We need to take a 25-minute ferry to get to the islands...
...and motor away from the Market Square...
...and are treated to a couple stately buildings on small islands along the way.
Now approaching the ferry dock at the island - there's a small coastal defense contingent still stationed at the island.
All ashore who's going ashore!
"Suomenlinna is an inhabited sea fortress composed of eight islands, of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki. Suomenlinna is popular with tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg (Castle of the Swedes), or Viaporias referred to by Finnish-speaking Finns, it was renamed in Finnish to Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland) in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons. Due to its strategic geographical location, it sometimes used to be known as Gibraltar of the North.
The Swedish Crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. The original plan of the bastion fortress was strongly influenced by the ideas of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the time, and the principles of the star fort style of fortification, albeit adapted to a group of rocky islands.
During the Finnish War, Sweden surrendered the fortress to Russia on 3 May 1808, paving the way for the occupation of Finland by Russian forces in 1809, and then establishment of Grand Duchy of Finland at the conclusion of the war. The islands were then used as a base for the Russian Baltic Fleet in World War I, with Russia beginning the construction of the Krepost Sveaborg in 1915. Russian forces left after Finland declared its full independence in 1917. Finland then managed Suomenlinna through the Defense Department until turning most of it over to civilian control in 1973. Famous for the bastion fortifications, Suomenlinna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991."
 | Our tour begins...  |
Our locals ferry fare was included with our 3-day city transport pass - but others come here via tourist boats
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We headed to some interesting looking old industrial buildings...
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Peering down into the old dry-docks area...the lock door functions as a floating barge (this one is slated for refurbishment, or at least preservation).
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An old lightship is getting a make-over...
Need a cannon, make an offer!
New wood parts, for old wood boats...
Has this sea gull followed us all the way from Helsinki?
This part of the islands tour, we start seeing some of the old bastion areas...
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Dude, really!?
Russian words on a cannon, from around the early 1900's...
Back near the ferry dock, just prior to departure, we find, amazingly enough, a brewery....
On the look out for a marauding sea gull, reported to be harassing tourists and performing other nefarious acts...
Back in Helsinki, we caught one more sight northwest of the city center...
"The Sibelius Monument by Finn Eila Hiltunen is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The monument is located in Sibelius Park in the Töölö district of Helsinki and was unveiled on 7 September 1967. Originally it sparked a lively debate about the merits and flaws of abstract art and although the design looked like stylised organ pipes it was known that the composer had created little music for organs. Hiltunen addressed her critics by adding the face of Sibelius which sits beside the main sculpture.
It consists of series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. The monument weighs 24 tons and measures 8.5 by 10.5 by 6.5 metres (28 ft × 34 ft × 21 ft). "
"The Sibelius Monument by Finn Eila Hiltunen is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The monument is located in Sibelius Park in the Töölö district of Helsinki and was unveiled on 7 September 1967. Originally it sparked a lively debate about the merits and flaws of abstract art and although the design looked like stylised organ pipes it was known that the composer had created little music for organs. Hiltunen addressed her critics by adding the face of Sibelius which sits beside the main sculpture.
It consists of series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. The monument weighs 24 tons and measures 8.5 by 10.5 by 6.5 metres (28 ft × 34 ft × 21 ft). "
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