Salpa Line Open Air Museum

This is the last of my posts (maybe) about our 2015 trip to Finland, read more here.

 Our last big stop in Finland was the Salpa Line Museum. A portion of a very long string of fortifications intended as a defense against possible Soviet incursions. The swampy lake filled north of Finland offered sufficient natural obstacles, but a very long line of trenches and tank traps were built in the southern part of the border.

Most of the line was left to return to nature, and a hiking trail follows its length. In this spot, however, a few large fortifications remain, and the trenches were shored up. The museum has had to rebuild the wooden retaining walls more than once, a testament to the wet climate.

 There were several underground cement bunkers, some were spotting and gunner posts, one was equipped with a major anti-tank weapon.

All were cunningly hidden in the landscape, and of course 70 years of moss and lichen would obscure them completely without caretakers.

One was a living quarter, with small bunks, a stove, and privy. It even had blast doors to seal one's self in, and grenade tubes for tossing out into enemy-filled hallways.

 Down a steep and slippery staircase was an almost working gun (presumably firing pins and such were removed). It had an impressive sighting mechanism, cranks to move it up and down or side to side, and a simple compass drawn on the hood in order to communicate to other positions.

 Mr. Crafty and I played with it for rather a long time...

In addition to these larger permanent bunkers there were the remains of several small gunner positions. These would be buried, of course.

The actual tank fortifications were these teeth like rows of large stones. They were quarried nearby and made into long rows to funnel tanks into bottlenecks at the roads. There were also ditches dug, with a sloping side and a drop off, to flip over tanks that tried to cross them. 

 The tank in question, a common Soviet model. Nicely placed so all the gun stations could practice pointing at it!

 A slightly camouflaged gun, further up the road. presumably useful if the first lines of defense did not stop the advance.

 And the big gun! You can see, in this photo, the on-and-off rain we enjoyed all day while walking around. We got slightly soggy, but still had a wonderful time. Even those less interested in the militaria (me!) could enjoy the lovely forest, and walk along the trench lines eating blueberries.

Alright, I think I'm mostly caught up on the last trip *phew* Now, let's get back to this year's adventure!