Kuninkaanportti
Encyclopedia
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
respectively for "the king's gate") is the principal entrance to the fortress Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori , or Sveaborg , is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands , and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with both tourists and locals, who...
(Swedish: Sveaborg) outside Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. It is on the southernmost island of Suomenlinna, in front of the Kustaanmiekka strait, and is considered the main symbol of Suomenlinna.
The gate was constructed from 1753 to 1754 at the place where King Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Adolf Frederick or Adolph Frederick was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach....
anchored his ship when he was coming to inspect the construction of the fortress. The name "the king's gate" comes from this.
The gate is a typical fortress gate with cannon openings. There are wide stairs leading to the gate, but in front of the gate is a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
and a wide pit at both sides, to hinder climbing into the fortress.
The gate was featured in the 1000 Finnish mark
Finnish mark
The Finnish markka was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The markka was replaced by the euro , which had been introduced, in cash form, on 1 January 2002....
note in the last ever series, from 1986 to 2001.
Augustin Ehrensvärd
Field marshal count Augustin Ehrensvärd was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the Sveaborg fortress and the Swedish Archipelago fleet,...
, in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
:
Eftervärld, stå här på egen botn, och lita icke på främmande hielp. ("Progeny, stand here on your own foundation, and do not rely on foreign help.")