Sveaborg Fortress in Helsinki: photo and description, history

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Sveaborg Fortress in Helsinki (aka Suomenlinna) is the most famous defensive fortification in Finland. It is a complex of bastions located on seven islands, designed to protect the country's capital from the sea. Today, the fortification has no military significance and has been turned into an open-air museum.

World Heritage

The Sveaborg Fortress, together with the seven islands on which it was built, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 by an authoritative commission as a unique monument of military architecture. Another feature of the fort is that in the course of its history it served to protect three states: Sweden, Russia and Finland.

It is interesting that the territory of 80 hectares is not just an open-air museum. It is included in the city limits of Helsinki as one of the residential areas of the city. Today, about 900 people live here.

Description

Sveaborg (Suomenlinna) is a system of bastion-type fortifications located on sevenislands. At the same time, the main facilities are located on the five largest:

• Kustaanmiekka (Kustaanmiekka).
• Susisaari (Susisaari).
• Länsi-Musta (Länsi-Mustasaari).
• Pikku-Musta (Pikku-Mustasaari).
• Iso Mustasaari (Iso-Mustasaari).

They are connected to each other by artificial isthmuses and bridges. Three more islands (Pormestarinluodot, Lonna and Särkkä) are isolated from each other.

The main bastions are on Susisaari and Kustaanmiekka. Their stone walls are pentagonal and rectangular in shape to reduce the likelihood of hits from naval guns, have a low profile and are hardly noticeable against the backdrop of rocky islands. The most powerful guns, the headquarters of defense, the central garrison were located here. The mini-archipelago was popularly nicknamed "Wolf Skerries", by analogy with the threatening grin of a ferocious predator capable of standing up for itself.

What makes the bastion fortress unique

Suomenlinna is unique in that its defenses have an irregular (isolated) structure. At the same time, they are interconnected by a system of artificial dams, spits, bridges and protected crossings. It was built on the foundation of rocky islands with a rugged landscape, which required a significant change and adaptation of the latest theory of defensive fortifications developed in Central Europe at that time.

Despite the historical vicissitudes, Sveaborg fortress is largely historically reliable, that is, it has survived to this day in its original form. On the islands you can seevarious stages of development of fortifications and shipyards. For example, the dry dock in the center of the fort was innovative for the 18th century. By the way, there are dozens of valuable underwater objects around the skerries: sunken ships, military equipment, traces of the life of the garrison.

Name

The sea fortress of Sveaborg was built by Sweden on Finnish-controlled territory in the 18th century. Accordingly, it received a simple, but understandable name for everyone - the Swedish Fortress (Sveaborg). The Karelo-Finns called the fortifications Vyapori (Viapori) or Viaporone (Viaporina).

After Finland separated from the crumbling Russian Empire in 1918, the national government proposed to rename the fortification. On December 6, 1918, on the day of the celebration of the 170th anniversary of the founding of the fort, the defensive complex received a new name - the Finnish Fortress (Suomenlinna, Suomenlinna).

Swedish period

By the end of the 17th century, Sweden was a powerful empire with the strongest army on the continent. However, unlike England, Spain, Portugal, France, the country directed resources not to capture overseas colonies, but to annex territories in Europe. Continuous wars with the hardened armies of Poland, Prussia, Denmark, Russia demanded huge resources, which eventually ended.

The defeat from Peter I in the first quarter of the 1700s forced us to cede a number of territories in the B altic and Ladoga regions. In order to protect the city of Helsingfors (Helsinki) from the Russian fleet, the Swedish parliament in 1747 decided to builddefensive fortifications along the coast. This was the beginning of the history of the Sveaborg fortress.

The construction of the bastions began the following year on the two largest islands of the Susiludot archipelago south of Helsinki, on the site of the current Suomenlinna. In 1750 the fortress was named Sveaborg. By the way, a unique dry dock operated here, where warships were built to protect the Archipelago Sea (water areas off the southern coast of Finland).

Rainbow plans and objective reality

Initially, the fortifications were intended to be erected in 4 years. However, ambitious plans had to be abandoned due to insufficient funding. Another war in Pomorie (1756-1763) took away all the resources. The fort project had to be simplified, but even it took 40 years to complete.

The sea fortress was used as a naval base in the Russo-Swedish war of 1788-1790 (the war of Gustav III), but it was not used in real battles. In 1808 Sveaborg was besieged by Russian troops. After minor skirmishes, the commandant decided to surrender. The reasons for the surrender remain an unresolved mystery to historians. Thus, the sea fortress was captured, and a new era began already for Väpori.

Russian period

After the Swedes left Sveaborg, the bastion complex, along with its ships and equipment, was transferred to Russian control. The following year, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia, but Väpori remained a military base under the Russianadministration.

The Russians appreciated the capabilities of the fortress and improved it. The fortification system has been expanded. Bastions appeared on neighboring islands. New barracks were built in the garrison to accommodate soldiers, and an Orthodox church was erected according to the design of Konstantin Ten.

In subsequent decades, as the firepower of the fleets grew, the military significance of the sea fortress decreased. Eventually Väpori fell into decline. During the Crimean War, the combined Anglo-French fleet bombarded the garrison for two days in August 1855. Defensive structures received heavy damage. During the First World War, the fort was part of an extensive system of fortifications (named after Peter the Great) created to protect St. Petersburg from the German fleet.

Finnish period

After the revolution, the military facility served as a base for the White Guards for some time, but was soon transferred to the administration of Finland. In May 1918, the fort was renamed Suomenlinna Fortress. Various units of the Defense Forces were stationed here.

During the Finnish campaign of 1940 and during the Second World War, the military base became the location of the Finnish submarine fleet. Artillery and anti-aircraft guns were installed to protect it.

From the mid-60s, given the uselessness of fortifications in modern warfare, the self-defense forces began to leave the base. In 1972, Suomenlinna was transferred to the civil administration, and its stone walls were turned into an open-air museum.sky.

Tourism

Today the bastion complex is one of the most famous sights in Helsinki. It is especially popular in spring and summer. There are recreation areas for sunbathing, and a small sandy beach for lovers of water procedures. By the way, admission to the territory is free, but museums are paid.

Experienced tourists advise to visit:

• a small submarine Vesikko (1933), which fought in World War II;
• Suomenlinna Church (1854);
• Ehrenswerd Museum;
• Customs Museum;
• Suomenlinna Museum.

The most convenient way to get to the islands is by ferry or by "water bus". They depart from the Market Square and run during the tourist season from 6 am to 2 am.