It was a beautiful day and the weather was optimal, about 25 C and the wind speed was just right. As comfortable as possible for a day spent outdoors.
We drove to the coastal town of Loviisa in the eastern part of the region of Uusimaa 95 km to the east of Helsinki. A fortress was built in the mouth of Loviisa Bay between 1748 and 1762. It was designed by August Ehrensvärd who also designed Suomenlinna, the fortress on the islands just outside Helsinki. The historical background for the fortress was the Russo-Swedish war lost to Russia by Sweden fought in 1741-1743. After the two-year occupation of Finland by Russia, Sweden decided to build fortifications along the south coast. Svartholma was built because Sweden had lost territories to the east of it.
After the Great Northern War (1700-1721), Sweden had completely lost its great power status. The eastern half of the realm, Finland, had been occupied for seven years and the occupation had been extremely brutal. Peter the Great ordered a genocide in the region of Ostrobothnia close to the current border with Sweden in order to make it logistically impossible for Sweden to take back the eastern half of the realm. Finland lost 10% of its population during the occupation.
When the warrior king Charles XII of Sweden, under whose whose watch the realm had shrunk over 50% in territory, got shot in the back of his head in Norway that he had foolishly invaded after the loss of Finland, the estates in the realm decided that autocracy was the root cause of the disaster. The king's armies had been victorious for years but in the end he suffered a total rout in Poltava, Ukraine, and had to leave his army in order to flee to Turkey. He stayed there for years blowing through the state coffers he had with him. After the death of Charles XII, the realm of Sweden was ruled by the Diet led by the Chancellor of the Realm, Arvid Horn. The opposition made up of the nobility and partly the bourgeoisie wanted to recapture the lost territories in Finland and some more. They came to power in 1738. A war with Russia was considered "inevitable" and it was thought that initiative should be taken. Sweden started a new war on Russia in July 1741 backed up by France. The result was a rout. Finland was occupied for two years. Some more territory was ceded in Turku peace treaty.
The fortresses of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) and Svartholm were built to strengthen the defense of the new border. Svartholm, however, never saw action. It surrendered in the Finnish War between Russia and Sweden (1808-1809). It was considered too small and weak and it wasn't possible to equip it with sufficient artillery to defend itself against naval attacks. In Gustav III's war on Russia (1788-1790), it served as logistical center for ships going to battle against the Russian navy in the battle of Ruotsinsalmi (Svensksund) in front of the town of Kotka some 50 to the east of Loviisa, which Sweden won decisively.
After Finnish War (1808-1809), the fortress became militarily insignificant because it was very far from the borders between Sweden and the Russian Empire. It was turned into a prison.
By the Crimean War (1853-1856) it had fallen into dysrepair and it was emptied and stripped of anything useful that could be carried away. An Anglo-French naval detachment arrived in front of the fortress on July 4 1855. The island was boarded and the British and the French used thousands of pounds of gunpowder to blow up the fortifications. Only the four bastions in the corners remained intact. In the 20th century, the island has been developed into a tourist attraction.
The island is located 10 km to the south of the town center and about 2 km to the northwest of the nuclear power plant. It takes about half an hour to get to the fortress island by boat. There is a regular connection between Loviisa and Svartholma in the summer months (June, July, August).
The passenger harbour of Loviisa. The bell tower of the town's cathedral is in the background.
I believe we're very lucky to be alive in this day and age. The past few centuries sucked. The 18th century saw the Black Death in Finland in addition to the two Russian occupations.
The port of Valko. This is terminus of the railway between Lahti and Loviisa.
Arriving at the destination
The fortress was designed to be built around four bastions in the corners.
This how it looked.
Inside one of the bastions
Is there really mortar between the stones? Isn't a vault like that supposed hold without any mortar? That looks like calcium rich water having flowed through the ceiling.
This is one of the bastions from the outside.
The cafe on the island
You can arrive by your own boat, too.
A dead end. We have to go back the same way we came.
Vegetation quickly takes over those parts of a fortress that aren't actively maintained.
Here's our ride back to town.
I believe that is a sea kayak.
We had dinner at the boat harbor.
There's also a seafaring museum.
This is a map of Loviisa Bay. Valko is on the left about halfway between the fortress island, which is on the other side of the bay, and the town. A short black line connects the fortress island to the main route. The nuclear power plant of Loviisa is on Hästholmen.
The cathedral of the town.
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