This pretty picture is of the Island of Vallisaari and the quaint little lighthouse on it. The island is off the well known Soumenlinna Fortress about which a lot has already been written on this blog. In the background can be seen the Island of Lauttosaari. All these islands are near Helsinki, the Capital of Finland. It may be of interest to some that a violent explosion took place on 7th September 1937 at the army's weapons loading unit on Vallisaari island which destroyed the magazine and much of the nearby infrastructure. 12 people were killed and dozens wounded. The shockwave caused earthquake-like tremors 5 km away in Helsinki. The explosions continued for a day and a massive black cloud rose above the island. People fled in panic to mainland. Many of the dead were buried near Piper's Park on neighbouring Suomenlinna island, where the memorial stands today. My Dear Friend Ella sent me this pretty card.
