Top Helsinki Archaeology Tours

To protect Saint Petersburg, using their knowledge and combat experience gained while defending Port Arthur, from 1914 to 1918 the Russians with the support of many local contractors, designed, engineered, and constructed the WWI Land Fortifications which extended inland the defensive walls of the Suomenlinna. The tour guide is a professional historian and anthropologist who has been studying and researching in Finland since 1999.

In the heart of Finland’s capital, children’s laughter reverberates from an underground playground. Nearby, people relax at a beach bar while others play a game of beach volley ball. At first glance, all appears to be business as usual. But beneath the polished concrete and colourful climbing frames lies a far more serious purpose: this is a civil-defence shelter ready to be locked down within hours. The vast network of dual-use shelters in Helsinki – designed for both everyday recreation and wartime protection – demonstrates a striking intersection of civic architecture, national strategy and social normalcy. Current planning guidance states that dual-use shelters must convert within 72 hours from public-use venue to full civil-defence mode – with blast doors, air-filtration, provisions and sleeping cots deployed. We will show you some of the most interesting dual-use shelters in Helsinki.