Sights

The pink Jetty Barracks is the main gate built during the Russian period of the fortress. The Jetty Barracks dominates the northern shore of Suomenlinna. The HSL ferry operates from the Market Square to the main pier located in front of the Jetty Barracks.

• The main pier is right in front of the Jetty Barracks, and the Visitor Center awaits you immediately upon disembarking from the ferry, the first door on the left along the route.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus operates to the Tykistölahti pier, which is about 500 meters from the Jetty Barracks and the Visitor Center.

The vaulted, metal-roofed stone barracks were built between 1868 and 1870. It was intended for peacetime use for 250 soldiers.

Part of the building was used as the main guardhouse, which had detention cells, rooms for guards and the duty officer. In addition, the barracks had a kitchen, crew quarters, and toilets.

Today, the Jetty Barracks houses the Suomenlinna Visitor Center, the ferry waiting area, public restrooms, Restaurant Ravintola Suomenlinnan Panimo and a local Suomenlinnan Panimo brewery facilities, HAA Gallery, and Viapori Deli & Café.

Suomenlinna Church was built as an Orthodox garrison church in 1854. At that time, the building had five towers with onion domes. At the beginning of the Finnish era, the appearance of the building, which dominates the southern horizon of Helsinki, was changed and it was made into a Lutheran church. During the renovations, the onion dome of the main cupola was removed, the tower was rebuilt externally to be square, and the supports of the small domes were left under the roof. The walls were plastered smooth.

• The distance from the main pier to the church is about 200 meters.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus operates to the Tykistölahden pier, which is about 300 meters from the church.
• Suomenlinna Church has an entrance fee from June 1st to August 31st during church visiting hours. The entrance fee does not apply to members of the Cathedral Parish or those under 18 years old.

Lighthouse and Popular Wedding Church

The church tower still functions as a lighthouse serving both air and sea traffic. The lighthouse signal is four consecutive flashes, representing the letter H in Morse code, signifying Helsinki.

Suomenlinna Church is a popular wedding church, and various events and concerts are also held there.

Designed by the founder of Suomenlinna, Augustin Ehrensvärd, the Great Courtyard was completed in the 1760s and served as the main square and administrative center of the entire fortress. The courtyard was bordered by buildings such as the Commandant’s House, which served as the residence of the fortress commandants, and the main guardhouse.

• The distance from the main pier to the Great Courtyard is about one kilometer.
• The Blue Route passes through the Great Courtyard.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus operates to the Tykistölahden pier, which is about 200 meters from the Great Courtyard.

The status of the administrative center was emphasized architecturally as well. The placement of the buildings and the curved facades of the square created a false perspective, enhancing the grandeur and ceremonial appearance of the square.

Ehrensvärd’s Tomb

In the center of the square is the tomb of Augustin Ehrensvärd, with an impressive monument designed by King Gustav III of Sweden and completed by Ehrensvärd’s son Carl August together with Johan Tobias Sergel.

Ehrensvärd died in 1772, but he was temporarily buried elsewhere for 10 years while waiting for the completion of the Viapori tomb. The tomb monument was finally completed just before the end of Swedish rule in the early 19th century.

Ehrensvärd Museum and Residential Buildings

The Great Courtyard was severely damaged during the Crimean War bombardment in 1855, but it remains an impressive sight. In addition to Ehrensvärd’s tomb, the square now houses the Ehrensvärd Museum in the former Commandant’s House and residential buildings. The Local Major’s House on the northern edge of the square is one of the oldest small apartment buildings in Helsinki that is still in residential use.

The dry dock is the oldest in Finland and one of the oldest still operating basin docks in the world.

• The distance from the main pier to the dock is about 600 meters.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus operates to the Tykistölahden pier, which is about 200 meters from the viewing platform.
• You can explore the dry dock from the viewing platform located in Susisaari and from the information boards there. The dry dock is a work area, and access is prohibited for safety reasons.

Construction of the dry dock began in 1750. The dock basins and maintenance buildings served as the base for the Swedish archipelago fleet’s Sveaborg squadron until 1808. In the 1760s, ships for the archipelago fleet were built at the dock under the direction of the famous ship architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman.

During the Finnish era (1918–), the dock initially housed the State Aircraft Factory, which produced the country’s first airplanes. In the 1930s, the inner basin of the dock was used as a submarine base for the navy. After World War II, Valmet Oy took over shipbuilding activities, initially producing reparation ships for the Soviet Union.

Place for Restoring Traditional Ships

Today, traditional and wooden sailing ships are restored in the large basin of the dry dock. The restoration of old ships is managed by Viaporin telakka ry, whose goal is to preserve the knowledge and skills related to old sailing ships and their restoration.

The area also houses a blacksmith’s workshop, a boatyard, and a sail-makers’ workshop.

It is particularly interesting to watch the activities at the dock during the spring launching and autumn docking times, when the large inner basin is filled with water

Throughout the history of the fortress, the flag has flown on Bastion Zander in southern Suomenlinna at Kustaanmiekka. Bastion Zander was built between 1748 and 1750 as part of a chain of four bastions. The walls of the bastion are mainly formed from vertically hewn rock faces, topped with a low parapet equipped with 14 gun ports.

• The distance from the main pier to Bastion Zander is about 1.5 kilometers.
• The water bus stops at the King’s Gate in the summer, from where it is about 100 meters to Bastion Zander.

Explore the Development of Fortification Technology

At Bastion Zander, you get a good overview of the bastion system, i.e., the shape of the Suomenlinna fortress and the development of fortification technology. From there, you can clearly see how the coastal fortifications guarding the ship route from the King’s Gate were raised in the first half of the 19th century and how, at the end of the same century, they were partially covered with sand embankments when the defensive front was turned towards the open sea.

Today, the flag flies on Bastion Zander from May 12th to September 29th. The flag-raising tradition dates back to May 12, 1918, when the flag of independent Finland was hoisted for the first time.

Senator Svinhufvud stated in his speech at the time:

Now Finland is free. Now the Finnish flag flies on the ridge of this old fortress. In memory of this, the Senate has decided that the name of the Viapori fortress shall henceforth be Suomenlinna. May no enemy ever be able to pull down this flag, but may it always fly here.

Overlooking the Kustaanmiekka strait, the King’s Gate is the symbol of Suomenlinna. It was built as the fortress’s ceremonial gateway between 1753 and 1754 at the site where the ship carrying King Adolf Frederick of Sweden anchored during his visit to inspect the construction of the fortress in 1752.

• The distance from the main pier to the King’s Gate is about 1.5 kilometers.
• The King’s Gate is the endpoint of the Blue Route.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus stops at the King’s Gate pier.

Augustin Ehrensvärd’s Words to Posterity

The King’s Gate is adorned with cornices, oval and round rifle ports, and memorial plaques. One of the marble plaques attached to the gate bears the famous inscription by the fortress’s founder, Augustin Ehrensvärd, which translates to:

Posterity, stand here on your own foundation and do not rely on the help of others.

Restoration and Special Features

The Crimean War bombardments destroyed the pier and part of the steps of the King’s Gate. The gate was first restored during the Finnish era for the visit of the Swedish royal couple in 1925. Since then, it has been restored three times, most recently for the fortress’s 250th anniversary.

The King’s Gate is two stories high. The facade is inwardly curved, and in the center is a rusticated gate framed with marble stones. In the 1770s, the fortress gate was converted into a two-part drawbridge, and a pier and the King’s Steps were built in front of it from sandstone brought from near Stockholm.

Suomenlinna housed a prisoner of war camp during the early years of Finland’s independence from April 14, 1918, to March 14, 1919. After the end of the Civil War, a total of 8,000 prisoners, Red Guards or suspected Reds, were gathered at the Suomenlinna camp. Every tenth prisoner died of hunger and disease. Those who died at the Suomenlinna camp were taken to Santahamina for burial.

• The distance from the main pier to the prisoner of war camp memorial is about 200 meters. To reach the memorial, turn left upon disembarking from the ferry and continue along the coastal road past the Jetty Barracks. The memorial is located on the right side of the road.
• From May to the end of September, the water bus operates to the Tykistölahden pier, which is about 500 meters from the memorial.

The environmental artwork at the prisoner of war camp memorial was designed by artist Marja Kanervo and unveiled on September 28, 2004. The artwork consists of two rocks, one natural and one hewn, and a rectangular stone. The piece was created by modifying and framing the environment. The years 1918 and 1919 are carved into the rock, worn away by continuously flowing water. A plaque attached to the artwork bears the name and date of the camp.