Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As the southernmost town in Finland, Hanko was a strategic anchorage well before its
foundation in 1874. It was also a point of emigration: between 1881 and 1931 about
250,000 Finns left for the USA, Canada and Australia via its docks.
At the end of the Winter War, the March 1940 peace treaty with Russia required the ced-
ing of Hanko as a naval base. Its inhabitants evacuated as the Russians moved in with a
garrison of 30,000 and constructed a huge network of fortifications. Hanko was isolated
from the Russian front lines and eventually abandoned in December 1941. Citizens re-
turned to see their damaged town the following spring.
Sights
Finland's biggest guest harbour, Hanko's East Harbour (Itäsatama), is the centre of the
town's activity in summer; the West Harbour (Ulkosatama) handles only commercial
traffic. The Russian villas are on Appelgrenintie, east of East Harbour.
