Hamina

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Hamina
Town
Haminan kaupunki
The Town Hall of Hamina

Seal
Location of Hamina in Finland
Coordinates: 60°34′N 027°12′E / 60.567°N 27.200°E / 60.567; 27.200Coordinates: 60°34′N 027°12′E / 60.567°N 27.200°E / 60.567; 27.200
Country Finland
Region Kymenlaakso
Sub-region Kotka–Hamina sub-region
Charter 1653
Government
 • Town manager Hannu Muhonen
Area(2011-01-01)[1]
 • Total 1,155.17 km2 (446.01 sq mi)
 • Land 609.51 km2 (235.33 sq mi)
 • Water 545.66 km2 (210.68 sq mi)
Area rank 98th largest in Finland
Population (2013-08-31)[2]
 • Total 21,249
 • Rank 50th largest in Finland
 • Density 34.86/km2 (90.3/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 96.1% (official)
 • Swedish 0.4%
 • Others 3.5%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 15.1%
 • 15 to 64 63.8%
 • 65 or older 21.1%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 20%
Website www.hamina.fi

Hamina (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈhɑminɑ]; Swedish: Fredrikshamn, [freːdriksˈhamn]) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. 21249 (31 August 2013)[2] and covers an area of 1,155.17 square kilometres (446.01 sq mi) of which 545.66 km2 (210.68 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 34.86 inhabitants per square kilometre (90.3 /sq mi). The population of the main town is approximately 10,000. Hamina is unilingually Finnish speaking. Hamina is also one of the most important harbours of Finland. The port specialises in forest products and transit cargo to Russia. One of Google's three European data centers is situated in Hamina.[6]

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.[7]

Plan of the Fredrikshamn fortress town (1723) by Axel von Löwen.

As the important foreign trade town of Viipuri was surrendered to the Russians 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 von Löwen, are based on Central European and Italian Renaissance fortress concepts from the 16th century.[7] Fortress towns like this are quite rare; other examples are Palmanova in Italy and Neubreisach in France.[8]

In 1743 Hamina was surrendered to the Russians, after the Russo–Swedish War, 1741–1743, and the town of Loviisa was the next Swedish candidate for an Eastern-Finnish trade centre. 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 once 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.[9]

Main sights

  • Town Hall. Originally built in 1798, it was renovated by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1840.
  • Reserve Officer School
  • Town Museum. It is located in a building where King Gustav III of Sweden and Empress Catherine II of Russia met in 1783.[10]
  • Shopkeeper's Museum
  • Google Data Center (former Stora Enso pulp factory)
  • Hamina Fortress, built in the 18th century. 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.[11][12]
  • 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.[13]
  • Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Orthodox church of St. Peter and St. Paul was built 1837. It was designed by Italian-French architect Louis Visconti. The architecture of the church is combination of neoclassical and Byzantine elements.[14]

Gallery

  • The old coat of arms, in use from 2003 to 2012

  • St Mary's church

  • St John's church

  • The orthodox church of Peter and Paul

  • Reserve officer's school

  • The old fortress

  • Central bastion of the fortress

  • Tanelinkulma

  • The yacht club's pavilion

  • The flag tower, the only remaining part of the Helsinki bastion

  • Pikkuympyräkatu; "The Little Circle Street"

  • The old locomotive warehouse

  • Aholaisenkulma ("The Aholainen's corner"), a historical restaurant and hotel, demolished in the autum of 2008

  • The town museum

  • The shopkeeper's museum

  • The Vehkalahti municipal museum

Twin towns

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "VÄESTÖTIETOJÄRJESTELMÄ REKISTERITILANNE 31.8.2013" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 15 September 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  6. ↑ Hamina Data Center - Google Data centers
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hamina
  8. ↑ Kopomaa, Timo (2005). "Kriisioloihin varautunut kaupunki" (PDF). Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu (in Finnish) (Helsinki: Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun seura ry (The Finnish Society of Housing and Planning)) 43 (2): 6–26. Retrieved 25 January 2009. 
  9. ↑ Haminan vaakuna vaihtuu - Haminan kaupunki (in Finnish)
  10. ↑ Hamina
  11. ↑ Hurmaava Hamina - The 15th century church of St Mary and church Museum
  12. ↑ Churches in Finland
  13. ↑ Hurmaava Hamina - Church Of St John
  14. ↑ Hurmaava Hamina - The Orthodox Church Of St Peter and St Paul
  15. ↑ Vordingborg Kommune har 17 venskabsbyer
  16. ↑ Hurmaava Hamina - Info

External links

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