Russia, 2011, 40 rub. 12. multicoloured

Catalogues:
ITC «Marka»: 1464
Michel: 1695, block 143
Scott: SS 7255
Stanley Gibbons: MS7733
Yvert et Tellier: block 337

Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (Franz Xaver Winterhelter
1857, Hermitage Museum) against the background of ancient map of Mariehamn.

History of foundation of Mariehamn (the name translates from Swedish as “harbor of Mary”) is connected to the Crimean War, which determined the further fate of Åland as demilitarized islands. After the war, the local inhabitants moved a motion to Alexander II about the foundation of a port city on the main island, which was suggested to name in honor of Maria Alexandrovna, wife of the Russian emperor Alexander II. Tsar's manifesto from February 4, 1859, permitted the foundation of Mariehamn, a diploma signed on February 20, 1861, established the status of the city.

Plots: Maria Alexandrovna