The church was built in 1854 to serve as an Orthodox church for the Russian garrison. It was named after Alexander Nevski, a Russian prince, and was designed by the architect Konstantin Thon from St. Petersburg. The brewer Nikolai Sinebrychoff's alehouse had to be moved to make room for the church.
     It originally had five towers with cupolas. It was converted into a Lutheran church for the Finnish garrison in 1928. Four of the Byzantine-style domes were dismantled and the fifth was transformed into the main tower of the church. A beacon light was installed at the top of the

tower; it still serves flight and naval traffic. The church is surrounded by a fence erected in the 1850s. The fence is made out of gun barrels from the period of Swedish hegemony and chains that once used to seal off inlets. The bell-tower houses the largest church bell in Finland. It was cast in Moscow and weighs 6683 kilograms.
     The Finnish Defence Force turned the church over to Helsinki's Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1960 and extensive repairs were carried out. The Suomenlinna church is part of the cathedral parish of Helsinki.