Backblip



As we had previously visited Helsinki in Finland, we decided to take the short ferry trip to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Suomenlinna, which is a huge sea fortress built on eight islands, most of which are connected by bridges.  It has been owned and occupied by three nations.

When the fortress was begun in 1748, the area of Finland was owned by the Swedes who were very concerned about the threat from Russia especially as St Petersburg was not far away.   Then in 1808, the Swedes were defeated by the Russians so Finland was then ruled by the Russian Imperial Government until 1918 when Finland became independent.  The fort was important for the defence of Russia during WW1 and Finland in WW2 and remained under military control until 1973 when most of it became under civilian control.  Today it is the home to 800 people and 400 workers and has become a very popular place for both locals and tourists who can make the journey cheaply and quickly.

There is so much to see among all the fortifications and military paraphernalia such as different types of cannons, historic buildings, the church tower which acts as a lighthouse and good museums.  What I particularly enjoyed was wandering among the undulating paths with ever changing views towards the city and out to sea and finding the wild flowers even though it was late in the season.