History of the fortress of Hamina

The town of Vehkalahti was established on the site of the present town of Hamina in 1653. Vehkalahti was later destroyed in the Great Northern War in 1712. After the peace treaty of 1721, the re-established Vehkalahti, which had become a fortified border town, was granted staple rights and given a royal name, Fredrikshamn or Fredrik´s Port, soon shortened by the Finnish-speaking population to Hamina.

In the 1720s, the construction work of the fortress of Hamina was led by the Swedish General Axel von Löwen. The fortification plan was based on a 16th century Italian renaissance fortress concept, where the protruding corners of the main walls form the six bastions that were named after fortified Finnish towns. The star-shaped fortress encompasses a circular town where the Town Hall Square forms the centre of the circle with eight streets radiating outwards to the circumference. The intersecting streets follow the circular pattern of the fortress.

The Swedes only had time to build sand bulwarks before the unfinished fortress surrendered to the Russians in the 1741?1743 war. In the peace treaty, the occupied area, the so-called Old Finland, was annexed to Russia. This was the start of the Russian period in the ruined Hamina.

To protect the imperial capital of St Petersburg, the Russians built a chain of mighty fortresses in south-eastern Finland in 1790?1796 under the leadership of General Alexander Suvorov. In Hamina, this meant the completion of the sand bulwarks into high stone ramparts. The Central Bastion and its outworks were added on the north-eastern side of the fortress in accordance with the modern fortification concepts during the Russian era in the 19th century.

The Finnish War (1808?1809) had fatal consequences for the fortress of Hamina. Sweden had to cede the whole of Finland to Russia, and Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy. The area of Old Finland, which had been part of Russia since 1743, was also annexed to this Grand Duchy, and the fortress of Hamina lost its military significance. The position of the fortress commander was disestablished in 1836, and part of the fortifications were pulled down at the end of the 19th century, including the Helsinki Bastion which was located at the site of the present Market Square.

Despite numerous fires, the internationally unique fortress town of Hamina with its ramparts and circular town plan have survived relatively well to the present time. The military traditions of Hamina were also upheld by the 19th century Cadet School and by the 20th century Reserve Officers´ School. The international military music event, the Hamina Tattoo, which is held every second year, brings additional colour to the military life of Hamina. The venue of the event is the Hamina Bastion built within the Central Bastion, where the biggest canopy in Europe is erected every summer. The Hamina Bastion hosts many types of summer events: theatre, concerts, fairs, exhibitions and sports.