Pickala Soviet Triumphal Arch

Lost among birch trees stands an unusual monument: an archway painted red, blue, and gold, a relic of the dozen years when this quiet corner of Finland was under Soviet control. Known as Pickala's Soviet Triumphal Arch, it was erected during the "Porkkala Parenthesis", the period between 1944 and 1956 when the USSR occupied the Finnish Porkkala peninsula as a naval base.

Under the Moscow Armistice of 1944, which ended the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union, Finland was required to lease the area for 50 years. Residents were quickly evacuated, but the territory was returned early, in 1956. During those years, more than a dozen arches were built in the leased area, but the one in Pickala is the only one still standing. Soviet soldiers marched beneath it on their way to sporting events and parades.

The arch is located near Pickala Manor, along Kabanov's cobblestoned Cannon Road, another vestige of the Soviet occupation of the area. The manor's main building, built in 1850, served as housing for over 20 Soviet families during the leasing period.