Hanko Hanko –Hangö | |
|---|---|
Municipality andtown | |
| Hangon kaupunki Hangö stad | |
 Eastern Harbour coastline | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: | |
 Location of Hanko inFinland | |
| Coordinates:59°49′42″N22°57′57″E / 59.82833°N 22.96583°E /59.82833; 22.96583 | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Uusimaa |
| Sub-region | Raseborg |
| Charter | 1874 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Simon Store |
| Area (2018-01-01)[3] | |
• Total | 799.99 km2 (308.88 sq mi) |
| • Land | 117.44 km2 (45.34 sq mi) |
| • Water | 683.26 km2 (263.81 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 292nd largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-06-30)[4] | |
• Total | 7,740 |
| • Rank | 121st largest in Finland |
| • Density | 65.91/km2 (170.7/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 52.3% (official) |
| • Swedish | 41.4% (official) |
| • Others | 6.3% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 11.9% |
| • 15 to 64 | 55.1% |
| • 65 or older | 33% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Climate | Dfb |
| Website | hanko |
Hanko (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈhɑŋko];Swedish:Hangö) is atown inFinland, located in the southern coast of the country. Hanko is situated in the western part of theUusimaa region. The population of Hanko is approximately 8,000. It is the 121st most populousmunicipality in Finland.
Hanko is located 130 kilometres (80 mi) west ofHelsinki and 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-west ofEkenäs.
ThePort of Hanko is today the 4th largest port in Finland.[8] The skyline of Hanko is dominated by the church and thewater tower. Both of them received their current appearance afterWorld War II, as their predecessors were either damaged or destroyed by theSoviet Armed Forces.
Hanko is abilingual municipality withFinnish andSwedish as its official languages. The population consists of52% Finnish speakers,41% Swedish speakers, and6% speakers of other languages.
TheHanko Peninsula, on which the city is located, is the southernmost tip ofcontinental Finland. The soil is a sandymoraine, and vegetation consists mainly ofpine and lowshrubs, mostlyCalluna. Hanko is known for its beautifularchipelago.
The town has acoastline of approximately 130 km (80 mi), of which 30 km (20 mi) are sandy beaches. There are also over 90 smallislands andislets within the city limits.
Hanko has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDfb), which is significantly milder in terms of temperatures than the average of the same latitude. Compared to, for example,Helsinki, Hanko's climate is more oceanic on average, which means milder in winter and cooler in summer. The moderating influence ofBaltic Sea cyclones results in warm and moderately humid summers and long, moderately cold wet winters. The period with the most precipitation is in autumn and early winter. The driest months are April and May. Duration of sunshine varies greatly throughout the year, being high in summer due to both long days and relatively clear weather, and low in late autumn and early winter due to both short days and high number of cloudy days. Thunderstorms occur most in the summer months.
| Climate data for Hanko Tvärminne 1991–2020 normals, records 1963–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 14.4 (57.9) | 19.7 (67.5) | 25.6 (78.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.3 (86.5) | 23.6 (74.5) | 17.6 (63.7) | 14.4 (57.9) | 9.5 (49.1) | 31.1 (88.0) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) | 4.3 (39.7) | 7.5 (45.5) | 14.3 (57.7) | 21.0 (69.8) | 23.8 (74.8) | 26.2 (79.2) | 24.6 (76.3) | 19.6 (67.3) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 6.2 (43.2) | 27.1 (80.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) | −0.8 (30.6) | 2.0 (35.6) | 6.8 (44.2) | 13.1 (55.6) | 17.6 (63.7) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.0 (68.0) | 15.2 (59.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 5.0 (41.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 9.3 (48.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) | −3.2 (26.2) | −0.8 (30.6) | 3.6 (38.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.9 (57.0) | 17.5 (63.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.6 (54.7) | 7.3 (45.1) | 3.2 (37.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | 6.5 (43.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.5 (23.9) | −5.7 (21.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | 0.8 (33.4) | 5.8 (42.4) | 10.6 (51.1) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.9 (57.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 5.1 (41.2) | 1.3 (34.3) | −1.9 (28.6) | 3.9 (38.9) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −15.3 (4.5) | −15.4 (4.3) | −11.8 (10.8) | −4.0 (24.8) | 0.4 (32.7) | 5.9 (42.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.2 (48.6) | 4.1 (39.4) | −2.0 (28.4) | −5.6 (21.9) | −10.5 (13.1) | −18.5 (−1.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −33.9 (−29.0) | −35.2 (−31.4) | −22.8 (−9.0) | −16 (3) | −3.4 (25.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.6 (40.3) | 4.5 (40.1) | −2.4 (27.7) | −9.2 (15.4) | −14.9 (5.2) | −31.3 (−24.3) | −35.2 (−31.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 55 (2.2) | 36 (1.4) | 39 (1.5) | 30 (1.2) | 35 (1.4) | 45 (1.8) | 51 (2.0) | 79 (3.1) | 55 (2.2) | 75 (3.0) | 72 (2.8) | 62 (2.4) | 634 (25.0) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 18 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 169 |
| Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1991–2020[9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: record highs and lows[10] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Hanko Tulliniemi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1993–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 8.4 (47.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 18.1 (64.6) | 24.6 (76.3) | 27.9 (82.2) | 28.9 (84.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 22.5 (72.5) | 16.5 (61.7) | 12.9 (55.2) | 8.9 (48.0) | 28.9 (84.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | −0.9 (30.4) | 1.3 (34.3) | 5.9 (42.6) | 11.5 (52.7) | 16.2 (61.2) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 15.1 (59.2) | 9.7 (49.5) | 5.4 (41.7) | 2.4 (36.3) | 8.9 (48.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) | −2.7 (27.1) | −0.5 (31.1) | 3.3 (37.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 13.5 (56.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 17.2 (63.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 8.0 (46.4) | 3.8 (38.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | 6.8 (44.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.9 (25.0) | −4.9 (23.2) | −3.0 (26.6) | 1.3 (34.3) | 6.2 (43.2) | 11.5 (52.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 15.3 (59.5) | 11.4 (52.5) | 6.4 (43.5) | 2.2 (36.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | 4.7 (40.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.4 (−13.7) | −22.7 (−8.9) | −17.2 (1.0) | −8.9 (16.0) | −1.4 (29.5) | 4.8 (40.6) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.9 (46.2) | 2.8 (37.0) | −5.0 (23.0) | −13.1 (8.4) | −22.3 (−8.1) | −25.4 (−13.7) |
| Source 1: FMI normals 1991-2020[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Record highs and lows[12] | |||||||||||||
The site was already known by sailors in the 15th century.Petroglyphs from that time are carved into the rock at theHauensuoli (Swedish:Gäddtarmen, English:Pike's Gut) island.
Hanko has a long history of wars and battles. TheBattle of Gangut betweenSwedish andRussian navies was fought in 1714 in the archipelago north of the peninsula. The battle was the first-ever victory of theRussian regular fleet.
Thefortification works on the Hanko Peninsula had already been started by the end of the 18th century, when the Swedish constructed three separate forts on the outlying islands. The forts were taken over byRussia in 1809, and were later bombarded by theRoyal Navy during theCrimean War and were eventually blown up during the hostilities by their own defenders.
The city was founded in 1874,[13] soon after theHanko-Hyvinkää railway was inaugurated in 1872. The Imperial Charter for the city was granted byEmperorAlexander II.
The Hanko area is suitable for quarrying granite, and in 1886Ab Granit Oy (The Granite Company, Ltd.) began to do just that. Hanko granite was exported worldwide, and was used in construction of theAteneum, theHelsinki Central Station, and other iconic Helsinki buildings, as well as buildings inSt. Petersburg and elsewhere.[14][15]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hanko was the port of choice foremigrants leaving Finland for a new life inNorth America. A memorial statue, showing birds in flight, commemorates this.
In the late 19th century, while Finland was still aGrand Duchy underRussia, Hanko was a popularsparesort for theRussian nobility. Some of the buildings from that period survive, notably the Hanko Casino (which is not agambling establishment, but a former banquet hall of thespa). It is currently a restaurant. The Hotel Continental (1901) (now the Hotel Regatta) was designed by architectLars Sonck in the notableJugendstil style of the time; after falling into disrepair, the hotel was restored to its former glory in 2013.
Field MarshalC. G. Mannerheim owned acafé,De fyra vindarnas hus (Finnish:Neljän Tuulen Tupa, English:The House of the Four Winds), which is still popular among tourists and residents alike.
TheBengtskärlighthouse, situated 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Hanko, is the tallest (52 m or 171 ft) in the Nordic countries. It was built in 1906 and was the first lighthouse museum in Finland.
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In theMoscow Peace Treaty that ended theWinter War on 13 March 1940, Hanko wasleased to theSoviet Union as anaval base for a period of 30 years. During theContinuation War, Soviet troops were forced to evacuate Hanko in early December 1941. The Soviet Union renounced the lease formally in theParis peace treaty of 1947. As a curiosity, it can be noted that the short Russo-Finnish front across the base of the peninsula on the Finnish side was held in part byvolunteer troops fromSweden. A museum has been established at this location, among thetrenches and other remnants of the war.
The role of the Hanko naval base was replaced byPorkkala in thearmistice between Finland and the Soviet Union of 19 September 1944. Porkkala was returned to Finland in January 1956.
TheHangon Regatta is a traditional fixture on the Finnish social scene, and is the town's main summer event.Sailing enthusiasts attend to compete, but there are also others, mostly young people, with little or no interest in sailing, who attend only in order to party and drink. The latter constitute the so-called "Regatta tail", which is not appreciated by most of the town's residents.
Other traditional summer activities are the "Tennis Week", the "Sea Horse" riding competitions, the "Summer Theatre" and Hanko Music Festival[16] events.
Several sandy beaches and a multitude of leisure harbors attract tourists during the summer months. It is precisely because of these factors that Hanko has also been called the "Riviera of Finland".[1][2][17]
Results of the2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Hanko:[18]
Hangö IK sports club was founded in 1903.[19] It is best known for itsfootball team which has played one season in the Finnish premier divisionMestaruussarja, in1962, and a number of seasons in the second tierYkkönen.[20] Their home ground is located at the Rukki Arena.[21] The club also has activities inhandball,athletics,table tennis andpowerlifting.[citation needed]
Hanko istwinned with:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Places adjacent to Hanko, Finland | |
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| Former municipalities | ||
| International | |
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