- The construction of Sveaborg was started in 1748, by the Swedes. Sweden at that time, was still a superpower, despite the different peace treaties, that had reduced it's land area considerably. Sweden needed to secure it's long borders against the threat that the imperial Russia presented. The great fortress, that Swedes built furiously for over the next forty years, surrendered to Russian troops almost without a battle, after the Russians used psychological tactics to the Swedish commander of the fortress. From 1808 onwards, the next 110 years the flag of imperial Russia flew over the Sveaborg.

- After gaining the fortress, the Russians left it almost like it was. No new gun sites were installed and earthworks were not reinforced, even when the military technology was advancing all the time. Only new barracks, hospitals and churches were build for the large garrison located here. This decision proved to be fatal when the Crimean War started in 1854. The Anglo-French fleet sailed to the Baltic Sea and bombarded Finnish towns and fortifications for two summers. Viapori, as it was known then, was bombarded for three days in a row, causing heavy damage.

- After the Crimean War, the Russians had learned their lesson and they started to reinforce the earthworks and install new gun sites. Also the whole fortress was renovated after the damage suffered in Crimean War.

- Before the First World War, the imperial Russia decided to built a fortification chain around Helsinki, known as Krepost Sveaborg (Viapori). The administrative central fortification was located here in Sveaborg.

- After Finland gained it's independency in 1917, the name was changed to Suomenlinna and that is the name that's in use today. So the name of this place depends on the nationality and the time frame. Sveaborg for Swedes, Viapori for the Russians and Suomenlinna for Finns. The island remained in the military use to the year 1973, when it was opened for civilians. Finnish army even today, controls many of beautiful and historically valuable islands of the coast of Helsinki. These have not been opened for the public and it looks like the army wont open these islands in the near future, even when those islands have lost all of their strategic meaning.

- Sveaborg today is a tourist attraction and open for anybody. Still I doubt that many tourist or even Finnish people, have explored these quite extensive tunnel systems. They are dark, damp and smell bad. Also how many tourist will carry a flashlight around, in order to get into the tunnels? You should have seen the faces of German tourists, when I got out from one tunnel, face covered in something. Too bad that I can't speak German, now I will never know what they were talking to each others, while looking at me...

- If you feel like going to check the place for yourself, I would strongly recommend you to take at least a flashlight with you. Some tunnels don't have any light getting in from anywhere. Also respirator is strongly recommended. The walls in tunnels and caves are covered with mould and you definitely don't want to get something like that in your lungs. Also for a little taller persons I would suggest of getting an safety helmet as in some places the tunnels are really low and it's really easy to hit your head to the ceiling. 

- This church was built by the Russians, as an garrison church. Originally it was a orthodox church, with onion-domes, but after Finland gaining it's independency, the appearance of this church was changed, by removing the onion-domes and making it an Lutheran church. Changing the appearance of a building and changing your national identity? If so, I wonder how come they left the statue of Tsar Alexander the Second in the middle of Helsinki...

"Private occasion"

- Um, yeah okay...what ever...

- So this is where all of the benches have disappeared.