The Suomenlinna area and buildings

The national heritage managed by the Governing Body of Suomenlinna encompasses more than 200 buildings and over 80 hectares of land on seven islands.

The Governing Body owns seven of the islands that formerly comprised the historic Sveaborg fortress: from south to north these are the Kustaanmiekka, Susisaari, Iso Mustasaari, Pikku Mustasaari, Länsi-Mustasaari, Särkkä and Lonna islands.

Most of the residences and facilities renovated by the Governing Body are located on the Iso Mustasaari and Länsi-Mustasaari islands, and most of the 200 buildings renovated by the Governing Body form part of the defensive wall surrounding the fortress.

The 13 private buildings in Suomenlinna, dating from the Russian period, were originally constructed by permission of the Commandant of the fortress as houses for merchants and villas for officers. The land on which these buildings stand also belongs to the State. The buildings of the Naval Academy, which operates on the Pikku Mustasaari island, are owned and managed by Senate Properties, a State-administered property management enterprise. The church and the land on which it stands are owned by the Parish Union of Helsinki.

The Finnish State also owns approximately 80 hectares of sea area around Suomenlinna that is the last resting place of dozens of shipwrecks. Exploration of these wrecks has been assigned to the marine archaeology department of the National Board of Antiquities.