Helsinki 4 of 5

I caught a ferry out to the island that contained the Suomenlina Fortress. This fortress was built in 1748 by Sweden which had control of Finland at the time.  However, the czarist Russian troops were still able to invade the country despite the fortress with its many cannons. This was then the beginning of 100 year occupation of the country.  In fact Finland did not become a republic until 1919.

After leaving the ferry the way onto the island paths was through an archway.  Very thick walls of the fort were all around the island and I was able to walk down through narrow passageways inside one of the walls. As in the case with many old buildings there seems to be the need for regular conservation work.