War history sites in Finland

The war is still in the terrain

Finland's war history doesn't have to be read in a museum. It's trenches in the forest, concrete dugouts at the edge of a field, stone anti-tank obstacles running in straight rows through clear-cuts, and memorial stones at places where battles were fought back in the 1700s. This map brings them together: from the Cudgel War of the 1500s to the dugouts of the Continuation War.

The Salpa Line: a fortress that never saw battle

After the Winter War in 1940, Finland began building a defensive line along the eastern border, from the Gulf of Finland to Salla. Work continued through the Continuation War and accelerated in 1944. The result was around 730 reinforced-concrete dugouts and rock bunkers, 350 kilometres of stone anti-tank obstacles – granite boulders in four rows – and hundreds of kilometres of trenches. The front never reached the line. It is Finland's largest construction project that was never used.

That's exactly why it has survived so well. At the Salpa Line Museum in Miehikkälä and the Bunker Museum in Virolahti you can go inside the dugouts; the forests of Lappeenranta, Luumäki and Miehikkälä hold dozens of numbered dugouts, some freely viewable. The Salpapolku trail follows the line.

The Winter War and the Continuation War

A Soviet division was destroyed on the Raate road in Suomussalmi in January 1940; beside the Raate Gate museum, the Winter War Monument's 105 bells recall the war's 105 days. The Winter War Museum in Kuhmo tells the story of the encirclement battles. The Harparskog Line was built in 1940–41 along the border of the Hanko leased territory, and its bunkers still stand in the forests of Raasepori. The tanks in the Tank Museum in Parola once served at the front.

Older wars

Before the 1900s, Finland was a battlefield between Sweden and Russia. At Napue in Isokyrö in 1714, the Finnish army was crushed and the Great Wrath began. At Porrassalmi in Mikkeli in 1789, a small Finnish force held its position during the Russo-Swedish War. At Koljonvirta in Iisalmi in 1808, Sandels defeated the Russians – Runeberg's Sven Dufva defended this very bridge. During the First World War, Russian forces fortified the area around Helsinki (the Viapori land front), and gun emplacements still sit in the rock from Vuosaari to Espoo.

Before you go

• The museums' dugouts are open during opening hours, usually June to August. Check the site page.
• Out in the terrain, dugouts are dark and may hide shafts, pools of water and sharp metal. Bring a headlamp, and don't go into shafts alone.
• Trenches and anti-tank obstacles are often on private land. Viewing and walking there fall under everyman's right; digging and taking objects do not. Wartime explosives still turn up – if you find something suspicious, don't touch it, call 112.
• Memorials are burial sites. Behave accordingly.