FINLAND - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 130

By the end of the 19th century, Hanko was a fashionable summer resort, espe-
cially among the Russians coming from the St. Petersburg area. The Russian in-
fluence is visible in the architecture of many wooden villas in Hanko, most of which
are in the Spa Park. The peninsula on which Hanko lies was ceded to the Soviet
Union in 1940 but was regained in 1941.
Hanko is inseparably linked to the sea. The sunny south of Finland has about
90 islands just within its town limits! The town has four small boat harbors, includ-
ing the largest harbor for visiting boats in all of Finland, two commercial harbors,
and four industrial harbors. None of this activity is detrimental to tourism; in fact,
it attracts it. More than 200,000 tourists visit Hanko annually. They come not only
for the long sandy beaches and aquatic sports but also for the various events that
take place every year.
The day excursion to Hanko requires a change of trains at Karjaa, which you
reach in a little more than an hour from Helsinki. In Karjaa you will transfer to a loc-
al train that makes an interesting trip through southern Finland's woods and quaint
little rail stations before reaching Hanko. The Hanko station is the last stop on the
line, so there's no chance of missing it.
Between 1880 and 1930 thousands of emigrants set off from Hanko for the Un-
ited States, Canada, and Australia. In 1967 a statue commemorating this period
was erected near the beach, a short distance from the tourist office. Depicting wild
birds in free flight, this “emigration monument” is well worth the visit. Also worth-
while is the Fortress Museum [ Tel: [phone]] in the Eastern Harbor and the