Suursaari opens slowly for tourists

Finns seek experiences and their roots on the lost island

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by Heli Saavalainen
     
      The forested, rocky island rises majestically in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. Rocky and sandy beaches, lakes, and high hills dominate the landscape. There is a lighthouse on both ends of the island.
      The island, which belongs to Russia, is slowly opening up to tourists, many of whom come to search for their roots on the island lost by Finland in the war.
     
Finding an ancestor's grave or the foundations of one's old house is a moving experience for many, says Yuri Karpenko, a guide and interpreter for Set Group, who organises trips to Suursaari.
      "Finnish history, the lost, inaccessible island, and unique nature", Karpenko lists what interests Finns on the island.
     
Before the wars about 800 Finns lived in two villages on the east coast. Only a few ruins are left of the villages.
      Juha Hytti of Helsinki sought his roots on Suursaari in mid-May. His great-grandfather Johannes Kari left the island in 1888, and Hytti has dreamt of going to see his family's old home since he was a boy.
      Hytti found the ruins of the house his family built in Kiiskinkylä. The village has disappeared, but the stone base of the house was found after some searching in the middle of a wooded area.
      "It is a great feeling", Hytti says.
      Suursaari interests this bird enthusiast in other ways as well. "The island is a unique place in the Gulf of Finland. I will certainly visit it again", Hytti declares.
      Hannu Leppänen of Anjalankoski was interested in the old rock paintings on the island. Seeing the island itself was also a source of interest.
      "I have watched the island from the sea. Not being allowed on the island romanticises the place", says Leppänen, who has spent his free time on the Gulf of Finland for the past 30 years. "The views and atmosphere were amazing."
     
Suursaari was once Finland's most popular travel destination, alongside Koli in North Karelia. Tourists would lie on the sandy beaches and hike in the wilderness; in the evenings there was dancing at the Casino.
      Now the old Casino lies in disrepair. The nature is intact, although military use has left its mark.
      There are now a handful of inhabitants, since the only people that live on the island are the lighthouse personnel with their families, and the border guards. Between five and ten people are working in the hotel built in the old barracks.
      The lighthouse personnel do not shun tourists. "They are happy when new people come to the island", says Karpenko.
     
Suursaari is still a military area, where tourists require a special permit. Although the soldiers have left, the permits are hard to acquire. Trips are only organised from Russian ports, mainly from Primorsk (Koivisto), since there is no customs office.
      CEO of Set Group Kai Paananen is keeping up careful hopes about a possible boat connection directly from Kotka.
      "Establishing a border control post has been brought up again. A group of government officials is working on the matter again", Paananen says.
      "There is no set schedule, however, so there is no point to expect fast results", he says.
      Paananen's company represents a Russian travel agency OOO Gogland, which started to change Suursaari into a tourist destination in 2002. The company has invested about EUR 1.5 million in the project. A hotel able to house 40 people has been built, and the environment has been cleaned up.
      Enthusiasm seemed to fade at one point, but according to Paananen, there is currently a "positive state of will".
      He believes that a route directly from Finland would enrich travel on the Gulf of Finland. "Nature hikes and new experiences, fishing, sailing", he lists.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 22.5.2006

More on this subject:
 FACTFILE: An island in the middle of the Gulf of Finland

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Setback for large-scale tourism plans for former Finnish island of Suursaari (30.4.2004)
  Suursaari shrugs off its long sleep and prepares for the tourists (19.5.2002)
  BACKGROUND: Suursaari was once a Finnish paradise island (19.5.2002)

HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi