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  • Home
  • About
    • All Star Profile
    • Current Outlets
  • Stories
    • Tahitian Dreaming Paul Gauguin Cruises
    • Cruise Ship's Historic Return to SA's Copper Coast
    • MSC Grandiosa
    • Ruby Princess
    • Return to Sri Lanka
    • Bryce Canyon
    • Hunter Gatherings
    • Visit Planet Batuu on your next holiday
    • The Falkland Islands
    • Zagreb has just about everything!
    • Historic Train Journeys in Yorkshire
    • The Sunshine State
    • To The Top of Europe
    • The Kimberley and Mitchell Falls
    • Forget Bali - Go Bush
    • Ireland.. It’s just like the movies
    • Tap and Go Sydney
    • Milwaukee: Easy does it
    • PNG with P&O
    • Port Douglas
    • India's Golden Triangle
    • Guns Gods and Gin
    • Return to Paradise
    • The Outback and fascinating Lava Tubes at Undara.
    • SAILING MEKONG’s PAST IN THE PRESENT
    • Italian Treat
    • Jasper
    • The Ghan
    • Grand Old Ladies
    • Brisbane to Townsville
    • MSC Seaside
    • First to the Frozen Continent Antarctica
    • Cuba's New Revolution
    • THE travel destinations for 2018
    • British Columbia and Grizzly Bears
    • Samoa
    • Mudgee
    • SeaDream A Seven-Day Dream
    • Winnipeg Canada
    • City and beach options in Thailand
    • The Canadian
    • Lonna Island
    • Ancient encounters along the Kimberley Coast
    • Silja Line
    • Play and Stay in Uber Cool Brisbane
    • The Vasa Museum
    • Travel to Noosa - For Cooking Classes
    • Spirit House hits new high
    • Mudgee's Blue Wren Winery
    • Helsinki: Europe’s new cool
    • Doing the Locomotion on Grandma's Express
    • SWEPT AWAY BY BROOME
    • Madrid – Tapas on Offer All Day
    • The Southern Highlands - Bowral
    • A Day Trip to China
    • The Never Never
    • Alaska 101
    • The Hydro Majestic Hotel
    • When is a Legend Born?
    • Sun Princess
    • An Amazing Journey
    • Mandurah and Blue Swimmer's
    • A MILLION DANCING SMILES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
    • See the historic wonders of Hội An, Vietnam
    • Holidays with Pets
    • YEPPOON – AN OASIS IN THE TROPICS
    • O'REILLY'S
    • Coober Pedy
    • Rum - Smuggler’s - Slavery
    • Sri Lanka
    • Secrets of the Great Ocean Road
    • Looking for Napoleon
    • Blue Lagoon
    • Where is Bowen?
    • The Central Coast of NSW
    • Lake Geneva
    • Mudgee NSW
    • Margaret River
    • Indian Pacific
    • Alsace
    • Cruising Asia
    • The Magnificent Murray
    • Lakes and Daffodils
    • Secret Places
    • Pencils
    • Pacific Jewel
    • Contact
    • Cruising with Holland America Line
    • Bewitching Mt Tamborine
    • Hill End NSW
    • The Heart of the Gold Coast
    • Outback Australia
    • Emerald Princess
    • Ottawow – Canada's exciting capital
    • Majorca
    • The Secret World of Pacific Palms
    • Escape the last of Winter
    • Sailing on Emerald Princess
    • Finding your own Oasis in Doha
    • Tokyo DisneySea
                                      Historic Sea Island Fortress
There's a tiny island off Helsinki that is tapping into the international tourism market through its history. Global roaming John Newton made a whistle-stop visit while on his way to a sea fortress that once protected the Finnish capital, before indulging himself in a very special sauna back on the mainland.
Lonna Island has just one resident, who works in the island's only restaurant that hasn't long been open but is already getting a name for itself as one of Helsinki's best kept secrets. While relatively new on Helsinki's hit list, it's becoming the next hot spot for locals and tourists alike, where they can leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind them.
But there was a time many years ago when the island had even greater secrets. In the 1880s it was used by the Russian Navy to store mines, while during the Second World War it was a base for storing and clearing land mines. The island was also used for demagnetising ships for mine removal and the manufacture of mines. A small museum - open to the public - recalls the island's history.
Just 150 metres long and one-and-a-half kilometres and a seven-minute ferry ride from the mainland, Lonna is located half way between Helsinki's thriving market square and the Suomenlinna fortress island.
It was bought by a businessman and is gradually being transformed as a venue, not only for tourists, but for corporate functions and weddings in the old mine storehouse.
Apart from the stunning sea views, Lonna boasts a public sauna and a restaurant that's on a par with  any in the city.
According to Ville Waananen, whose family business is in charge of operating the island, until summer 2014, people had no access to the former military island, although crowds sail past Lonna on their way to Suomenlinna.
Most of the island's half dozen buildings are now renovated, but further improvements are planned It takes less than 10 minutes to walk the perimeter of the island, which is home to flocks of birds, including ducks, geese and white swans.
Some ferries stop at Lonna on their way to Suomenlinna, one of the largest fortresses in the world built on six islands.
It has had a fascinating history since it began taking shape in 1748 and became known as Sveaborg – The Gibraltar of the North – under the Swedish realm.
For more than a century - after the 1808-09 war between Russia and Sweden – it was taken over by the Russians, who stationed a large military garrison on the island housing thousands of soldiers.
In 1918. after Finland became independent, it was re-named Suomenlinna – 'fortress of Finland'. But, the island's military importance gradually declined and it became a civil administration in the early 1970's.
Today, sea fortress Suomenlinna - with its many key sights and eight kilometres of tunnels – is a magnet for international tourists, who cram onto ferries from Helsinki South Harbour bound for  the island.
The church on Suomenlinna was built to serve the Russian Orthodox faith and later, during the early days of Finnish independence, converted into a Lutheran place of worship. In the church tower is a lighthouse, which still guides both air and sea traffic into Helsinki.
Another major sight is Suomenlinna's dry dock, one of the world's oldest still in operation. Once used to build the Swedish coastal fleet, it's main purpose today is for renovating old wooden ships. 
Nearby is one of Suomenlinna's prized possessions – a submarine called Vesikko that was built in the 1930's in the south-west port of Turku, formerly the Finnish capital.
From 1932-1944, Sveaborg was the base of the Finnish Navy's submarine flotilla of five vessels, including Vesikko. During the Second World War, they operated in the naval defence, but in the Peace Treaty 1947 Finland was forbidden to possess submarines. This led to the Vesikko being turned into a museum and the other  vessels scrapped.
The fully-restored vessel is now a land-based museum overlooking the waterfront, where visitors can get the feel of the confined space of a submarine.
While Suomenlinna has many a tale to tell of its past, it remains an important cultural centre comprising galleries, museums, restaurants and cafes. On most summer days, its year-round population of around 900 is swamped by day trippers , making it one of the foremost attractions in Finland.
Taking a sauna in Finland is an essential part of the country's culture and national identity. And, according to latest figures, there are 3.3 million saunas – all private but for a few - shared by just 5.4 million Finns.
But urban culture is changing and many new public saunas are earmarked, after numbers dropped dramatically.
At Loyly in Helsinki, its design sauna, restaurant and waterfront terrace has become one of the city's 'must do' experiences for locals and tourists alike.
Taking a plunge in an icy cold sea after a sauna might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's nothing to the cool Finns. In many cases, it's a daily dose of adrenalin.
Loyly (meaning the steam that comes when you throw water on hot stones in a sauna) boasts three different saunas that are all heated with wood – a continuously heated sauna, a once heated sauna (that is heated in the morning before the sauna is open and stays warm all night) and a traditional smoke sauna – regarded as a rarity in an urban sauna.
Yours truly plucked up enough enthusiasm to join the sauna regulars, but drew the line at cooling off in the Baltic Sea!  (http://www.loylyhelsinki.fi) 
For more details on Lonna and Suomenlinna, go to http://www.myhelsinki.fi/
 
The writer travelled from Singapore to Helsinki and back on Finnair, which offers excellent connections from Australia with oneworld partners and flies between Asia, North America and Europe with an emphasis on fast connections via Helsinki.
The airline carries more than nine million passengers a year and connects 17 cities in Asia and three cities in North America with more than 60 destinations in Europe. www.finnair.com/au  
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Top places to stay in Helsinki:
Hotel Katajanokka
Hotel Indigo Boulevard                         
Sokos Hotel Presidentti
 
Words: John Newton
Images: As supplied
Feature supplied by: www.wtfmedia.com.au
Images
  1. Suomenlinna
  2. Lonna
  3. Popular ferry service
  4. Helsinki
  5. Suomenlinna Fortress
  6. Ancient canon
  7. Christmas time at the Cathedral
  8. Fun at the Fair
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