Planetskier: Leppävaara fortifications

Jarmo and I visited the Leppävaara area fortifications, inspired by Tony Hagerlund's excellent blogs about them. There's plenty of trenches and also bunkers! These are World War I era fortifications built in a circle around Helsinki. We also found a small natural cave under a boulder!

This was also my first biking of the year, in +20 degree sunshine and wearing shorts. Felt good.

We visited bunkers in three areas:

Laturinkallio (between Vallikallio and Galleria, the old Leppävaara shopping mall):

Bunker 1, perhaps a gun position? In coordinates N 60.22424 E 24.81525.

Bunker 2, a storage room perhaps, next to bunker 1. In coordinates N 60.22420 E 24.81539.
An almost dirt-filled bunker 3 under the hill in in coordinates N 60.22379 E 24.81704.
A collapsed bunker 4 at the top of the hill, in coordinates N 60.22402 E 24.81712.
Large concrete block covering surprisingly (at least visibly) only one small room in coordinates N 60.22414 E 24.81602.

We also found a small cave under a boulder here in in coordinates N 60.22382 E 24.816466. There's enough space for a man to be under the boulder, but we didn't have the equipment to draw a map of it.

Vallikallio:

Tunnel-like bunker (door welded shut) in coordinates N 60.22544 E 24.81858.
A second tunnel-like bunker, but with a slightly open door in coordinates N 60.22555 E 24.81839. There was an entrance room and a big storage room after it. Worth visiting, in rubber boots.

A blown-up bunker, remains only in coordinates N 60.22604 E 24.81769.

Nupukivenkallio, the hill south of the Leppävaara Urheilupuisto, between the school and fire station:

Gun station 1 in coordinates N 60.22261 E 24.80645. One photo at the top of this post and another here:

Gun station 2 in coordinates N 60.22256 E 24.80650.

Gun station 3 in coordinates N 60.22222 E 24.80667. Warning: As always, be very careful visiting these places. There are 10 meter cliffs, dangerous objects in the floors, slippery rock, and the danger of collapses. On one of the bunkers in Vallikallio I stepped on a large boulder that started moving. It was scary.

This article was originally published in the Planetskier Blogspot article series.

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