Mariehamn (Finnish: Maarianhamina) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 88% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.

The town was named after Maria Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. Mariehamn was founded in 1861, around the village of Övernäs, in what was at the time part of the municipality of Jomala. The city has since expanded and incorporated more of Jomala territory. The city is located on a peninsula, and has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore. The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden and mainland Finland. A powerful incentive for Baltic ferries to stop at Mariehamn is that, with respect to indirect taxation, Åland is not part of the EU customs zone and so duty-free goods can be sold aboard. Mariehamn Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Jomala, some 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-west of Mariehamn city centre.

Ulf Lundell (born 20 November 1949 in Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden, full name Ulf Gerhard Lundell) is a Swedish writer, poet, songwriter, composer, musician and artist.

He made his debut in 1975 with the LP Vargmåne and was immediately hailed as "Sweden's Bob Dylan". In 1976 his first novel, the partly autobiographical Jack was published by Wahlström & Widstrand. Lundell was influenced by musicians such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other beats. Ulf Lundell is one of the central figures in Swedish rock music and almost since his debut he has been one of the most important influences on rock musicians writing and singing in Swedish. Lundell is also somewhat controversial and has argued with everyone from neo-nazis, feminists and communists to colleagues and music journalists.

Lundell was known as a heavy drinker in the 1980s, but pulled out of overdrinking after serious bouts with alcoholism in 1985-87; he gave a vivid report of this time, his recovery and his struggle with the rocker myth in the autobiographical novel En varg söker sin flock (1989; "A Wolf in Search of his Pack")