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All Åland Islands Mariehamn 'The Stone That Returned Home'

'The Stone That Returned Home'

One man's journey to return a stone to its point of origin after 200,000 years.

Mariehamn, Åland Islands

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Warwick Conway
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‘The Stone That Returned Home’   warwickwandering / Atlas Obscura User
‘The Stone That Returned Home’   warwickwandering / Atlas Obscura User
‘The Stone That Returned Home’   warwickwandering / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The result of one man’s quest to return a rock deposited in the Netherlands back to its rightful home in the Åland Islands after many millennia. This stone is easily accessible on the waterfront in Mariehamn (though the ice can be pretty treacherous around it in winter).

The Stone That Returned Home is a project by Dutch artist Bart Eysink Smeets. After he learned that geologists could pinpoint where the boulders strewn about the Netherlands by ancient glaciers had originally come from, he resolved to bring one back.

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Glaciers Art Outside Rocks Stone

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The Åland Islands themselves are pretty interesting and a geopolitical anomaly and quirk, almost as odd as this rock.

A Swedish-speaking autonomous part of Finland, the Åland Islands have their own parliament, stamps and car number plates.

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warwickwandering

Edited By

linkogecko

  • linkogecko

Published

January 16, 2024

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  • https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/bart-eysink-smeets-the-stone-that-returned-home-art-230120
'The Stone That Returned Home'
Mariehamn, 22100
Åland Islands
60.097171, 19.94982
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Nearby Places

Bomarsund Fortress

Bomarsund, Åland Islands

miles away

Märket Lighthouse

Hammarland, Finland

miles away

Hermas Homestead Museum

Enklinge, Åland Islands

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Åland Islands

Åland Islands

Europe

Places 2

Nearby Places

Bomarsund Fortress

Bomarsund, Åland Islands

miles away

Märket Lighthouse

Hammarland, Finland

miles away

Hermas Homestead Museum

Enklinge, Åland Islands

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Åland Islands

Åland Islands

Europe

Places 2

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