Helsinki July 31, 2006
Today we explored more of the historic areas of Helsinki. We spent most of our time at the Suomenlinna Fortress. The fortress is located on several islands that make up a natural protective barrier at the outside edge of Helsinki Harbor and takes a fifteen minute ferry ride to get there.
Construction on the fort was started in 1748 by order of Sweden’s King Fredrik I to protect against invasion from Russia and it took over forty years to complete the principal work. When completed, 8 km (5 miles) of walls had been built with room for over 1,300 cannons and 12,000 troops. This was the largest construction project to date undertaken by Sweden. (The area now known as Finland was part of Sweden at this time and remained so until it became a Russian Grand Duchy in 1808. It remained under Russian control until independence was gained in 1918 and Finland was declared a sovereign state.)
The fort saw military action during the Crimean War when an Anglo-French fleet shelled the fort for three days and in 1905, saw a mutiny staged by reds in the Russian Army stationed in the fort that was subsequently put down by loyal troops. The leaders were executed.
Today the fort, (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a picturesque area for 900 Helsinki residents to live as well as being the area’s top tourist attraction. There are seven museums on the island and six restaurants so it’s easy to spend the day there.
We had time and energy to tour 2 of the museums, 1 a general history of the fort and the 2nd a museum regarding the historical coastal defense of Finland.
We enjoyed lunch at one of the many outdoor terrace cafes on the islands. The weather was picture perfect; sunny, blue skies and about 75 degrees.
We took the ferry back to the mainland mid-afternoon and strolled once more through the market. Impulsively, we ended up with one of the reindeer hides that I mentioned in yesterday’s log. This is going to be a rug for some room of some house that we will have someday in the future.
Hide in hand, we then headed to the Tallink ship line office to purchase ferry tickets for Tallinn, Estonia (3 hour ride) on the 2nd of Aug. and additional tickets from Tallinn to Stockholm, Sweden (overnight cruise from 6pm – 10am) for the 3rd of Aug. The ticket office was nearby and the clerk was extremely friendly and helpful, making this an altogether painless, yet expensive venture.
There is a huge multi-level shopping mall near our hotel where there is a large supermarket. We stopped in and bought ribs (pre-cooked at the deli counter), potato salad, green salad and fruit - we had a veritable feast in our room!
Construction on the fort was started in 1748 by order of Sweden’s King Fredrik I to protect against invasion from Russia and it took over forty years to complete the principal work. When completed, 8 km (5 miles) of walls had been built with room for over 1,300 cannons and 12,000 troops. This was the largest construction project to date undertaken by Sweden. (The area now known as Finland was part of Sweden at this time and remained so until it became a Russian Grand Duchy in 1808. It remained under Russian control until independence was gained in 1918 and Finland was declared a sovereign state.)
The fort saw military action during the Crimean War when an Anglo-French fleet shelled the fort for three days and in 1905, saw a mutiny staged by reds in the Russian Army stationed in the fort that was subsequently put down by loyal troops. The leaders were executed.
Today the fort, (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a picturesque area for 900 Helsinki residents to live as well as being the area’s top tourist attraction. There are seven museums on the island and six restaurants so it’s easy to spend the day there.
We had time and energy to tour 2 of the museums, 1 a general history of the fort and the 2nd a museum regarding the historical coastal defense of Finland.
We enjoyed lunch at one of the many outdoor terrace cafes on the islands. The weather was picture perfect; sunny, blue skies and about 75 degrees.
We took the ferry back to the mainland mid-afternoon and strolled once more through the market. Impulsively, we ended up with one of the reindeer hides that I mentioned in yesterday’s log. This is going to be a rug for some room of some house that we will have someday in the future.
Hide in hand, we then headed to the Tallink ship line office to purchase ferry tickets for Tallinn, Estonia (3 hour ride) on the 2nd of Aug. and additional tickets from Tallinn to Stockholm, Sweden (overnight cruise from 6pm – 10am) for the 3rd of Aug. The ticket office was nearby and the clerk was extremely friendly and helpful, making this an altogether painless, yet expensive venture.
There is a huge multi-level shopping mall near our hotel where there is a large supermarket. We stopped in and bought ribs (pre-cooked at the deli counter), potato salad, green salad and fruit - we had a veritable feast in our room!
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 12:00 PM
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