Great Courtyard

Upon its completion in the 1760s, the Great Courtyard, designed by Augustin Ehrensvärd, served as the main square of the fortress. The houses surrounding the courtyard included the fortress commandant’s house and the main guard house.

The administrative centre of the fortress was given a suitably impressive architectural setting: the buildings were carefully placed around the courtyard, and some of them had concave facades which created a false perspective, making the courtyard look grander and more impressive.

The northern and southern sides of the courtyard are bordered by the Höpken and Ekeblad bastions, made from granite; the commandant’s house lay on the eastern side with the four-storey house of the general rising behind it; to the west the courtyard ended in two buildings with concave facades, the major’s house and the main guard house.

The Great Courtyard was badly damaged in bombardments during the Crimean War in 1855, but it is still an impressive sight. The grave of Augustin Ehrensvärd lies in the courtyard, surrounded today by the Ehrensvärd museum and some residential buildings.

How to get there

The Helsinki City Transport ferry operates to the main pier throughout the year, and from there the courtyard is about 1 kilometre away. The waterbus stops at the Visitor Centre pier during summer. The courtyard is about 200 metres from the pier.