Anchor Memorial and Cannons in Horninpuisto Park

In Horninpuisto Park, next to the market place in Salo, there are some rare marine archaeological objects. In 1982, the old anchor and cannons were found at the bottom of the sea, in the waters south of Hiittinen. They are originally from an unidentified Russian warship. It is known that it was a three-deck liner with five anchors and dozens of cannons.

The anchor in the park is Finland’s largest wooden log anchor monument alongside the same-sized anchor located in Ådskär. The foundry masters Peter and Jacob cast Salo’s anchor in the late 1700s at the Izhorsk factory in a suburb of Saint Petersburg. It was brought to the Horninpuisto park in 1986, after the Salo-based diving club Simppu lifted it from the seabed.

The cannons are engraved with the year 1808, which refers to the War of Finland. They were manufactured in the factory of Alexandrovich under the guidance of master B. The carriages were made according to drawings from the same era. The mouths of cannons are plugged with balls that are coloured to depict St. Andrew’s cross, which was then the motif of the Russian flag of war. It is likely that the cannons ended up on the bottom of the sea after the ship ran aground and they were thrown overboard in order to lighten the ship. The diving club Simppu lifted them to the surface, and in 1990 they were brought to the Horninpuisto park.