WATCH PART 2/2

The Founding of Helsinki:
Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today known as Tallinn).

The construction of the naval fortress Suomenlinna (Swedish: Sveaborg) in the 18th century helped improve Helsinki’s status.
Russians besieged the fortress during the war, and about one quarter of the town was destroyed in an 1808 fire.

Emperor Alexander I of Russia moved the Finnish capital from Turku to Helsinki in 1812, to reduce Swedish influence in Finland, and to bring the capital closer to Saint Petersburg.