Harry Sintonen<p>When I first visited sea fortress <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/Suomenlinna" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Suomenlinna</span></a> in <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/Helsinki" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Helsinki</span></a> over 30 years ago, I initially failed to spot the stone tablets near the King's Gate. This was aided by the fact that I was quite oblivious to the historic significance of the place at the time. Those stone tablets were written by Augustin Ehrensvärd, the designer of the fortress, and one of them says:</p><p>"Ifrån Ödemarker äro desse Vargskiärsholmar ombytte till ett Sueaborg. Eftervard stå här på egen botn och lita icke på främmande hielp.."</p><p>Translated to english: "From desolate lands, these Wolf Islands have been transformed into a Sveaborg (Suomenlinna). Progeny, stand here on your own foundation, and do not rely on foreign help."</p><p>Back then <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/Finland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Finland</span></a> was still firmly part of <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/Sweden" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Sweden</span></a> - the fortress was built to defend eastern parts of the kingdom against attacks from Russia. The construction took so long that the fortress was completed only after it (and Finland) was lost to Russia after Finnish War of 1808-1809. One of the 4 tablets has a blank spot for a year King Gustav III was supposed to have laid down the last stone indicating the completion of the fortress. He never made the trip, and thus no date was ever carved.</p><p>Victoria, Crown princess of Sweden, is going to visit the island on her state visit to Finland in September 2023. While there are many other places that are also relevant in context of Finnish-Sweden relations, Suomenlinna is definitely very significant and fitting place for a visit.</p><p>I can highly recommend visiting the island if you’re already visiting Helsinki and your schedule permits it (I would recommend reserving at least half a day). You can go for a picnic (during summertime), grab a beer (or two), or just stroll around and explore the bastions, cannons and tunnels in this definitely historic UNESCO <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/WorldHeritageSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WorldHeritageSite</span></a>.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomenlinna" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomenli</span><span class="invisible">nna</span></a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuninkaanportti" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuninkaa</span><span class="invisible">nportti</span></a> <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/583/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">whc.unesco.org/en/list/583/</span><span class="invisible"></span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/history" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>history</span></a></p>