Architecture in Susisaari
Feb 2nd, 2008 by Juha Ylitalo
We got slightly off track during last couple days with my photographs about moon and athletics, but now its good time to return to Suomenlinna. This photograph is from Susisaari (direct translation would be wolf island) and as you can see, it has apartment buildings (or might be garrison) in there, while Kustaanmiekka was more or less dedicated for warfare. Ground floor on this building has been built so that it would give some sort of protection in case of bombardment, while upper floor has to survive with thinner walls.
Even though Finns are proud of Winter War (1939-1940), history of Suomenlinna is nothing to be proud of. During Swedish era, Russians made clever plan and conquered Helsinki by land in early 1808 and started to bombard Suomenlinna from shore. This was all done in a winter, when sea was frozen, which is pretty bad thing, if you are living in fortress that is designed to protect Helsinki against naval attack. Here is quote from Wikipedia about how things went on during the siege.
Its commander, Carl Olof Cronstedt, negotiated a cease-fire, and when no Swedish reinforcements had arrived by May, Sveaborg, with almost 7,000 men, surrendered. The reasons for Cronstedt’s actions remain somewhat unclear; but the hopeless situation, psychological warfare by the Russians, some (possibly) bribed advisors, fear for the lives of a large civil population, lack of gun-powder combined with total isolation are some likely causes for the surrender.
Under Russian rule Suomenlinna got more bombardment from Anglo-French fleet in Crimean War (1854-56). Bombardment of Suomenlinna lasted for 47 hours and fortress was pretty badly damaged by it. If I remember correctly, bombardment was relatively one sided, because fleet’s weaponry was technically superior (in accuracy, range, …) in comparison to what Suomenlinna had at the time.
During World War I Suomenlinna’s weaponry got modern weaponry as it was part of naval fortifications, which task was to protect St. Petersburg.
Technical information: Canon EOS 20D & Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX (24mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO400)
More information:
Information about Suomenlinna
Photographs about Suomenlinna
WOW! I really love architecture, and the one you photographed, are my favorite kind. History is proudly displayed in architecture, whether it be newer or grungier.
[...] Länsi-Musta, which is yet another island in Suomenlinna. With this image in mind (remember my earlier post about Susisaari?), it is pretty obvious that it hasn’t been fun to be in an island in winter [...]
Thanks for visiting my site and leaving comment. I just want to say I really love your photos! They are very full of colours.
la.traducteuse’s last blog post..Bad Bad One
[...] older stories about Suomenlinna: Naval Academy of Finnish Navy Architrecture in Susisaari Kustaanmiekka in winter Fire in a hole Solitary Cannon Fire Technical details: Canon EOS 20D [...]