag, doesn’t mean it’s a country. In the UK, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall have their own flag. Maybe Northern Ireland and others as well. Scotland does have its own parliament, but it’s more like the US states having their own legislatures. The Isle of Man may be another thing. It depends on the UK for many functions, but it is more independent than the other regions of the UK.
My son has lived in Sweden for 15 yrs and I’ve visited 3 times (from Canada). This is the first I’ve heard of Aland. Very interesting little country, protectorate or whatever.
it's not a country, it's an autonomous region of the Republic of Finland; I wrote a reviewed paper about this topic at a law school, I know it...
Do you think Taiwan is not a country, but an auto region of China,
@@yeshiyangzom8532 Not the same at all. Åland hasn't declared independence from Finland and they're pretty satisfied with their autonomy.
@@yeshiyangzom8532 Taiwan is not recognised as a state by the United Nations and therefore, it is not a state although it may be a country (if you wish). England is a country, not a state!
@@kuzeyboywell, England is a mess 😂😂😂
@@kuzeyboyTaiwan is not a country, but the republic of China is... regardless of what UN thinks about it.
I have family in Åland and lived there myself for several years. No one who is actually from Åland ever refers to it as a country. Yes it has a flag and an anthem and a parliament, but so do the states of the US, doesn't mean they are countries.
That`s what I thought too. It`s just a clickbait. The same could be said about any other autonomous region in the world that it`s a country. Well, it isn`t.
@@lordjim3109there is no straight definition of what a country is. The closest eqvialent in usa would probobally br porto Rico. Or possibly the us Virgin Islands.
The fact that finland is medberoende if EU and Åland is not kind of suget a large amount of autonomi. Apart from faeroe island and greenland i can't think of other regions with thst amount ot autonomi that is not a true Un recognized country.
@@matsv201 Island of Man, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands and many more, mostly under British rule as leftovers of colonization.
Porto Rico and Virgin Islands are not independent countries, they are oversee's territories governed by the US. The same with American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau.
France also has some of these and even the Netherlands. Not sure about Spain and Portugal however and as far as I know other former colonizers have no overseas dependencies anymore.
Figures that countries would try to ban home schooling. Can't allow independent thinking to happen
@@matsv201Åland is part of the EU tho
Åland (Ahvenanmaa) is not a country, is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland. Not state or country, it is one of the provinces of Finland.
Wikipedia: "A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity."
Cambridge Dictionary: "an area of land that forms an independent political unit with its own government; a nation considered esp. as a place".
Ja, das ist wichtig.
Aaland is to Finland what Puerto Rico is to America, semi independent.
Eipä ollutkaan näin vaan rannikkolaivaston täysin vartioma aina ollut.
As has been pointed out by others in the comments, Åland is *not* a country, but an autonomous part of Finland. And it's *not* pronounced "Ahland," but "Ohland."
He also pronounces Mariehamn incorrectly.
@@MegaJohn144Yes, my brother who lived there said it like Marryharm.
@@MegaJohn144 The Finnish native speakers call Mariehamn as "Maarianhamina" and Stockholm is "Tukholma".
@@lucone2937 Mainly because the Finnish and Swedish languages are not actually related many place names are often quite different in Finnish and Swedish. Though one can see the similarities in Mariehamn/Maarianhamina (which was actually established in 1861 under the Russian rule so the Finnish name is as original as the swedish one and not just a translation) and Stockholm/Tukholma, but then we have things like Åbo/Turku.
Absolutely correct on both points.
My father was born on the Aland Islands in 1908. He left to see and go around the world in 1926 with the intent of getting back to Aland but the depression starting in 1929 changed those plans. He stayed and settled in Canada.
Where?
If Finland is the happiest nation, and Åland is the happiest part of Finland, then the question immediately arises: what is the happiest place on Åland?
If you go there and ask, they may say that this is a personal question.
The water and the air in the Baltic countries are the finest quality in Europe.
I'm on Kalmarsund. Denmark has been happiest too. Democracies work when allowed to. USA was tied with Denmark on the GINI ratio in 1976 because it was a democracy, before reagan and maggie tossed the middle class in the ditch.
Mariehamn, I guess :)
The thai massage parlor in Mariehamn
'Technically part of Finland' i.e. not a country.
Maybe he meant "nation"
@@ezirsavanthe word nation would be even worse. For example Scotland is a country in the UK. The UK is a nation
By culture a part of sweden and referendum for sweden
Greenland and Faroe Islands are considered countries, even though they are part of Denmark.
It's not an independent country. It's an autonomous region. The independence movement is nowhere near as strong as in Catalonia or Scotland.
Even though it's demilitarised, Finland is responsible for its defense. If it ever became independent, it would have to organise its own defense, which is hard as it has only 30 000 people.
Instead of calling it a country, I'd say that it's more like the Channel islands are to the UK. An autonomous region that is taking advantage of the tax status. Åland is technically not in EU, which is why the ships going there and back can sell tax free alcohol.
don't let facts get in the way of good click bait...
The Channel Islands are not an 'autonomous region' of the UK as such, they are 'Crown Dependencies' which owe their status to the fact that they belonged to the Duke of Normandy who became King of England, and the UK government assumed oversight of the Islands and the UK parliament can ultimately pass laws that overrule local laws. They were never part of the UK, the inhabitants have British citizenship but didn't have free movement in the EU when the UK was a member.
@@EdMcF1 I know. I k ow a guy from Guernsey and he had to pay full oversees tuition fees at the UK university. So, it would have been better to be from Bulgaria than Guernsey when it came to university fees in the UK. (Of course this was all before Brexit).
He is saying that like 30 seconds into the video. Its a series about unknown pseudo countries.
It's not really that clickbaity. Of people call Greenland a country nobody complains. Same thing.
@@matsv201 not a pseudo country but a region inside a sovereign country that has autonomy to decide certain things.
I'd call the countries that are recognised by some by not all other sovereign countries as pseudo countries. Such as Palestine or Kosovo.
In addition to Finnish, Swedish is an official language all throughout Finland.
On Åland, only Swedish is the official language.
Now English is ålso an official language of Suomi (Finland).
@@scottdavis691 Interesting. I didn't know that. Kiitos!
@@scottdavis691 Not quite. 😄
@@MrGunnar69 The national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish by constitution, Åland cannot change that. Swedish is the majority language in Åland and thereforr they don't need road signs in Finnish etc. But not using Finnish does not erase the official status of it.
First off, Åland is not a country. It's a part of Finland that has had a Swedish population since pre-historic times. Åland is not the only region in Finland that has or once had a majority Swedish population, going back to the Middle Ages or earlier (not surprising since Finland used to be part of the Kingdom of Sweden).
Secondly, Åland wasn't converted to Christianity in the 12th century (the 1100's). This process took place a century before, in the 11th century (the 1000's), same as in the rest of Sweden.
Thirdly, while Åland was temporarily occupied by Russia during the Great Nordic War (1700-1721), Finland, including Åland, remained part of the Kingdom of Sweden until 1809, when it was lost to Russia due to the War of 1808-1809.
Since “prehistoric times”? Well, that’s a big stretch of events. Maybe 1500-1600 years.
@@DanielTaddone I'd say that's about right, although the islands have of course been populated for many thousands of years, going down into the Stone Age, both from the east and the west. Around 500 AD, though, there is a new wave of "Swedish" settlements, judging by the prevalent building types in the archeological record, and we also know that Åland were part of the Viking era expeditions of the Rus.
@@scottdavis691 What’s this supposed to mean?
@@DanielTaddone Some kilns were uncovered in Sweden 20 years ago showing Iron Age Swedes before they thought.
The Swedish population arrived to the Åland Islands only during the Viking age. They had been previously populated by the Finnish-speakers.
Swedish colonialists arrived to some coastal parts of the continental Finland only during the 1200's-1300's.
If you want to teach people about Åland, you could start be learning how it is pronounced!
As I am sure many have pointed out already, it is not a country but a part of Finland, though with some special rules pertaining to it.
Sweden accepted the verdict of the League of Nations under protest but accepted it nonetheless. Today, Swedes, Finns and the people of Åland live in peace and prosperity. Others could learn a lot from this... (looking at the middle east)
The camping in nature rule applies to Sweden and the rest of Finland too. It is part of a very old tradition, the freedom to roam, from the days when these today separate countries were one.
I assume it is pronounced aoland with the "ao" sounding as in boat?
@@solracer66 Nope. I would say that it is more like the English word "awe".
I have a feeling that the narration is just an AI text-to-speech voice with no consideration for correct pronunciation.
@christopherx7428 We were there in 1983 and it's spelled Åland, pronounced more like O-lawnd.
@Solracer66 , yes, we were there in 1983 and that's how we always heard it pronounced.
I lived in Sweden and I knew about Åland, but not much. It is a very beautiful place that I would like to visit sometime.
If anyone were left confused after seeing this video and wonder if there are equally governed areas around the world and there is. Even here in the Nordic countries. There are in fact a total of three autonomous regions/territories in the Nordic countries: Greenland and Faroe Islands (Denmark), and Åland (Finland). Greenland and Faroe Islands have chosen not to be a part of the EU, while Åland is.
In addition I choose to mention that the Sámi people have their own parliaments in Finland, Sweden and Norway (and in Russia, seems yet more limited) that works with matters concerning Sámi interests. Language, cultural matters, education etc are things they deal with. Without going too much into details, the Sápi area aren't autonomous, but the Sámi parliaments and other institutions do play an essential role in the work for Sámi interests. They do have their own National Day, flag, languages and so on. Sámi language is regarded as official language, but is more in use in some areas.
Back to talking about Åland, I think most people in the Nordic countries have heard about Åland, we do know that Swedish is the most spoken language on this archipelago as well as being spoken many places particularly in the costal areas of the Finnish mainland. Yeah, and one more thing that he forgot to mention in this video is that the Baltic Sea is one of the most contaminated seas world wide. Sadly. I'm not sure how badly affected Åland is by this, as it varies between areas and some parts of the Baltic Sea is more or less dead. It's really a shame how countries surrounding the Baltic Sea have caused pollution to an extent that there's health risks connected to eating fish, especially fat fish such as salmon.
No, it is NOT a country. Why do you publish such rubbish?
Finnish is the Swedish word for Suomi .
Finland is the Swedish word for Suomi.
Suomi is the native language of Suomi ( Finland)
Suomi language is related to the Language of Estonia .
The language is written with a small letter. The language we speak is suomi in Finnish, finska - in Swedish.
@@LilA-zl6tf In English the names of languages are capitalized.
@@rudewalrus5636 I know. But I was responding to: "Finnish is the Swedish word for Suomi ." In Finnish and in Swedish the names of languages are not capitalized. So. It should read: "Finnish is the English word for suomi." In Swedish, the language is called "finska".
Noone knows about the country because it's not an independent country.
Looks like a nice place, with nice people, if only I was younger and could travel... Seems so peaceful.
I've been to Åland a number of times and loved it. Many people in Europe know Åland, it's a popular tourist destination for lovers of Scandinavia. For me, it's one of the most beautiful places I ever visited. I still keep a flag of Åland that I bought there because I loved it so much.
It's not a country, just like North Rhine Westphalia (with flag and parliament of its own) is no country but a federal state.
This is what we want in South Africa, an autonomous region for minorities. But the criminal ANC government will not allow it without a fight.
What you say about there being a large community of independence supporters is pretty much a lie. Have you even been to the islands or where do you get your information from? Ålands Framtid has been around for a very long time and only has one seat in the regional parliament. In the last election (2019) they got one seat out of 30 with 666 votes out pf a total of 14 594 votes cast. Throughout the party's existence they have never held more than 3 seats. I wouldn't call that a öarge movement. Most people prefer the arrangement with Finland because they can pretty much make their own laws about things that affect them, and many worry that reuniting witj Sweden (the ultimate goal of Ålands Framtid) would make them just a random Swedish island among many, and they would lose their autonomy.
Thank you. I am happy to have learnt about Aland, but being American I think you do not quite understand Aaland's situation. Like Greenland, it is part of but autonomous. Not the same as a separate country. The Basque country ( split in two: French and Spanish regions), the Corsicans and the Bretons have their own flags and national anthems, but they are not separate countries. Each Canton in Switzerland has a distinct flag. Same difference. Note I used the old spelling as I cannot reproduce the little o over the a. Aa and a with an o over it are pronounced "o". Jag talar Svenska. Jag ved.
each town and even village usually has its own flag
Try setting your keyboard for Swedish. Of course it helps to have a Swedish keyboard but it types Engelska when I don't want it to if not set up right.
What about the Lakota Nation?
i spent 15 summers in Åland. Visited all churces including Kökar and Kumlinmge. Cottage was build by Erhard Erikson in Hammarland Frebbenby. Marsund was my major swimming and diving area.
It is Åland, not Aland. Fix it.
How about no ? Why should we fix it , you fix it or the country will be fixed already
It's Finnish and it's called 'Ahvenanmaa'.
@@chamberpot969 how about the island instead
@@alexandergutfeldt1144 oh I got scared haha 🤣🤣 . You think I care about your island . A single rocket from Russia and it will be dust
Min familj och jag åkte varje år till Norge på våran semester i över 10år!!. Norge är ett underbart land! Men har blivit så dyrt! så dom sista 10-Åren åker vi till Åland och Finland!. Underbart land!.och på Åland pratar ALLA Svenska!. Finland pratar också Svenska på västkusten i Finland. Älskar detta land! Vilka underbara människor! LOVE från södra Sverige!
youtube promotes lies. this vid is a lie. Aland is not a sovereign country: it is part of Finland that gained govt autonomy in 1920 (ie municipal autonomy). Aland has no jurisdiction and authority over immigration.
Not a country, part of Finland and written Åland or Ahvenanmaa. Your "facts" need serious checking.
Very interesting! Thanks to UA-cam, I'd never know of the existence of Aland. Learned something new today.
The old Finnish name for Åland was "Oolanti" like the Finns would pronounce it. A certain company in Ahvenanmaa still use it as a trademark for many potato based products especially "Oolannin ranskalaiset" (French fries of Åland) that is a frozen product.
Because the long common history the Finnish and Swedish alphabets are identical with twenty-nine letters. Letter Å or å is called as the Swedish O in Finland and it is pronounced as /oː/. It's only used in some Finnish proper names like the first president of Finland K.J. Ståhlberg.
But Åland has never been populated by Finns.
Ståhlberg is a Swedish name, he was named Carl Johan and then changed his name to Kaarlo Juho when Finland was created.
@@MrGunnar69 If the Finnish alphabet hadn't included the letter Å, it would have probably replaced with double-O in spelling to match the pronounciation. For instance a famous epic poem "The Tales of Ensign Stål" is known in Finnish as "Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat" and in Swedish "Fänrik Ståls sägner".
Apart from the various inaccuracies of research that the comments below indicate it would have helped if the narrator had pronounced the name correctly. The Swedish letter åÅ is pronounced like the 'aw' sound in the English word 'awful' and not like the 'a' in 'father'. You could say that his pronunciation was not awful enough!
Oh, so Åland is pronounced as "Awland"
@@tombuddy100 Correct.
Sooo FUNNY. Always wanted to know how "that" particular letter
was pronounced.
Thanks for "that".
FINALLY, at age 70, I now know THAT! :D
Incidentally, my grand-father, Hinling (Henry) Selin left Sweden
at the age of 16 at the turn of the 20th century. He married a
Finn, Karen Kortii, from Nothern Finland. This makes me a
2nd generation Swede + a 2nd generation Finn. :D
Ken, Toronto, CANADA
A few things I suppose a program like this will not know or understand.
When Russia in the war of 1808-09 took the eastern part of Sweden, that is Finland, Åland also fell to Russia and become the Grand Duchy of Finland until 1917 when Finland declared itself independent as the Russian Empire fell in the Russian revolution.
When the question of to whom Åland belongs, people of Åland understood very well that should Åland become a part of Sweden then rich Swedes from Stockholm would soon
buy up most of it for themselves and the time as a Åland society would end.
The type of autonomy Finland suggested/accepted was something Sweden in practice would never have stuck to.
The question of autonomy was very important and known to Finland who was lucky to have been granted a very extensive autonomy from Russia keeping old Swdish law, private property rights and a Nordic society with a parliament
,
Finland is a country with two official languages, Finnish and Swedis and you get along well in Finnish on Åland too as they read it in school.
The "freedom to roam" is an old Nordic tradition and not Åland specific at all.
To quote the Wikipedia.
" he freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the "right to roam".
In Scotland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, the freedom to roam takes the form of general public rights which are sometimes codified in law.
...
Today, the right to roam has survived in perhaps its purest form in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Here the right has been won through practice over hundreds of years[1] and it is not known when it changed from mere 'common practice' to become a commonly recognised right.
And PS. If you have a look at the telephone directory of Åland you will find that it's very diverse much because the big sailing ships of Gustaf Erikson and other came to Åland and a lot of "foreign" crew decided to stay, just look at the names.
Tourism is also one big important industry on Åland.
Judging from this video I think a rather strong "separatist" provided "his" rather narrow views for this otherwise well made video.
Amazing! I have heard a lot about ÅLAND but never been there. Even I live for years in Sweden. If I have time after my retirement next year, summer 2024, so I will really visit ÅLAND for a weekend. Thank you for sharing of this video clip.
😇
Best Wishes from STOCKHOLM - SWEDEN 🎁
Ålands was only a 10km drive from home in the south of Stockholm. Oh, yes there was this nice Ferry rider involved too.
Det viktigaste är att dom pratar svenska så man förstår!
Well just like everyone says, Åland isn't s Country.
Clickbait.
Åland is an autonomous REGION OF FINLAND, not a sovereign nation!
What the hell are you talking about?
well they are certainly a nation, albeit a nation without a state
@@trollberger no it's not. They don't really have a national identity separate of the all the other Swedish speakers in Finland (about 300 000, while the population of Åland is about 30 000). They've never been independent and even though the video tries to make it a big deal, the independence movement there is insignificant.
As an autonomous region holding one seat in the Finnish parliament, they have far more power than they would ever have as an independent nation that would have to look after its own defense. It's in a very strategic location in the Baltic. So, it's in a very different situation than say Monaco or San Marino that are surrounded by friendly France and Italy. Finnish army still prepares for a Russian landing there in case of war. Try to defend a Russian landing with 30 000 people. They are lucky that someone else does it for them, which is why they have no interest to become independent.
@@srelma But realistically, how hard would it be to stop a Russian invasion? All you have to do is leave a few cases of vodka for the Russians to find, and their invasion will grind to a halt in a matter of hours. Then it's just a mop-up operation. The Ukrainians discovered this, but unfortunately not soon enough.
It is a nice place to visit in the summer. I have its flag on a little pole along with the flags of the Shetlands, Orkneys, Tahiti, Normandy, Catalan, Basque, conch republic, Magallanes Region of Chile, and other regions I have been to as well as the related country flags.
Summer yes
Some important additions. First, modern day Finland and Sweden were the same country for centuries, before Russia attacked Finland and the Swedish army just abandoned Finland, which then became part of Russia. When Finland became independent in connection with the Russian revolution, the case that the League of Nations dealt with was pretty scandalous as Sweden intentionally produced an incorrect map to fool the League, but Finns had information of this via Japan (!) and were able to rectify things. Historically Sweden could not defend its eastern (Finnish speaking) territory and then tried with cheating to regain part of it (Åland) from Finland. It should also be remembered that there is still a sizable Sedish-speaking Finnish population in Finland - larger than the population of Åland.
It’s Åland not Aland. It using the right character is a spelling error.
Most people in the South of England, the English ones anyway, know about this island, it's the large one to the west. The say Ireland, but they actually pronounce it Åhland. It's very confusing. Just listen to BBC.
A Norwegian princess should have went to Aaland and make it declare independence.
Åland is pronounced O-land, not A-land. That Å is a "Swedish O" and not an A.
Hurts my ears and I'm not even Swedish speakiing XD
The settlement to resolve the conflict between Finland and Sweden reminds me of the compromises that were set forth in the Minsk II agreement signed by the current belligerents over Ukraine. Such a tragedy that it wasn't fulfilled.
Fun fact. The treaty between Finland and Sweden does not allow any of the mainland countries to ever put militaries on the Åland Islands ... so when a Swedish prime minister visit Åland, he/she have to take a regular flight and are not allowed to use the official airplane, since it is registered as a military aircraft with military pilots ... I guess that is the same if they want to visit the island from Finland.
I have heard Aland before, and its national anthem, and I'm American.
As many people in this comment section pointed out: it is not a country. But I would not compare it to Wales or Friesland. I would rather compare it to the island of Man, or the Channel Islands. They too, are not part of the UK. They have their own parliament. But their foreign policy and financial policy are decided by the UK.
I was ready to be skeptical. But this turned into a wonderful 'love of Aland' video. They are not fully independent, however. But since it made me want to uproot and move there (not likely / am American), i'd say you did a good job with the video. I would opin that they need to be certain of what's best for their people: full independence or continue to let Finland be sovereign.
Independence is not in the cards.
At least the archipelago is close to both Sweden and Finland - here in Oz, we seem to have inherited Offshore Territories whose sole uniting factor is that they are all tiny dots thousands of kilometres from the mainland (east and west). I'm sure we inherited this fascination with far flung territories from the British - who could forget the surprise that many Brits felt when they realised they were going to war over islands off the coast of Argentina. .
Living 4,000 km from Canberra has it's share of challenges, but the politicians still find their way up here when it suits them - those tiny islands are barely mentioned by anyone in Oz and maybe that's the way they like it. I salute the people of Aland if they can maintain their identity squeezed between two relative giants.
Friends parents have go to Cocos Islands now.
Can't blame them for wanting to home school. Public education is declining all over the Western world.
I have a map of Åland actually. I once met a sailor off a Finnish freighter that was in town for a load of newsprint from the local mill. He was from Mariehamn.
they need a few african refugee camps. every little village need one. like in germany. if your village has 250 inhabitants you need 2500 refugees.
they need to import some lawyers doctors or astrophysicists from northern africa and pakistan
😂😂😂
pathetic
auf den Punkt gebracht, Danke
Can,y believe how nazis the filands have became , i used to have a good finland friend when i was living in Ámsterdam and wasnt like that at all , i dont understand what happened to be one of the most fascist places in world
His pronunciations are way off, he should have done some homework before making this video. It's Åland and yes I have been there.
Pronounced ‘oh-land
Would help if you pronounced it properly 😭
i stayed there for a week! it was awesome
I've been there. It's a beautiful place, friendly people, well worth visiting.
in Åland they speak Swedish and yet they are Finns. Åland is spoken Oland
10% of of the fins speak swedish as their native language.
@@ursodermatt8809more like 5%
@@pyrylehtonen-caponigro3198
ah yes you are correct. there are also bilingual people. so it somewhat depends how you look at the numbers.
The Russians didn’t take Åland permanently in the Great Northern War in the early 1700s. That happened when Sweden ceded Finland to Russia in 1809.
A country no one knows about. The best kind I’d say.
Important historical fact about semi autonomy can be found in the uK’s context. Scotland was responsible for creating the United Kingdom of today, by taking over and merging the English crown with the Scottish crown therefore England is a crown dependency of Scotland and not the other way round. There have been more Scottish UK prime ministers than English ones. In the last 30 years only 2 of the the UK’s 7 prime ministers were English - Theresa May and John Major. Tony Blair, David Cameron and Gordon Brown were Scottish, current prime minister Sunak is Indian and Boris is American of Turkish ancestry.
I wonder if it's something like the Isle of Man situated in the Irish Sea. This is a self-governing British Crown Dependency with its own parliament the Tynwald and with a chief minister. It belongs to neither the UK nor the EU, but it is very much dependent on its big neighbour as the inhabitants travel on a British passport.
Aland is no more of a country than Wales or Friesland (NL) are. It’s simply a region.
Wales is a country 😊 (like Skotland and Ireland) but part of UK
The video said "it belongs to Finland." How does this make it a separate country?
not a country!
As a Canadian, camping w/o a campfire is not possible or right. Regardless, looks like an amazing place to visit.
Isn't it otonounnced "oland"?
Just to make it clear and avoid spreading misinformation, Åland is NOT a country. Åland is an autonomous region that belongs to Finland. The autonomy extends to things such as taxes, gambling, postal services and related things. In addition it’s demilitarization through international conventions. In all other aspects the same laws applies as in the rest of Finland.
You have received a thumbs down from me for your insistence that Aland is a country, which it is not. Is Guam a country separate from USA? No. Is Quebec a country? No. I had never heard of Aland before, and it sounds like an interesting place. I had to stop halfway through after I looked it up and will now see if there is a factual video about the place.
Learning something new everyday is good.
Wow!
You should practice your pronunciation Åååland!
Never heard of this place referred as a country. If they want to be an independent country, they should be equally held responsible for taxes.
Like 'Freesia' in the northern Netherlands, they have a distinct society with their own language and cultural traditions. North Americans could compare this scene similar, even analogous, to Quebec within Canada.
Freesia is a type of highly scented flower growing from bulbs. the province in the northern netherlands is called Friesland. Or in English Frisia. Friesland is just a province like any of the other provinces in the netherlands. it has no autonomy and is not even remotely close to being a "country".
Right ✅️ , but it has its own language and culture from way back.
@@lawrenceweinzimer so what? so does every other of the 12 provinces of the netherlands. and every other region in every other country in europe. Friesland is no different from any other province.
@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo All right then. Enough. We're cool 😎 !
Howdy from Arizona USA. I did not know of the lovely country!
Åland was occupied by Russia 1714-1721, annexed by Russia 1809-1917 and since then by Finland.
I learn something new every day
The title is totally misleading. No one knows about the country of Aland because there is no country of Aland. It's an autonomous part of Finland, NOT A COUNTRY!
Stop calling Åland a country and a nation. It is simply a lie and incorrect. Åland is an autonomous region of Finland just as Corsica belongs to France and Sardinia to Italy. Åland belongs to Finland, but the inhabitants speak Swedish. There are several regions in Finland with a Swedish-speaking population. Åland is pronounced "Ohland". This beautiful, small island with 30,000 inhabitants is not a country. Please.
So I am related to most everybody on the island that is so cool
Texas was an independent country. Before the Civil War every state in the US was a country. Now the states are de facto provinces. I am sure someone will disagree with me.
People have already pointed out the incorrect classification of this place. Why did the producer go down the home schooling rabbit hole? That is truly bizarre.
"Due to the growing refugee population, Swedes complain that the quality of education in schools is declining". People complain about school quality in Sweden for lots of reasons, including a shortage of teachers and ridiculously low requirements for people who want to become teachers because they cannot afford to turn people away. Laws intended to protect children but which at the same time end up making discipline in the classroom impossible are also often blamed. Likewise the introduction of for-profit schools where part of the resources go to investors has been debated a lot. A high number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds of course don't make things easier, but blaming it all on refugees is rather simplistic, don't you think?
Swedish families who move to Åland do so because they want to home-school their children. Sweden was the second country in the world to ban homeschooling, after Germany which banned it in the 1930s. It was the "liberal" education minister General Björklund who banned home schooling.
That for-profit schools are allowed and the right to choose a school is the only positive thing about Swedish schools. The large profits the school companies make are a clear sign of how ineffective the non-profit schools are.
@@MrGunnar69 Maybe education systems were made to kill viking spirit, with all that "everybody is equal"?
It's Åland - not Aland
Would like to visit this country someday.
Yes. It is part of Finland. I hired a bicycle and rode around it. There is no boarder controls but they do drive on the left side of the road.
As an English an living on Åland and can assure you that nobody drives on the left.
Easy to check. You can Google Street view Aland and people drive on the right.....just like they do in Finland and Sweden.
We used to drive on the left in Sweden - before the 3rd of September 1967. And Åland hasn't belonged to Sweden since 1809. This video is full of BS.
Åland has a unique sport called "Yank the Yoke". A chair is constructed with each leg attached to ropes that thread over pulleys. One player called the yoke sits in the chair, and the rest of the players pull on the ropes as fast as possible, hurling the player high into the air. Then they try to catch the player in the chair but often he falls, getting badly injured. When the yoke is too incapacitated to continue, another yoke is selected and they start all over again.
Did your bicycle ever get wet?
Yep, heaven on earth! Lucky people😊
Nice do they have a Starbucks 👍
Just because it has a flag, doesn’t mean it’s a country. In the UK, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall have their own flag. Maybe Northern Ireland and others as well. Scotland does have its own parliament, but it’s more like the US states having their own legislatures. The Isle of Man may be another thing. It depends on the UK for many functions, but it is more independent than the other regions of the UK.
It is Åland and not Aland.
You can tell by the looks of some people there that they are related to eachother, especially some years ago 🤪
When I played vikings in ck2, I always had it as one of my main areas. usually. Anyway, rad
Today's AI seem silly.. but happy that I learned about a beautiful place.
My son has lived in Sweden for 15 yrs and I’ve visited 3 times (from Canada). This is the first I’ve heard of Aland. Very interesting little country, protectorate or whatever.
Yeah, Canada. Whatever...
Indeed, not a country. No army, no own currency, no foreign policy rights, one MP in the Finnish parliament with 200 MPs.
I've never been to Aland, but, wow, it looks like Northern Ontario in Canada, right down to the red granite aggregate in the roads.
7:17 It's exactly what we all need!
For a time public transport was free in Mariehamn only, but has not been for many years now.
Please do the Basque Country next!
Interesting.
There is a book called
The Åland Islands Question.
The Åland Islands is not a country. The Åland Islands are part of Finland.