Story
The story of Suomenlinna
They called it the "Gibraltar of the North", yet this sea fortress surrendered after only two months of siege, on 3 May 1808. Construction had begun in 1748 under the Swedish Crown as a defence against Russia, led by Admiral Augustin Ehrensvärd. The plan was influenced by the French military engineer Vauban and his star-fort style, adapted here to a group of rocky islands.
The fortress's loss paved the way for Russia's seizure of Finland in 1809. Under Russian rule it served as a base for the Baltic Fleet during World War I, and Russian forces left after Finland declared independence in 1917. The name tells the story: originally Sveaborg, "Fortress of Sweden", it was renamed Suomenlinna, "Fortress of Finland", in 1918. The fortress spreads across eight islands, six of them fortified. Even the addresses are unusual: instead of a street name, each house has a letter for its island plus a number.
Since 1991 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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