• Russian Section

    Suomenlinna Church

    December 21, 2017 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    The Suomenlinna Church was built as a Russian Orthodox garrison church in 1854. The original building had five steeples with onion domes. In 1918 the Orthodox church was converted into an Evangelical Lutheran church, as Finland sought to indicate its new-found independence from Russia. The onion domes of the four smaller towers were immediately removed. Another interesting feature from the renovation is that the church's central dome has doubled as a lighthouse since 1929, making it one of only a few churches in the world that has that dual purpose.

    After a little while, refreshments were required so we found a Russian Café and had mulled wine and gingerbread biscuits.
    Read more