Aland, ol'land, Islands, a group of about eight islands and numerous rocks and islets belonging to Finland, situated in the Baltic Sea, near the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia. The fortress of Bomarsund was destroyed by an Anglo-French force in August, 1854. The islands were taken from Sweden by Russia in 1809. In 1921, the League of Nations settled a dispute between Sweden and Finland over possession of the islands, at which time they came under Finland's authority. Population, about 24,000.