Nature
The islands of Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari were left to develop for decades in a natural state between their active military history and being opened to the public in 2016.
The exceptionally high numbers of different species found on Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari are a testament to the coexistence of man and nature. Some of the islands’ species have benefited from the earthworks and meadows kept clear by humans, while others have made use of the calcium introduced to the soil in mortar.
Examples of species that were introduced to Vallisaari island by Russian soldiers include the warty cabbage, the hoary alyssum and Trachyphloeus scabriculus, a type of flightless weevil. The Russians also planted the impressive lime tree avenues.
The island boasts excellent living conditions for a broad range of plants, a thousand butterfly species and many different species of bats. In order to ensure the preservation of these conditions, it is important for visitors to understand the uniqueness of the island’s flora and fauna, and to stay on the built paths.
Routes
Those wishing to explore Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari must stay on the designated paths while doing so as beyond them dangerous structures and precipices pose a hazard, and there are spots that are at risk of collapsing. You should pay special attention to your children.
Alexander’s trail is a 3-kilometre long trail that circles the Vallisaari island.
Kuninkaansaari tour is 2.5 kilometres in length, and spreads out to the Kuninkaansaari island.
More detailed information and instructions for exploring Vallisaari at nationalparks.fi.
History
During the construction of the Suomenlinna sea fortress in the 18th century, Vallisaari was a military logistics island, serving as a cow pasture and a source of firewood. At the end of the century, Vallisaari became a base for maritime pilots. From 1918 to 2012, Vallisaari was used as a storage area by the Finnish Defence Forces. In its heyday in the 1950s, the island had approximately 300 inhabitants as well as its own school and shop. There were residences for permanent Finnish Navy staff on the island until 1996.
Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari used to form the largest Russian sea fortress in Helsinki. In August 1855, during the Crimean War, English and French enemy ships were able to bombard the Suomenlinna sea fortress with impunity for several days due to the fact that the outdated cannons of Suomenlinna did not have the range to fire back at them, five kilometres away. In response, Russia decided to build large, modern artillery stations on the islands of Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari. Their construction ended up taking several decades, and also involved Finnish workers.
The only military action that the fortress ever took part in occurred in the summer of 1906, when a few thousand Russian seamen decided to mutiny. Their aim was to put an end to tsarism and spread the garrisons’ resistance movement throughout Russia. The fierce fighting continued for a few days, but the mutiny was eventually quelled when a large store of gunpowder exploded on Kuninkaansaari.
Learn more about the nature of Vallisaari at citynature.eu.