Långnäs is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in Lumparland on the eastern mainland of

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, 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, with a size of 1 ...

, about 30 km over the road away from Åland's capital

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...

. Road ferries to

Kumlinge Kumlinge is a municipality consisting of a group of islands in Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. Kumlinge, which is also the name of the largest island in the group, means "rocky passage." The municipality has a population of () and cov ...

(Snäckö) and Galtby via Föglö (Överö) and

Kökar Kökar () is an island municipality to the south-east of the Åland archipelago, Finland. It is also one of the municipalities of Åland. It is reachable by boat from Långnäs on Åland or from Galtby with access to mainland Finland. The munici ...

start here. Långnäs is an alternative to Åland's main passenger harbour, the Western Harbour in Mariehamn, for ferries between Finland and Sweden.

Ferry traffic

Långnäs has two

Ålandstrafiken Ålandstrafiken is a ferry company based in Åland, an archipelago of over 6,500 islands in the Baltic Sea, and a Swedish-speaking autonomous province of Finland. The company operates inter-island services as well as links to ports in western Finla ...

ferry connections. The southern line goes to Galtby (with a connection to mainland Finland) via Överö,

Sottunga Sottunga is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The municipality is the smallest when it comes to population in Åland and in Finland, with a population of only () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

, Husö, Kyrkogårdsö and

. The other line goes to Snackö in

via Överö and Sottunga. The shipping company Ab Lillgaard has connections between Långnäs and

Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...

via the ferry MS Fjärdvägen. The cruise lines

Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from ...

and

Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...

use Långnäs as an alternative to

as a night-time stop on the

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

—

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

route. The ferry operator

Finnlines Finnlines Plc ( fi, Finnlines Oyj, sv, Finnlines Abp) is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Bal ...

has a connection from Naantali to

Kapellskär Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County. Services The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...

via Långnäs. In 1999,

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

legislation outlawed the sale of

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

goods on ferry cruises within the EU, but Åland's tax privileges provide a legal exemption for ships that call at a port in Åland. As duty-free sales are a considerable source of revenue for the ferry shipping companies, the major routes between the Stockholm region (Kapellskär and Stockholm) and southern Finland (Turku and Helsinki) include a stop there.

History

Långnäs has been used as a harbour for inter-island traffic on Åland since the 1920s.Om bolaget
Långnäs Hamn Ab. Accessed on 15 May 2020. In the early 1960s, Silja Line built a ferry terminal in Långnäs, designed by Finnish architect Bengt Lundsten. The terminal was in use 1965–1975. It was a large futuristic glass building suspended in the air by cable wires connected to two supporting arches. It gained international recognition for its architecture.Andelin, Jan-Erik
Långnäs, Skattehamn
''Ny tid'' 8 April 2003. Silja Line terminated its traffic to Långnäs in 1975 and the terminal fell into disuse and was eventually dismantled in 1993. A new terminal was built in 1999 to accommodate the large

cruiseferries A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...

on the Stockholm—Turku route. The company Långnäs Hamn Ab was founded in 1988 when the municipality of Lumparland bought the harbour area from Silja Line. Långnäs was the first harbour in Finland to be operated as a joint-stock company. The newly formed company had visions of an oil harbour, and a passenger harbour to serve the then booming ferry industry. The municipality's ambitions exceeded their capabilities and in 1992 the entire stock of the company was acquired by the

Government of Åland The ''Landskapsregering'' is the government of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland. The government is led by a Lantråd, the premier of Åland, who is elected by the '' Lagting'', the parliament of Åland. List of Premiers of Åland (since 1 ...

. In 1993 Lillgaard Ab started traffic from Långnäs to Naantali. Finland's entry in the European Union in 1995 and the tax exemption law for Åland caused a renovation of the harbour. A new deep quay and a simple terminal building were built so that ferries between Turku and Stockholm would have time to stop at Åland in both directions. Traffic started on 1 July 1999, on the same day when the new tax laws for intra-EU traffic came into force.

Accidents

On 28 November 1968, the passenger ships ''

Ilmatar In the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic, Ilmatar () was a virgin spirit and goddess of the air. Origins The name Ilmatar is derived from the Finnish word ''ilma'', meaning "air," and the female suffix ''-tar'', corresponding to English ...

'' and ''Botnia'' collided in front of the Långnäs harbour travelling on the Stockholm—Turku route. Six people were killed in the accident and it caused almost 700 000

Finnish markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...

worth of damage. Because of the thick

mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such a ...

at the time, visibility conditions were very poor.Yle Elävä Arkisto – Laivaonnettomuus Långnäsin satamassa
25 November 2009. Accessed on 13 July 2015.

References

External links

Långnäs Hamn Ab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langnas Transport in Åland Economy of Åland Buildings and structures in Åland