Once the greatest building in the Aland Islands, Bomarsund Castle was built as an important defensive position by the Russian Defense Forces in 1809. The castle was destroyed in 1854 after the Crimean War in which Russia lost the Aland Islands to Sweden. At the time, the fort included three defensive towers, a military barracks, offices for generals, and rooms to house thousands of soldiers. Today, the area includes 870 hectares of amazing ancient ruins, and visitors and tourists from all over the world come to see it.