Why You Should Visit Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

Just a short ferry ride from Helsinki, Finland, you will find a string of islands that comprise Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. The old sea fortress is a popular point of interest for visitors to Finland’s capital. With its coral-colored entrance and miles of cave-like tunnels, it inspires the adventurous at heart as few places can.

Hopping the ferry to Suomenlinna was a last-minute decision made after we had already arrived in Helsinki. I am so glad that we decided to go as it turned out to be the highlight of our time there. Maybe it was the tunnels, or the beer, or the sun finally shining after days of gray, but this sea fortress gave us a huge burst of spirit.

I want to share more about Suomenlinna with you all, in part, because I think it is a super interesting place, but also to convince you to go if you are ever in Helsinki. It is an awesome fortress with so much to explore.

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A Brief History of Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

The construction of Suomenlinna began in 1748 under the supervision of Swedish Admiral Augustin Ehrensvärd. The sea fortress is unique in that it was used as a defensive site for three different sovereignties: the Kingdom of Sweden, the Russian Empire, and the Republic of Finland. Of course, today, the islands and the fortress all belong to Finland.

The fortress gained its name, Suomenlinna (Fortress of Finland), in 1918 after Finland gained its independence. The fortress gradually lost its purpose as a military garrison after WWII, and in 1973 became a civilian area.

With a population of approximately 850 people over the span of the six islands, Suomenlinna is considered a district of Helsinki. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Exploring the Fortress

In my opinion, the best part of Suomenlinna is exploring the fortress itself. Passing through gates and going into the tunnels is just so much fun. It’s like an adult playground, but in all honesty, your kids would probably love it, too. Keep an eye on them, and any imaginative adults you may have brought with you. They are likely to run off.

Suomenlinna Church

One of the first points of interest you will cross is the Church of Suomenlinna. You can go inside to look around. The lovely white church was originally built as a Russian Orthodox church but has been converted to a Lutheran one since Finland took over. The steeple functions as a lighthouse.

The Great Courtyard

The Great Courtyard, which is especially beautiful with the colors of Fall, was completed in the 1760s. It served as the main square for Suomenlinna and was severely damaged in the Crimean War in 1855.

In the center of the square sits a memorial which is dedicated to Augustin Ehrensvärd, the architect of Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. There is also a museum named after him just off the square, but it is only open during limited times outside of Summer.

Suomenlinna’s Dry Dock

One of Europe’s oldest operating dry docks, the Suomenlinna dry dock is where ships for the Swedish naval fleet were built in the 1760s. Today, the dry dock is used for repairing sailboats, mostly.

If you are like I was and don’t know what a dry dock is, it is basically a large, narrow basin that was constructed to be flooded to allow boats to float in, and then drained so that you can work on them. It’s a pretty cool idea, that perhaps should have been obvious. But, hey, I’m no sailor or shipbuilder.

The King’s Gate

At perhaps the farthest point from where the ferry drops you off, you will find the King’s Gate. This iconic gate was built as a ceremonial gateway to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.

Once we arrived on the islands and started exploring, we saw fewer and fewer people, probably because we kept cutting through dark tunnels like weirdos, but once we arrived at the King’s Gate it seemed like everyone was there. It is an impressive construction, but in all honesty, it didn’t garner much of our time. Snap a photo and move on.

Suomenlinna Museums

There are six museums located on Suomenlinna that are unique to many different parts of its history. Keep in mind that while all of them are open in the summer, in other seasons they are either closed or have limited hours.

The Suomenlinna Museum, which is the main museum, is open year-round, as is the Military Museum. These are excellent museums if you want to learn more about the history of the fortress and about the wars that affected it.

You can also visit the Ehrensvärd Museum to walk through an old official residence of the island. The Customs Museum is housed in a former prison and showcases the history of customs and smuggling in Finland. If you want to learn more about toys from the early 19^th century up to the 1970s the Suomenlinna Toy Museum may be of interest to you. Finally, the Submarine Vesikko provides you with a chance to explore a restored Finnish submarine that served in WWII.

Regardless of which museum you choose to visit, if any, you are sure to learn something new, which is all you could ask for. Keep in mind, I didn’t make it into any of these museums. Our timing was bad, and since the sun was out, we were super excited to be outside. The location itself is historic, so there’s no shame in just sticking to that. If you have visited some of the museums, feel free to share your experience in the comments!

What to Eat on Suomenlinna

We visited two places in Suomenlinna for food. The first was the Viaporin Deli and Café. We had a quick lunch there before we headed out to explore. I had a delicious quiche, and they served local beer. We noticed a sign that said you could take beer to go, so we asked about it. The catch is, they can sell it to you, but they cannot open it for you. Since we both didn’t have bottle openers, we got a bit creative with a coat hook in a bathroom. Don’t ever say I’m not an innovative thinker.

At the end of our time on the island, we decided to stop in the Suomenlinna Restaurant and Brewery for more beer. If you do something similar, I recommend ordering the Zakuska assortment of appetizers. It comes with salmon pastrami, smoked vendace mousse, game pâté, smoked goose from Hauhala, bear salami, marinated chanterelle, Tilsit cheese, and Russian pickles. If you don’t know what some of these things are, neither did I. I still don’t, but they sure did taste good. This started my love of Russian pickles as well.

Practical Tips for Getting to Suomenlinna and Navigating

You will purchase tickets to Suomenlinna from the Market Square in Helsinki. Look for the dock that says HSL. You can purchase tickets from a person in the booth, from a ticketing machine, or using the HSL app on your phone if you have service. You can get a single ticket or day tickets depending on how much transportation you plan on using that day.

In the Summer, you will also have the option of taking the water bus, which also makes other stops along the way. This is a JT-Line ferry and does not use the HSL app or accept HSL tickets.

The ferry ride only takes 15-20 minutes and ferries leave every 40 minutes. Make sure that you pay attention to when the last ferry leaves if you don’t want to get stuck. There is a hostel on Suomenlinna if this does happen, though. No judgment. Suomenlinna is super cool, and the beer is good.

The fortress has plenty of signs to guide you where you need to go. The main sights are marked in blue to make it easier for people to find.

Just Enjoy Suomenlinna

It’s not every day that you get to explore a fortress. Or maybe it is for you, I’m not sure. What I’m saying is, just make sure to enjoy yourself as you wander through Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Walk through those dark tunnels, peek through bars in what seem to be windows. Have fun. Walk to the edge of the island and watch the boats and ferries go by.

If you’re going to be in Helsinki for a few days, check out my three-day guide to the city for more ideas. As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

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