Suomenlinna- “castle of Finland“- the Sea Fortress
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - location
Suomenlinna consists of 8 islands and it’s located in the archipelago in front of Helsinki city, Southern Finland
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - UNESCO
The fortress of Suomenlinna is one of Finland’s most
popular sights. It is only a very short ferry crossing away
from Helsinki.
In 1991, the Suomenlinna fortress was added to the
UNESCO World Heritage List as a unique monument of
military architecture.
seven World Heritage Sites in Finland
(6 cultural heritage and one natural heritage)
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - history
history with three realms
Swedish era 1748-1808, Viapori
the Swedish parliament made a decision to build a central
fortress including a naval base
active phase of constructing the fortification took 40 years
bombardment in the Crimean War 1855.
Russian era 1808-1918, Viapori
Barracks to house soldiers were built and an Orthodox
garrison church designed by Konstantin Ton
poor shape, maintainance neglegted due to lack of funds
the military importance declined
in the late 19th centyry fortification were repaired
Finnish era 1918- Suomenlinna
Russian Revolution and Finland’s independence, Viapori
was taken over by the newly founded Finnish government
in 1918 and renamed Suomenlinna
finnish garrison for defence forces
1972, Suomenlinna was turned over to civilian administration
tourism, housing (800 residents and 400 working)
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - elements and patterns
barrack houses
gardens (orange colour)
city parks (dark green colour)
ramparts
harbours
dry dock
banquettes
paths
gardens
meadows (purple colour)
glacises
rocky seashore
Bastion fortress
200 buildings, 80 hectare land in 8 islands
6 kilometers walls, 105 artillery weapons
unique bastion fortress, irregular in shape as a result of
being built on a cluster of rocky islands with highly variable terrain, very free adaptation of the theory of fortifications developed in Central Europe.
different nature zones: meadows, parks and gardens
Gardens next to residents homes.
Meadows on top of the glacises and next to the walls of
the fortification, between the rocky seashore and the walls
parks are being built to Suomenlinna islands
unique combination of original archipelago nature and
man-made landscape from authentic bare rocky waterfronts to city parks with a lot of trees.
Originally only few threes before human influence
600 different plant species help of human action.
lot of migratory birds to the islands.
bastion
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - elements and patterns
Bastion fortress
different elements:
bastions, half bastions, curtains, moats, ravelins and
green structures glacises, banquettes and ramparts.
-->
forms patterns and together they form the whole fortress
system.
D
F
B
C
D
H
F D
D
A bastion
B half bastion
F
A
B
C
G
A
D E
A
C
G B E
facing to the south or south-west towards the open seas
where the enemies came during the wars and the defense was needed.
inner harbour parts of the island are kept free from the
walls.
C curtain
D glacises
E banquettes
F ramparts
G moat
H ravelin
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna - Outstanding Universal Values
outstanding example of a type of building or architectural
ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human
history
According to ICOMOS, Suomenlinna both represents the
general fortification philosophies of its era and includes
special characteristics. The fortification system used on
Suomenlinna was the bastion system, widely used in the
17th and 18th centuries. It was applied to local conditions
and developed further with up-to- date fortifications in
the 19th century.
Appreciation of the various historical eras and their layers
has changed during recent decades. The ‘original Swedish’
fortress was preferred in the 1970s, but in the 1980s and
1990s the layering of buildings and structures from different eras came to be more highly valued.
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - Integrity and authenticity
architectural and functional entity of landscape and buildings for military and service use,
includes all the islands that originally belonged to the
fortress and is large enough to create an intact entity that
includes all the values of the site.
The fortifications and utility buildings from both the
Swedish and Russian periods have mostly been preserved.
Few buildings that were built during the Finnish era retain their own distinctive identity and layer.
The complex consisting of fortifications of different ages,
landscape zones between them and the buildings dating
from different areas has retained its characteristics in
architecture, materials and building techniques.
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - threats
extreme weather events and rising sea levels
popular tourist destination, and threats are always concomitant with a large number of visitors->vandalism,
defacement and unauthorised campfires
erosion caused by visitors is the most apparent on the
fortifications and ramparts
Imbalance between seasons creates economic challenges
for tourism service providers
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - national value
many traditional events in Finland’s history
fortress plays an important role in the national
identity of Finns
principal attractions in Helsinki and educational value
The landscape of Suomenlinna as a part of maritime
Helsinki has been declared one of Finland’s
national landscapes
active neighbourhood with a strong identity.
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015
Suomenlinna- the Sea Fortress - maintainance
The preservation work is run by the Governing Body of
Suomenlinna together with several interest groups
The management plan guides the work
strategy for Suomenlinna - aim of making Suomenlinna a
model destination for sustainable tourism
Suomenlinna is an internationally valued and authentic
sea fortress
· at which the common goal of tourism and conservation
is to maintain an authentic World Heritage Site that is full
of life
· where entrepreneurs are successful year-round by providing high-quality services,
residents have a good quality of life
visitors enjoy participatory experiences that increase their
wellbeing
800 000 annual visitors
Niina Repo - Cultural Heritage Presentation - 30.12.2015