In the Middle Ages, one of the most popular areas of the modern city of Helsinki was a defensive fortress that belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden. Later, these lands were transferred to the Russian Empire and became the autonomous part of Finland. Then the sea fort was named "Suomenlinna"(which means "Castle of Finland" in Finnish). After World War II, the monument of defensive architecture finally lost its military significance and became the main attraction of the Finnish capital. In the second half of the 20th century, the fortress started to house several museums at once, including the famous Toy Museum.

One of the most visited museums in Finland has placed its exhibits in an old wooden building of the early 20th century, the former villa of the Russian captain Vasiljev. Today, this building preserves an impressive collection of children's toys that your great-grandmothers probably dreamed of as children. Most of the exhibits date back to the 19th century. There are hundreds of dolls made of wood and porcelain, plastic, and paper. In total, this original collection includes more than 2000 toys, a good hundred of which are considered antiques. The variety of toys in the museum surprises both children and adults: there are dollhouses and cars, horses and locomotives, soft and wind-up toys. Besides, the collection also comprises many board games, including the popular wartime game "Food Fight", or "Colonization of Africa", and everyone's favorite "Monopoly". You can read about the creation of each exhibit on a label next to it, and listen to the fascinating story of the Toy Museum foundation from a professional guide.

While children enthusiastically are exploring unusual toys, adults can take a walk in the fortress and visit other museums. As a rule, men tend to get into the main museum "Suomenlinna", dedicated to the construction and history of the powerful fort. Ladies prefer to go to the halls of the Ehrensvard Museum to enjoy the delightful authentic interiors of the 18th-19th centuries.