Hamina

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Hamina (Finnish pronunciation: ['h?min?]; Swedish: Fredrikshamn, [fre:dr?ks'ham:n]) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately 145 km (90 mi) east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso region, and formerly the province of Southern Finland. The municipality's population is 20,554 (31 August 2017) and covers an area of 1,155.14 square kilometres (446.00 sq mi), of which 545.66 km² (210.68 sq mi) is water. The population density is 33.72 inhabitants per square kilometre (87.3/sq mi). The population of the central town is approximately 10,000. Hamina is unilingually Finnish speaking.

Valtatie 7 is the town's road connection to Helsinki, after it was upgraded to a continuous motorway in September 2014. Hamina is also one of the most important harbors of Finland. The port specializes in forest products and transit cargo to Russia. One of Google's three European data centers is situated in Hamina.

Video Hamina

History

Vehkalahti county was mentioned in documents for the first time in 1336. At the proposal of Count Peter Brahe, the area surrounding the Vehkalahti church (nowadays St. Mary's Church) was separated from rest of Vehkalahti in 1653 and became a town called Vehkalahden Uusikaupunki (Veckelax Nystad in Swedish, "Newtown of Vehkalahti"). The town was destroyed during the Great Northern War in 1712.

As the important foreign trade town of Vyborg was surrendered to Russia in 1721, this town (newly renamed in honour of the King Frederick I of Sweden in 1723) was intended to replace it. The town, hitherto a small domestic trade port with restricted trade, was granted extensive privileges, including foreign trade. Finnish people soon shortened the name to Hamina. The rebuilding of the town took place in 1722-1724. The star-shaped fortress and the circular town plan, designed by Axel Löwen, are based on Central European and Italian Renaissance fortress concepts from the 16th century. Fortress towns like this are quite rare; other examples are Palmanova in Italy and Neubreisach in France.

In 1743, Hamina was surrendered to Russia, after the Russo-Swedish War, 1741-1743, and the town of Loviisa was the next Swedish candidate for an Eastern-Finnish trade center. Hamina became a Russian frontier town, for which a fortress was desirable.

The Treaty of Fredrikshamn (1809), by which Sweden ceded Finland, including parts of the province of Lappland and the Åland Islands, was signed in Hamina. Thus Sweden was split, and the eastern half, along with previously conquered territories including Hamina (Old Finland), was formed into the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire.

Hamina Cadet School was founded in 1819 and was in operation until 1903. In 1920 the Reserve Officer School began in the same facilities.

Because the town was founded next to the Vehkalahti Church, the municipal center had always been inside the town borders. Vehkalahti and Hamina were consolidated in 2003, and the old coat of arms was replaced with Vehkalahti's coat of arms. The old coat of arms was readopted in January 2013.

Maps Hamina

Main sights

Town Hall: Originally built in 1798, it was renovated by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1840.
Reserve Officer School: The site which trains reserve officers in the Army Academy of the Finnish Army
Town Museum: It is located in a building where King Gustav III of Sweden and Empress Catherine II of Russia met in 1783.
Shopkeeper's Museum
Google Data Center: (former Stora Enso pulp factory)
Hamina Fortress: Built in the 18th century, it is one of the star forts in Finland. The corners of the fortress form six bastions, named after towns in Finland. The Central Bastion was added at the end of the 18th century, and is currently used for cultural events.

Churches

St. Mary's Church, previously known as Vehkalahti Church, is the oldest building in Kymenlaakso. It was originally built in the Middle Ages, but it was burnt in 1821 and the current neoclassical exterior is designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and completed in 1828. The church has a museum dedicated to the church life from the 18th century onwards.
St. John's Church, formerly known as Hamina Church, was built between 1841-1843. It was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in the neoclassical style.
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Orthodox church in Hamina, was built in 1837. It was designed by Italian-French architect Louis Visconti. The architecture of the church is combination of neoclassical and Byzantine elements.