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.

Photos and text (c) 2019 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. All my caving and urban exploration articles can be found from planetcaver.net, theurbanexplorer.net and of course blogspot and TGR!