Suomenlinna Finland. Sveaborg Fortress (Suomenlinna), Finland: description, photo, where it is on the map, how to get there. What makes the bastion fortress unique?

1. I went to the Sveaborg fortress (translated from Swedish Sveaborg - Swedish Fortress) immediately after a short visit. Actually, the main point of the program that day was not the city, but a fortress located on islands in the Baltic Sea.

2. While still approaching on the ferry, I saw various buildings of the fortress. Here is a powder magazine, built on an artificial peninsula for safety.

3. A lot of watercraft are concentrated on the islands, because there is no land connection with the city. There are also quite rare hovercraft.

4. Having landed on the shore, I go to explore the coastal strip.

5. From here you have a beautiful view of the center of the Finnish capital. In general, it’s just a stone’s throw away.

6. The islands themselves are entirely stone, rocky, called “Wolf Skerries”.

7. The crevices of the rocks are filled with earth, from which low birch trees and grass with moss grow.

8. It is extremely rare to find sandy coves.

9. The fortress itself was built in the middle of the 18th century on seven islands to protect Helsingfors from the sea.

10. Basically, the fortifications were built from boulders tightly fitted to each other, in places reinforced with brickwork.

11. The main gate of the fortress from the side of the pier is decorated with a turret with a spire and a clock. All this was built in the 1860s by Russian military engineers.

12. In the center of the island there is a Lutheran church with a lighthouse dome. And originally it was an Orthodox cathedral in the name of Alexander Nevsky, built in 1854 by the famous architect Konstantin Ton, and was very similar to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior designed by him. In the 20th century, the Finns rebuilt the building beyond recognition.

13. The buildings inside the fortifications are entirely brick. In the former arena there is an exhibition of weapons from the Second World War, but on the day of my arrival it was closed.

14. Some buildings were erected on a high stone plinth.

15. At the entrance to the residence of the commandant of the fortress there lies a broken anchor of completely unimaginable size.

16. Nearby is an unusually designed power pole.

17. A total of 900 people live on the islands, and you can find quite ordinary houses here.

18. For reliability, local residents hammered crossbars for drying ropes into the stone base of the island.

19. On the island of Pikku Musta (Small Black), under the Russian Empire called Hospital, there is now a naval academy.

20. At the entrance to the academy there is a sculpture symbolizing the country’s coat of arms - a lion in a crown holding a sword in its paw.

21. The Academy is surrounded by the fortifications of the Lilo-Osterswerd fort, on the rampart of which there are anti-aircraft guns from the Second World War.

22. And the coast here is covered by coastal guns.

23. In one of the barracks there is a museum and a tourist center, but, as it turned out, nothing is open here in October.

24. In 1808, Finland was conquered by the Russian army. On March 2, the fortress was besieged. After a month of fruitless attempts to take the fortifications, a truce was concluded. They decided that if the Swedish fleet did not come to help by May 4, the fortress would surrender. The fleet did not come to help, the seven thousand strong garrison of the fortress surrendered. Everyone was sent home, taking the word not to participate in hostilities anymore. All artillery and ammunition went to the Russians.

25. The most powerful fortifications of the fortress are located on the island of Susisaari, the former Wolf.

26. Loopholes were built in the two-meter walls for artillery shelling of the enemy fleet.

27. Small loopholes were intended for firing from rifles at the enemy who risked taking the fortifications by storm.

28. The most interesting fortifications are in the southern part of the island. They once held the Kustaanmiekka (Sword of Gustav) Strait clearly visible behind them. Although the gap between the islands seems small, huge ferries pass through easily.

29. The local bastions contain dozens of casemates, all of them connected by turns, where you can interestingly wander.

30. Some of the bastions contain ancient cannons that once protected the entrance to Helsinki harbor.

31. Small door in one casemate.

32. Behind it is a long corridor with several turns, called the lost room.

33. The posterns connected the various parts of the fortress with each other.

34. It was possible to move along such corridors without fear of enemy shells and bullets.

35. In the curtain there were storage rooms, where the floor was laid with bricks.

36. Coming out of the casemates, I found myself at the Royal Gate, in front of which lies the pier of the same name. Once upon a time this was the main entrance to the fortress. In front of the gate there is a deep ditch, more like a narrow gap, through which a rising wooden bridge is thrown.

37. At the pier there is a massive ring driven into the rock.

38. From the pier there is a beautiful view of the island of Iso Mustasaari (formerly Komendantsky), where the forced labor colony is located. There, under symbolic protection, people who have committed minor offenses are working on the restoration of the fortress.

39. Not far from the gate you can see the tiny submarine "Vesikko" built in the 1930s. After the war, Finland was prohibited from possessing a submarine fleet, as a result of which the submarine lay abandoned for a long time on one of the islands of Suomenlinna. Now it has been restored and turned into a museum. Unfortunately, there was a lock on the door when I visited.

40. For more than a century, the fortress was part of the Russian Empire. It is not surprising that the Russian command was strengthening the defense of Helsingfors. On the island of Lansi Musta (Western Cherny, formerly Strelkov), the concrete position of the Russian coastal battery has been preserved.

41. Two massive doors lead to the interior of the battery.

45. They are locked with a lock that has become quite rusty.

43. There are traces of small shells on the doors. The fortress took part in hostilities during the First World War.

44. The battery was designed for four cannons, hidden in the gun courtyards behind the parapet. Under a thick layer of concrete there was a gallery to shelter the crew and ammunition. A small cast-iron hatch was provided for feeding shells.

45. Unfortunately, now there is not a single weapon left here, only cast iron supports remain. However, many Russian cannons have been preserved on the islands, which can be seen in one of the following posts.

Suomenlinna or Sveaborg, as the Swedes called this place, is translated into Russian as “Finnish fortress”. Currently, this is one of the districts of Helsinki, where about eight hundred people live, and in the old days, bastion fortifications located on the islands protected Helsingfors from the sea.

Suomenlinna Fortress

Geography of the Wolf Skerries

Five of the islands: Kustaanmiekka, Susisaari, Pikku Mustasaari, Länsi-Mustasaari and Iso Mustasaari, are connected by bridges or spits, while the islands of Lonna, Särkkä and Pormestarinluodot are separate.

The southernmost of the interconnected islands is Kustaanmiekka. It is connected to Susisaari by a narrow isthmus, along which a defensive rampart runs. At its southern end there are the Royal Gate and bastions with guns. There are small ponds in the rocky rock in the center of the island. Suisaari Island is located in the center of the fortress. There are museums here. The island is separated from Iso Mustasaari by a narrow strait and is connected by a wooden bridge. Iso Mustasaari is located in the northeast. It houses a church, a fortress museum, a doll museum and the main pier. Pikku Mustasaari and Länsi-Mustasaari are located in the northwest and are connected by a bridge. And the bridge connects Pikku Mustasaari with Iso Mustasaari.

The total area of the islands is approximately 80 hectares.

A little history

The Suomenlinna fortress was erected in the 18th century on the “Wolf Skerries” (as the islands were called) covering the city, after a series of defeats by the Swedes in the war with Russia. Its purpose was to restrain Russian troops from invading the territory of Finland, which at that time was part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Construction of the fortress began in 1748 and lasted forty years. But in 1808, after a short siege, Sveaborg surrendered to Russian troops, and the fortress passed to the Russians. According to the peace treaty of 1809, Finland was given by Sweden to Russia. Until 1918, there was a Russian garrison in Sveaborg. In the history of the fortress there are glorious pages of the valiant resistance of Russian troops to the Anglo-French squadron during the Crimean War (1855), when the enemy forces significantly outnumbered the artillery of the fortress defenders.

Suomenlinna received its name after Finland became an independent country in 1918.

Important dates in the history of the fortress

1748 - Finland becomes part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Under the leadership of Augustin Ehrensvärd, the construction of a sea fortress begins.
1750 - King Fredrik I of Sweden gives the fortress the name Sveaborg.
1788 - The fortress serves as a base during Sweden's war against Russia.
1808 - Finnish War. The fortress surrenders to Russian troops. For the next 110 years it serves as the base of the Russian fleet.
1809 - Finland becomes an autonomous part of the Russian Empire.
1855 - Crimean War. The fortress was bombed by the Anglo-French fleet, as a result of which it was severely damaged.
1918 - Finnish Civil War. A prisoner of war camp was set up in the fortress. The fortress becomes part of the territory of the state of Finland and receives the name Suomenlinna.
1939 - World War II. The fortress serves as a military base for coastal artillery, air defense and submarine fleet.
1973 - The Finnish garrison leaves the fortress. To manage the Suomenlinna Fortress, an Administrative Body has been established, working under the Ministry of Education and Culture.
1991 - The fortress was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a unique example of the architecture of defensive structures.

New life of Suomenlinna - an open-air museum

In 1973, a unique open-air museum was opened on the territory of the Suomenlinna fortress. Today Suomenlinna is the most famous historical landmark of Helsinki, included by UNESCO in the list of unique military monuments. There is no tourist who would not linger his gaze on the fortifications while sailing past the fortress on a ferry. But it is much more interesting to visit here and touch the history, look at the preserved forts, bastions, barracks, visit the Manege military museum, the customs museum, the Ehrensvärd museum, and also the toy museum. Here you can even see in detail and visit the inside of the submarine Vesikko, which sailed in the northern seas during World War II. It is worth noting that museums are open only in the summer. Only the Suomenlinna Museum is open all year round, where there is a permanent exhibition telling the history of the fortress. And every half hour the museum shows a short film about the fortress.

Sveaborg Fortress (Suomenlinna)- one of the largest sea fortresses in the world; a complex of defensive structures near the capital. It has an island location, so you need to get to it by ferry from. This is undoubtedly one of Finland's most striking landmarks architecturally and historically. She was included in the version of our website.

Sveaborg was built in the 18th century, when Finland was part of Sweden. Hence the original name - Sveaborg, i.e. "Swedish fortress" After gaining sovereignty, the fortress began to be called Suomenlinna, i.e. "Finnish fortress" For several decades, this fortress was a reliable defense for the Finnish capital. However, in 1808 it fell under the pressure of Russian troops and became Russian possessions for almost a century.

Sveaborg occupies eight islands, each of which is unique in its own way. The most popular among them is Iso Mustasaari. You can get a complete picture of what Sveaborg is by taking a leisurely stroll through it. It is especially comfortable in the summer, when even the nights are warm. The last ferry to the city leaves at 2 am.

In general, getting to the fortress is not difficult. Ferries regularly depart from the pier located near the Presidential Palace towards the islands. Travel time is about 15 minutes. The ferry ride is no less exciting than visiting the fortress. After all, along the way there is a picturesque view of the expanses of the bay.

There are a number of interesting museums on the territory of the complex: Museum of History; Toy Museum, Customs Museum, etc. The city prison for those convicted of minor offenses is also located here. As a rule, they are assigned community service. Moreover, the islands are home to a small population of 900 people.

Photo attraction: Sveaborg Fortress (Suomenlinna)

(G) 60.148056 , 24.986389

Suomenlinna in June 2005

Story

The fortification of the Varga Skerries was decided by the Swedish government after the Peace of Abo and was entrusted to General Augustin Ehrensvärd in 1746, with the assistance of the architect Thunberg. In - years the present Gustavsvärd was built; all work was completed in 1770 and cost 25 million riksdaler.

Church in Suomenlinna

During the Finnish Civil War (summer 1918), the fortress was a concentration camp for Finnish Red Guards. The fortress was changed to Suomenlinna (“Finnish Fortress”). In 1933, an ammunition depot exploded in the fortress, killing 12 people. During the Soviet-Finnish War, the fortress was bombed several times by Soviet aircraft. In 1973, the outdated fortress was transferred to civil authorities.

Currently, Suomenlinna is one of the main attractions of Helsinki. On the islands of the former fortress there are several museums, a naval academy of the Finnish Navy and a light-security prison, whose prisoners work to maintain the fortress in order. The fortifications include numerous artillery from the times when the fortress was developed, and all the guns were cast in Russia and the inscriptions on them are only in Russian, mainly from the Perm Arms Factory. The museum preserves a 6-inch siege cannon of the 1904 model and other weapons. About 900 people live on the islands. Ferries between Helsinki and Suomenlinna are considered Helsinki's city transport.

Illustrations

Map of Sveaborg in the 1790s.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Sveaborg" is in other dictionaries:

Sveaborg- Laid down on January 9, 1808 at the St. Petersburg Main Admiralty. Builder I.V. Kurepanov. Launched 18.9.1809, became part of the Baltic Fleet. 45.8x11.8x5.1 m; 36 or.; 250 people. In 1810 he cruised off Krasnaya Gorka. Participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the war with... ... Military encyclopedia

- “SWEABORG”, USSR Finland, Yuleisradio/Mosfilm, 1972, color, 142 min. Historical revolutionary film. Based on the story of the same name by N. Semenkevich. About the uprising of the garrison of the Sveaborg fortress in 1905 and the joint struggle against Russian tsarism and... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

- (now Suomenlinna Suomenlinna), a city in Finland. Founded in the 2nd half. 18th century Swedes. In 1809 1917 as part of the Russian Empire, one of the bases of the Baltic Fleet. In 1906 in Sveaborg there was an uprising of soldiers and sailors... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SVEABORG, fortress. It was located on islands in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. Founded by the Swedes in the 2nd half of the 18th century, it covered the sea approaches to Helsingfors. In 1809 1917 as part of the Russian Empire, one of the bases of the Baltic Fleet. In... ...Russian history

Suomenlinna Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001. Sveaborg, Suomenlinna ... Geographical encyclopedia

Now Suomenlinna, a city in Finland. Founded in the second half of the 18th century. Swedes. In 1809 1917 as part of the Russian Empire, one of the bases of the Baltic Fleet. In 1906, an uprising of soldiers and sailors took place in Sveaborg. * * * SVEABORG… … encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Swedish Sveaborg, Finnish modern Suomenlinna, Suomenlinna; Finnish before 1918 Viapori, Viapori) a former fortress in southern Finland on the islands of the Gulf of Finland at the entrance to the harbor of Helsinki (now one of the districts of Helsinki). Main fortifications... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Sveaborg in Swedish, Weapori in Finnish) a strong fortification that protects the city of Helsingfors from the sea. Located on 7 rocky islands that make up the Wargskären (Wolf Skerries) group. Station of the Russian navy, docks, arsenals, sailor school, barracks... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

- (Swedish Sveaborg, Finnish modern Suomenlinna, Finnish until 1918 Viapori) former military. a fortress in Finland, located on a group of islands at the entrance to Helsinki harbor in the Gulf of Finland; in admin. regarding one of the districts of the city... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Sveaborg- name of the human family count. fort on the Baltic Sea is... Spelling dictionary of Ukrainian language

Books

Sveaborg. Guardian of Helsinki and outpost of St. Petersburg. 1808–1918, Juntunen A.. The book by the Finnish historian A. Juntunen presents in detail the history of one of the most powerful sea fortresses in Europe. Built in the middle of the 18th century. by the Swedes as 171; Swedish fortress 187;…

Have you ever noticed that in any city on Earth, most of the interesting places are always in close proximity to each other. You simply walk through the historical center and “string” the sights one by one, like multi-colored beads on a needle and thread... Here is the Cathedral, here is Senate Square... And here is the Old Market, and behind it you can see the Assumption Cathedral... One after another... One by one…

Everything seems smooth and even... Aha!!! Whatever the case!.. Just like the beads of beads that tend to roll behind the sofa, among the attractions of the so-called city of X there will certainly be one or two such points for which you will have to trudge to the other end of the earth. Places like Rebel Squad in the world of attractions. Whatever you take, in almost every city in the world you are sure to find something similar. Personally, at least, I have seen such pictures many times already. Want an example? Yes, at least ten!.. This is, and, and the Lennusadam Museum in Tallinn, and... I can continue this list for a long time. But in fact, now within the framework of this particular article this is not of fundamental importance. After all, today I would like to tell you about just one of these places, the most “hard-to-reach” attraction of Helsinki - the old fortress of Suomenlinna (aka Sveaborg).

Despite the fact that this place is often considered one of the Helsinki “must see” places, getting to it is not so easy. The islands of Susisaaret, on which the fortress stands, are cut off from the city by the waters of the Gulf of Finland. Therefore, when you get here, it immediately seems that you are no longer quite in Helsinki. The water surface spreads out all around... Huge smooth boulders come close to the shore... And above all this, like a local “gopota”, a detachment of white seagulls circles...

It’s quiet around – and it seems that in just 10 minutes you’ve exchanged noisy Helsinki for some nice and cozy suburb.

However, okay... I'm getting a little crazy... I need to tone down the vanilla. Let me tell you everything in order...

A little history (albeit just a little)…

The decision to build fortresses on the islands of Susisaaret (“Wolf Skerries”) was made after the Russian-Swedish war in the mid-18th century. At that time, the territory of modern Finland was part of the Swedish Empire, and therefore the fortress itself was called Sveaborg (which means “Swedish fortress”). After Finland gained independence, the bastions here were used during the civil war of 1918. A camp for Finnish Red Guards was established on the islands, and the fortress itself officially received the name Suomenlinna (literally “Finnish Fortress”). Why am I writing this? The thing is that today the Finnish and Swedish languages have official status in Finland, so the fortress is alternately called either Sveaborg or Suomenlinna. Thus, today this island bastion is called both Finnish and Swedish.

In 1991, the fortress complex, along with other island buildings, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today there are numerous museums, a maritime academy, the remains of old artillery, private houses with nine hundred permanent residents, and even a “light security” prison, whose prisoners maintain the fortress in proper condition. The Finns themselves (as it seemed to me) usually use this place as a picnic area: while tourists were running around the island with cameras, they simply sat peacefully on the rocks and, eating the supplies they brought with them, looked at the rocks and the surface of the water.

To tell the truth, it is for the sake of picnics and the picturesque nature of this place that it is worth coming here from Helsinki. Everything else - fortresses, cannons and other structures - made a much less impression on me. The exception is these grassy fortifications that look like Bilbo Baggins' houses.

They're cool. And everything else is walls and walls... I could write nothing more about them at all. But the duty of a blogger dictates... Therefore, next there will be a big story about all the interesting places that can be found on this island. Let me first give you a mini-tour here. And we’ll leave the technical issues (such as “how to get to Sveaborg” and where to rent accommodation) for last...

Sveaborg Fortress: churches, cannons and “Russian” houses...

In general, it is believed that there are many “attractions” in this place: on the tourist maps that can be obtained at the information center, as many as 45 different points are marked!!! But most of them can be classified as attractions only formally. Mainly these are various museums, ramparts and public catering facilities. Another thing is that they are all located quite compactly and, as if on a thread, are strung along the “blue route”, which stretches across two islands at once.

It starts from the main pier, and then passes through the “Russian village”, where merchants from Russia once lived...

Past the garrison church...

Military Museum...

Numerous souvenir shops...

"Messiah... Save your breath"...

And low bridges connecting the banks with each other.

To prevent tourists from getting confused, there are special signs here and there on the islands showing the way to the main points of Sveaborg. Seeing certain interesting points on the signs, Tanya and I constantly changed the route and went to the sides, now to the right, now to the left. This is exactly how (unplanned) we, for example, got to submarine Vesikko(I called her “Suliko”).

I can’t say that it makes any special impression (like, for example, the Lembit submarine in the Tallinn Maritime Museum). But it’s definitely worth stopping by for a couple of minutes. After all, it’s not every day you see submarines on the streets.

If anyone is particularly interested in the topic of boats, I will also note that there is also a “dry port” on the territory of the Suomenlinna Islands. Really dry... (like an uncertified Rollton). It is located to the right of Great Fortress Yard with Ehrensvärd's grave(this is another boat, by the way).

This yard looks very nice... There are spreading trees everywhere, rough stones overgrown with green ivy, as well as the same old Swedish cannons, of which there are as many here as seagulls flying overhead... More photos to come. I think they will tell everything better than me.

Returning to the topic of the dry dock, I note that in June 2017, when I personally was on the island, this place looked rather pitiful.

In the middle of a huge basin stood one single ship, and around it lay the remains of some logs and pipes. However, see for yourself. In pictures from tourist brochures this place looked much more presentable.

We stopped in there for a couple of minutes, took some photos, and headed back to the blue route. Flowers in pots were blooming all around...

Lilacs swayed overhead...

And the ubiquitous Chinese tried to hand-feed the seagulls right from the bridge.

Damn... When I see such pictures, Zadornov wakes up in me with his eternal: “Well, stupid...”. I stood behind them and prayed that the next seagull would peck out the eye of one of these citizens of the Celestial Empire. Well, or at least tore off the earring... And I’m almost serious now. In Finland you can only feed seagulls poison!!! Anyone who has been to Helsinki will understand me. These are not birds - but the air mafia. They steal food, fly right over your head... I once even read a story on the Internet that a seagull on a pier in Helsinki snatched a camera from some tourist. On the piers of the city there are special signs “Do not feed the seagulls”. But these are the Chinese... They say that one day they will take over the world. Damn... The only hope is for the Japanese (that they will still invent their robots and deal with China in the near future). I wouldn’t want to eat just rice for days when I’m old...

Seascapes and the King's Gate

Probably, reading this text, you are now all asking the question: “Where is the very fortress that is constantly being discussed here?” I answer: the whole point is that the Sveaborg fortress is not a single bastion, but rather a certain collection of walls and cannons located on those very islands in the Gulf of Finland.

The walls of the fortress overgrown with grass are found everywhere here. Just don’t expect to see any single architectural complex on the islands like the Moscow Kremlin or something similar. The Sveaborg fortress is walls, walls, walls, cannons, walls... plus this Royal Gate, which is one of the unspoken symbols of this place.

As I said at the very beginning, it’s worth going here for the sea views...

Hobbit huts and other fairy-tale buildings that look like stone giants peeking out from under the ground...

Or, for example, in order to have a picnic on the rocky shores of the island...

For example, we did just that. We took a blanket, food and two jars of cranberry gin, climbed further away and began to relax. Somewhere near the shore a couple of white swans were swarming...

Ahead, among the waves and strokes of the stingy sun, the sails of some small ship flashed...

At that moment, I was no longer even annoyed by the ubiquitous seagulls (although one of them whistled a cherry from me and in a matter of seconds swallowed it along with the pit).

Probably, during the entire three-day trip to Helsinki, this was our best day in Finland. A sort of culmination of the journey. It is available on any trip. But now I won’t push this topic too much... I’ll just write that it’s definitely worth a trip to the islands of the Suomenlinna fortress. Especially in clear weather. Later in this article, as promised, I will write to you about how to do this.

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg): how to get there from Helsinki

Special ships included in the city transport system go to the islands every day from 6 am to 2-20 am. They depart from this station near the Helsinki Market Square. Usually, during the daytime there are a lot of people around her. So you won't miss it.

You can buy a travel ticket at the ticket office or from a machine (5 euros). It is valid for 12 hours (so with one ticket you can travel both there and back).

You can also go on a trip with a regular 24-hour city pass (HSL) or a Helsinki card. The ferries themselves operate regularly. The traffic interval is from 20 minutes to 1 hour (but you should focus on a smaller number - there are long gaps between flights here only at night). Travel time is 15 minutes. The ships themselves have both open and closed areas. For the first time we rode on the “roof” of the ferry...

But they were already returning back, settling down on the inner platform.

Along the way, the ferry passes several small islands. In clear weather, sailing in an open area is very pleasant. The only thing that spoils the impression a little is the seagulls flying directly overhead. As you understand, in this story they are the main antagonists.

Once you arrive on the island, the tourist information center will be right in front of you. On the other side there is a grocery store and a board with flight schedules. If for some reason this option does not suit you and instead of 5 euros you really want to pay all seven for travel, you can also sail to the islands on the “water buses” of the JT-Line company. Detailed information about routes and schedules can be found on their official website www.jt-line.fi.

Where to rent accommodation on the islands

Next to the fortress, right on the islands, there is the Suomenlinna hostel, opened in a former school building. The hostel has rooms for two or three or 6-10 people. Therefore, if you wish, there is something to choose from. In summer, a double room in this place will cost you 68 euros (which is quite a low amount for Helsinki). A bed in the dormitory will cost 25. During the off-season the prices are lower. Check them out