Suomenlinna Dry Dock

The dry dock in Suomenlinna is the oldest in Finland and one of the oldest operational dry docks in Europe.

The construction of the dry dock began in 1750. The dock’s basins and service buildings served as the base for the Swedish Coastal Fleet’s Sveaborg squadron until 1808. Ships for the Swedish Coastal Fleet were built here in the 1760s under the supervision of the famous naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman.

During the Finnish period from 1918 the State Aircraft Factory used the dock for building the first Finnish airplanes. In the 1930s, the dock’s inner basin was used as a naval submarine base. After the Second World War, Valmet Oy took over the ship-building operations, initially building ships as war reparations to the Soviet Union.

There is so much to see here, we walked around for hours but it is now time to jump back on board the ferry and head back to the mainland.Read more