Eckerö post- och tullhus

In summer, the Post and Customs House is open to visitors, and in the main building you can see an exhibition about the Great Post Road and customs. There is also a cosy café and a museum shop selling Åland handicrafts, books, postcards and stamps.

History of the Post and Customs House

During the period when the Post and Customs House was built, Finland and Åland were part of Russia, making Eckerö Russia's westernmost outpost towards Sweden. The building was the first official building to welcome travellers from the Åland Sea and served as a workplace and residence for the officials who handled postal and customs matters.
In addition to the post office and customs house, the building was also used as a quarantine hospital during the cholera epidemic that broke out in the autumn of 1834 and 1848. All travellers suspected of being carriers of the disease were required to undergo a medical examination and if cholera was suspected, the travellers were detained in the facility. The entire building was stocked with hospital beds and other hospital equipment. It also provided accommodation for doctors and staff.

In 1882, a telegraph station was set up in the house and the telegraph remained in operation until 1900.

During the First World War 1914-1918, Russian soldiers were stationed here for short periods despite the 1856 demilitarisation treaty. When the Civil War broke out in 1918, large numbers of refugees were also housed in the facility on their way from Finland to Sweden. In the early spring of the same year, German soldiers took possession of the facility as accommodation, a place to spend the night, a place to hold prisoners of war and a place to negotiate.

When the Second World War broke out, Finnish soldiers were billeted in the Eckerö Post and Customs House to protect Åland from invasion. In the late 1950s the building was renovated and rebuilt to be used as a holiday home for postal and customs employees, and in the 1980s a café, pottery workshop and shop were added to the building. Since 1994 the building belongs to the Province of Åland and is managed by the Government of Åland.

Queen Kristina Postal Road turns 360 years in 2026

In 2026, Queen Kristina's Postal Road will be 360 years old - a historic milestone for one of Sweden's most important transport routes during the age of great power.

The postal route between Stockholm and Turku, also known as the Great Postal Route, was established in 1636 by Queen Kristina's guardianship government. It became a lifeline for mail between Sweden and Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire. The route stretched from Stockholm to Grisslehamn, where the mail was rowed across the Åland Sea to Eckerö, then across mainland Åland to Vårdö and then by boat to Tövsala on the Finnish side. From there it continued by land to Turku and then eastwards to Vyborg and Narva.

The mail route was not just a transport route - it was an expression of governmental organisation, perseverance and courage. Postal farmers in the archipelago were divided into rotaries and were responsible for rowing the mail across the open sea, often in difficult conditions. In winter, they might be forced to drag boats across the ice or use horses and sledges when the ice broke. Inns and post offices were built along the way, including the impressive Post and Customs House in Eckerö from 1828, which would make a grand impression on travellers heading for the Russian Empire.

Address: Sandmovägen 111, 22270 Storby