Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki
Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Sea fortress Suomenlinna is a unique architectural monument, a popular recreation area and museum. Although the island is located off the coast of Helsinki, it is part of the city. The Fortress was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1991!
Suomenlinna Sea Fortress was built over 250 years ago and once had a population of 4600, larger than the population of Helsinki at the time. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. All the effort didn’t hinder the Russians taking over in 1808. Finally in 1918 the Fortress became Finnish. Nowadays it is a popular park with museums, interesting flora and beaches.
Today, the island is inhabited by 1000 residents and so you will see some kids biking around. There is a big Visitor Center, which has a 25 minute “multi-vision show” and computers about the fortress.
There are plenty of nice spots for a picnic and you can also swim and sunbathe in various locations on the island - be prepared to walk a bit though. The trip to the fortress in Suomenlinna could be carried out by using the inter-island connecting motor boat from the Port in Katajanokanlaituri.
