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Sweden loses ground to Russia around the Baltic, prompting plans for a new fortress and naval base in Finland. The chapter covers the early construction effort, labor shortages, and improvements to living conditions for workers and soldiers.
Since the 16th century, the Kingdom of Sweden has captured large areas of land around the Baltic Sea.In the 18th century, the fortunes of war turn against it.
In 1703, Peter the Great, emperor of Russia, founds the city of St.Petersburg and the fortress of Kronstad close to it.
This was the fulfillment of his great dream.Russia has reached the Baltic Sea.The emperor can now build up a fleet of galleys to threaten the coast of Finland.Sweden, one of the great powers of Europe, loses two wars against Russia, and the border between the two countries, moves westward.Something must be done quickly.
Sweden decides to build a strong fortress and naval base in Finland.France, which is allied to Sweden against Russia, contributes to the building costs.
In 1748, Lieutenant Colonel Augustine Arensvad is sent to Finland to implement his plans for the fortress.The new fortress and the naval base are to be built in Helsinki and on nearby islands.
The fortress is Sweden's biggest building project.In spring 1748, 2,000 men are engaged in the building work.There is a shortage of skilled labor.Stonemasons, brick layers, carpenters, and blacksmiths are recruited from all over the Swedish realm and as far away as Germany.Most of the workmen are, however, Finnish and Swedish soldiers.
In Helsinki, a town of 1,500 inhabitants impoverished by warfare, the houses are in poor condition.The town cannot provide decent accommodation for the officers and soldiers assigned to the work.The fortress is built of granite.The stone is available on the spot and the rocks are blasted with black powder.Limestone is brought by ship.Brickyards are set up.Helsinkig begins to flourish and all of southern Finland benefits from the building work.Owing to their unbalanced diet, the men suffer from scurvy, which is treated with liquor and a horseradish beverage.Erdens improves the living conditions of his soldiers.Every man is to receive at least one hot meal a day.Vegetables are added to the menu.On suitable plots of land, flowers and vegetables are grown.Their seeds and cutings sent by Erinvad's good friend Carl voner.
The fortress grows into a massive project with thousands of workers, new tools, and major financial demands. It also describes the social life around the fortress and Arensvad's death and memorialization.
In 1750, the fortress is given the name Sphere, the fortress of Sweden.
In summer 1751, 7,000 men are at work on the fortress.
Daniel Tunbury designs tools and equipment for the fortress.He erects a massive windmill which simultaneously saws wood into planks and mills grain for flour.
Augustine Arensvad greatly values his friend Tunbury.Even if all the master builders in the kingdom were melted into one, the result would not equal even half of Tunbury.
The building project is huge as are its costs.During the first 18 years, France contributed 90 barrels of gold for work on the fortress.Despite this, Arensvad is continually obliged to apply to the king and the diet in Stockholm for more resources.
What shall I do with titles and high honors?If the king wishes to bestow his favor on me, let his majesty provide money to build the fleet and the fortress.All else is folly.
Once housing has been built, married officers and soldiers bring their wives to Sphere and many bachelors seek a Finnish spouse.Seri has a busy social life with music and the fine arts.The officers and their families form the community's refined upper class.Many officers purchased mana houses close to the fortress.So many excursions and parties are organized that no one need be bored or miss Stockholm and its amusements.
Arenvad notices that the Swedish galleys are cumbersome, the guns are old-fashioned, and their range is too short.He begins to collaborate with a talented young ship designer in Stockholm.Once I came upon a splendid shipwright by the name of Friedrich Henrik Chapman.This master craftsman is as enthusiastic as I.And when the two of us meet, we will soon have a new fleet.By the grace of God, may we soon begin.Chapman designs new ships capable of carrying heavy cannons and sailing through the narrows of the Finnish archipelago.Eronvat names the archipelago frigots after Finnish provinces Hyanmar, Hameanmar, Usimar and Turungmar.The archipelago fleet is renamed the army fleet and receives its own blue flag.
In 1764, the world's biggest dry dock designed by Daniel Tunbury is completed.Water is discharged from the dock by a pump operated by Tunber's windmill or six horses.
In 1771, Arensvad is forced to resign through illness.A year later, at the age of 62, he dies.On his deathbed, he's promoted to the rank of field marshal.King Gustaf III himself helps design Arensvad's tomb and decrees that he be buried surrounded by his work in Syri.Without Count Erinvad's enthusiasm and diligence, Finland would still be a wilderness, writes Baron Fabian Rele.
Sweden's archipelago fleet wins a major naval battle against Russia, cementing the fortress's reputation as nearly unconquerable. The chapter then shifts to Napoleon's era and the Russian invasion of Finland, ending with the fortress's surrender in 1808.
Russia and Turkey are at war in 1788 and King Gustav III of Sweden declares war on Russia.
For the first time, the fortress was to see real action.sphere was the safe home port of the archipelago fleet.The biggest naval battle of the Baltic is fought at Roinsali on the 9th and 10th of July 1790.
Sweden's archipelago fleet defeats Russia's fleet of GS.The Russians lose more than 60 vessels and 9,500 men.
Cannonballs whistle through the air, ripping down sails and destroying the ship's rigging.
Masts and cabins have blown bees.Blood and pieces of human flesh are everywhere.
The able-bodied waste no time in seizing the equipment of officers and wounded comrades.The dead are finally piled together or thrown into the sea.
Nothing so horrifying have I ever seen.
God, the wind and the bravery of my officers have given us a complete victory.The king later writes to a friend.
The hero of the battle is the future commonant of Sphere Carl Olaf Krstead who was promoted to admiral.
An English writer named Daniel Clark declares that after Gibraltar, Sbury is Europe's strongest fortress.With its 8 km of defensive walls and hundreds of cannons, it's thought to be unconquerable.
Napoleon Bonapart tried to become the ruler of all Europe.He was unable to make England yield to force of arms and so decided to close English harbors to merchant ships.When Sweden did not consent to the blockade, Napoleon's ally, Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, started a war with Sweden.
On February the 21st, 1808, Russian forces attack Finland.
Swedish forces withdraw northwards and the Russians quickly occupy southern Finland.
The fortress of sphere is supposed to stand firm until the sea ice disperses and the Swedish fleet can bring in reinforcements.The Russian invasion force total 6,500 men with 59 artillery pieces.The defenders of Sybody are superior in number.7,000 men and 734 cannons.
The Russians bombard the fortress for 5 days.Sphere's losses are negligible.The defenders suffer only six dead and 32 wounded.
Negotiations begin.Three of Sphere's islands are seeded to the Russians.And a month later, on May the 8th, 1808, the commandant of Spy, Rear Admiral Carl Olaf Kronststead, finally hands over the fortress.
In Spi, deep confusion reigns.The soldiers want to continue defending the fortress.They curse the commonant and there are threats to kill him.
When Krunstead salutes his soldiers, the salute is not returned.
For the rest of his life, Krunstead has to live amidst hatred and contempt.
Under the peace agreement, Sweden loses Finland, which becomes an autonomous Grand Duchy.Russia is now the leading military power on the European continent.
The Swedish lion built this for the Russian eagle.This new Gibralar cost us only a few weeks of siege, some cannonballs, a 100 men, and negotiations, exclaimed Emperor Alexander on a visit to Sphere on March the 30th, 1809.
The narrative moves to the Crimean War, when Britain and France attack Russia and bombard the fortress from the sea. It describes the fleet's arrival, the intense shelling, and the damage inflicted on the fortress and town.
Emperor Nicholas I wants to extend his realm to Constantinople and the Mediterranean Sea by recapturing areas taken from Russia by Turkey.Britain and France ally themselves with Turkey to prevent the enlargement of the Russian Empire and declare war on Russia.
On March the 11th, 1854, the British fleet set sail accompanied by music, flag waving, and cheers.
Russia has neglected its defense.Sphere's cannons date from the Swedish period.The powder is damp and lumpy, and the musketss are old-fashioned flint locks.
The Allied fleet controls the whole Baltic and can attack the Finnish coast without hindrance.
As nothing decisive has happened in the war situation, the Allied admirals decide to attack Spherebody.77 vessels head for Sphere Body.Among them are 10 large ships of the line, each armed with more than a 100 cannons.
August the 6th.This afternoon, a huge Anglo French fleet suddenly appeared off Helsinki.So many enemy vessels have never been seen before during this war.All the town's people are afraid.
August the 8th.The ships look peaceful and at rest amid their forest of masts.But a rumor is spreading that they will attack tomorrow.The enormous number of gunboats raises suspicion that something will happen soon and this makes the mind uneasy.
August the 9th.On this heavenly summer day, immediately after morning hymns which echoed from the ships all the way to Helsinki, the enemy began his bombardment.
Now the small gunboats can be seen directing rapid fire against the fortress.Smoke from the guns drifts towards finally shrouding it.The bombardment is the first of this war and the first gunfire on the sea since Verbari was built.
The dark knights are terrible.The rockets then fly over the sea like fiery snakes in search of their prey.
No offshore fortress in Europe had ever been bombarded so heavily.The bombardment goes on continuously for 47 hours.The guns discharging more than a thousand tons of iron.Most of the buildings on spare body are damaged.55 persons are killed and 200 wounded.
Sere's outdated cannons are unable to match the incoming fire.Their range is too short to reach the enemy ships which continue the assault unimpeded.
After the battle, the Allies are applauded in Europe for their courage and pictures are published of the bombardment of the mighty Gibralar of the north.
The final chapter covers the fortress's role during Finnish independence and the civil war, including its use as a prison camp. It ends with the military's departure, the site's preservation as a monument, and its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage treasure.
At the end of the century, Sphere's defenses are strengthened with embankments of earth in which long range heavy guns are embedded.
In 1917, following the Russian Revolution and after Finland's declaration of independence, Sue is still in the hands of a Russian garrison.
On January the 28th, 1918, a civil war breaks out in Finland.
When German support troops arrive in Helsinki, the remaining Russian garrison and naval vessels withdraw to Russia.
It is a moment of rejoicing when the government of Finland takes control of sphere.The leader of the Senate, Pinhov, proclaims, "Finland is now free.Now flies the flag of Finland at top the battlements of this old fortress.As a reminder of this, the Senate has decided that from this day forward, the fortress of Suebury shall be called Swarmin Linda, the castle of Finland.Let no enemy ever lower this flag, and may it fly here forever.
Shortly afterwards, the new Finnish flag with its blue cross is hoisted on the flag staff.
80,000 prisoners taken in the Finnish civil war were held in detention camps of which Swamlina was one.In many cases, the prisoners were in good condition when they arrived at the camps.But the longer their imprisonment lasted, the smaller were their chances of staying alive.In the camps there were shortages of everything and the prisoners lived constantly on the verge of starvation.The Swarmmenina prisoner of war camp was one of the national places of execution to which red prisoners condemned to death were sent from other camps.265 executions took place at least 68 of them in Swarmen Linda.At the end of 1918, most of the prisoners were pardoned.The last of them to leave Sarmenina did so on March the 13th, 1919.About a thousand had died there of starvation or disease.
In 1919, a Finnish garrison was established in Swain Linda.Even at that early date, Sarmenina was seen as a valuable historical monument and the parts of it not needed by the military were to be placed under the protection of the department of antiquities.The military period in Soren ended in 1973.Only the naval war school carries on the military tradition of the fortress.Almost a thousand people live on the islands which have a daycare center, a school, a library, and a health center.The Sarmenina is an outstanding work of military architecture.It is now recognized as one of the world's treasures and is under the protection of UNESCO.
Do not forget that you can never be happy unless your fatherland is happy, too.But your fatherland may well be happy without you.