Description
This lighthouse series’ card shows the Suomenlinna church tower, also known as the Suomenlinna lighthouse, rising above the treetops. If you look closely at the tower, you can see the glass lantern part of the lighthouse at the top of the tower, below the cross.
The Suomenlinna Church was built in 1854 as the church of the Eastern Orthodox garrison. It was converted into an an Evangelical Lutheran garrison church after Finland gained independence in 1918. The church’s exterior was then simplified and the church’s interior was changed to Lutheran. The final transformation of the Orthodox church’s exterior and interior to its current appearance was carried out in 1927–1929.
A lighthouse has been located at the top of the central dome of the church tower since 1929. The lighthouse is the highest in Finland (54.2 meters above sea level), and it was renovated in 1994 and 2018. Anyone approaching Helsinki from the sea is greeted by four short flashes of the lighthouse at night: the Morse code letter H, just like Helsinki!
