Finnish Forces

Viipuri (Vyborg)

Finnish soldiers in Viipuri (Vyborg) at the beginning of Continuation War 1941-44. The first castle of Vyborg, and the city established) was founded during the so-called "Third Swedish Crusade" in 1293 by marshal Torkel Knutsson. The Hanseatic city lies in the boundary zone between the East Slavic/Russian and Finnish/Scandinavian worlds and has changed hands several times in histor. Dominantlanguage remained German until mid 1800s, after which the Swedish began to gain ground.