The lion flag flying over the flagpole hill at Bastion Zander in 1918. Photo credits: HKM

Decision on the name of the fortress is taken

Hoisting the flag at Kustaanmiekka and changing the name of fortress from Viapori to Suomenlinna was a solemn occasion, participated by the Economic Division of the Finnish Senate under its Chair, P.E. Svinhufvud, the Helsinki City Council, Rector of the Helsinki University, and German and Finnish officers. Finland’s red-yellow lion flag was hoisted, accompanied by cannons firing salute and the White Guard front troops and the Jaegers from Helsinki saluting. (Jaegers were young Finnish men who were given military training in Kaiser’s Germany during the First World War for the purpose of leading a popular uprising for an independent Finland.

Needless to say, by doing so and being the Tsar’s subjects, they technically speaking committed high treason).

Svinhufvud, who gave a speech on the occasion on the earthworks of Kustaanmiekka, declared that the Russian era had finally ended: “Finland is free -- Let the enemy never again lower it [the flag]. Wiapori is the property of the entire Finnish nation; therefore, the Senate has decided that its name, from now on, shall be Suomen linna”. The change of the name was confirmed by a decree issued by the Senate on the following day. According to the decree, the old name of the fortress, Sveaborg, could be continued to be used in “Swedish administrative language”.

The change of the name caused an outrage in the Swedish-speaking press. According to Carl von Bonsdorff, professor in history at the Helsinki University who published an article on the issue in Hufvudstadsbladet – the major Swedish-speaking daily in Finland – the choice of name was very unfortunate. Although the history of ”Sveaborg” and ”Viapori” has not brought joy to Finland, the names, nevertheless, are historical, and grounds exist for preserving them. Von Bonsdorff found the direct translation of “Suomenlinna” into Swedish – “Finlandsborg ” – completely inappropriate.

Juhani Aho – one of the leading novelists of the period in Finland – refuted von Bonsdorff’s criticism in Helsingin Sanomat – one of the leading Finnish-speaking dailies in Finland – arguing that the new name unified all citizens, irrespective of their language. According to Aho, the old names “Sveaborg” and “Viapori” were reminiscent of a treason [committed by C.O. Cronstedt] and the suppression and violence brought about by the Russians, which were reason enough to abandon the old names.

Prisoners in the Helsinki Market Square awaiting transport to Suomenlinna Photo credits: HKM

Camp for the prisoners of war

Festivities were celebrated in the middle of a prison camp for Red Guard members. Starting from April 1918, hundreds of prisoners of war were stationed in Suomenlinna. Prisoners were transported to Suomenlinna on account of its considerable accommodation capacity and due to the fact that escape from the fortress was difficult. The number of prisoners in the camps at their worst amounted to 8,000. Due to failed provisioning and poor hygiene, diseases were rife among prisoners. Mortality peaked in July 1918, leading to a situation in which a large number of prisoners needed to be released from the camps on probation due to conditions in the camps.

Weakness caused by hunger made prisoners susceptible to diseases such as dysentery and typhus. In 1918, diseases such as rabies and Spanish flu were also detected in Helsinki. In sum, a total of 1,536 prisoners died in the prisoner camps in Suomenlinna, Isosaari and Santahamina between April 1918 and March 1919. This figure also include those sentenced to death. It was not until 1919 that the last prisoners left the fortress. A memorial for the prison camp in Suomenlinna is located on the island of Iso-Mustasaari, near the main quay.

A Finnish garrison occupies the fortress

After a Russian era lasting for 110 years, Suomenlinna became a base for a Finnish garrison. While the fortress had lost its previous military significance, it continued to have a central location off Helsinki. Suomenlinna became a base for Finnish coastal artillery. The Naval Academy, stationed on the island of Pikku-Mustasaari, carries on the military traditions of Suomenlinna even today.

The Finnish government on way to Viapori on 12 May 1918, the day on which the fortress was given the name Suomenlinna. Photo credits: MV

A 360° panoramic view of the prisoner-of-war camp memorial in Suomenlinna, which is in the Casino Park.

Text: Jyrki Paaskoski