Helsinki Suomenlinna Castle
Sea fortress Sveaborg is one of the most significant sights of
Finland. It was built on the islands near Helsinki harbor in the
second part of XVIII century by Sweden in order to be a safeguard
of southern coast of Finland. In 1809 during the Swedish-Russian
War the fortress was attacked by Russian troops for several weeks.
The Russian period of the fortress lasted till 1917. Later Sveaborg
became the concentration camp for the captives. Nowadays, Museum
Suomenlinna or Sveaborg is a group of islands near the Helsinki
shores. It is considered to be not only one of the most famous sights
of Gulf of Finland, but also the place of citizens' summer rest,
where they can swim and sunbathe. It should be mentioned that the
most appropriate time of the day to go sightseeing around Suomenlinna
is early in the morning, when the whole island is covered with pink
and purple fog from the blooming lilac bushes. It is rather easy
to get to Sveaborg, as small ships constantly bring the tourists
from Helsinki to the fortress. In fact Sveaborg looks like a small
town with the streets, bridges, post office, museums and of course
bastions. Granite walls of the fortress grow just from the water.
On the Orthodox Cathedral bell tower there is a lighthouse, which
is seen both from the sea and Helsinki. Wonderful, severe beauty
of the fortress attracts the tourists from all over the world. Museum
Suomenlinna is situated in the center of the fortress. Main exposition
is devoted to the most important episodes of Swedish, Russian and
Finnish periods of the fortress building fortification. The displays
of the museum narrate about the officers' exquisite and soldiers'
harsh way of life. It should be said that even brief survey of the
museums will take the whole day.
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