Fortress path

Signpost 1, Kaivokatu 6

1. Establishment of the Hamina Fortress 

The Hamina Fortress was founded in the early 1720s on the site of the war-torn Vehkalahti Uusikaupunki. The city's re-establishment was the result of a defense plan drawn up by the Swedish general, Axel von Löwen.

According to it, the city was to form the cornerstone of the defense of the eastern border due to its strategically important location. At the same time, it was to replace the lost Vyborg as a stronghold on the eastern Gulf of Finland. According to Axel von Löwen's plan, the star-shaped fortress was to control the southern Great Coastal Road, which was one of the most important military routes of the empire.

The fortress is based on an octagonal basic plan, but the size of the city meant that only six of the fortress' eight outposts, or bastions, were built. The other two would not have fit on the isthmus. Two of the bastions were replaced with a winding rampart following the shoreline of Kirkkojärvi. This Central Bastion currently houses the Hamina Bastion, an event arena.

Market Square, Flag Tower and Hamina Flag World

Markets and market stalls are part of Hamina's present day. They began when the city was founded. Five large markets are held in Hamina each year. The Elomarkkinat in late summer continues the tradition of the Laurinmarkkinat, which began in the 1600th century. The current Kauppatori is a former baseball field, the shapes of which can still be seen.

The flag tower was built for the use of the commander of the fortress in 1790. It was previously the site of one of the fortress' bastions, the Helsinki Bastion. The Helsinki Bastion and its surrounding ramparts were demolished in 1889.

Outside the flag tower, one of the parts of Hamina's Flag World, a collection of Nordic and Baltic flags, flies. The flag tower houses a tourist information center in the summer, and behind the tower is a statue of a baseball player from 1968.

Hamina Summer Park and Duck Pond

Hamina Summer Park, located on the other side of the market square as seen from the flag tower, was established in the 1850s on the Lappeenranta bastion. The fortress path runs through the park.

By the time the park was built, the fortress had already lost its significance: Hamina was no longer a border town, as all of Finland had been annexed to Russia as a result of the Finnish War in the Peace of Hamina in 1809.

A pond has formed in the shadow of the main defensive wall and the rampart connecting the bastions, which is now known as Ankkalampen.

From the summer park, the Fortification Trail continues across Mannerheimintie, along the fortress moat and towards the Hämeenlinna bastion. A ditch runs through the moat, with remains of a pile dam visible in the middle. Its age is unknown. Originally, the purpose of the ditches running along the moat was to drain rainwater away from the area.

Signpost 2, Roopertinkatu 11

Bastion fortress

Bastion-based fortifications were developed as early as the 1500th century, especially in Italy. Previously, cities had been defended with high walls and castles.

With the development of weaponry, high walls and castles were no longer needed. The walls were built as lower, angular defensive fronts, and heavy cannons were placed on top of them.

Although Hamina is modeled after a 1500th-century Renaissance fortress with a circular layout, its design used the most advanced fortification technology of the 1700th century, which emphasized terrain conditions and the importance of forward fortification. Fortification skills were based on precise mathematics, and the fortress consisted of many different parts.

Finnish cities named after bastions

The bastions were named after the Finnish cities that existed when the bastions were built. So, in Hamina you can find the bastions of Savonlinna, Hamina, Turku, Helsinki, Lappeenranta and Hämeenlinna. However, not all bastions are accessible anymore: the Helsinki bastion has been demolished and a few bastions are located in the garrison area.

Separate outer fortifications, ravelins, were built in front of the moat in front of the curtain wall between the bastions, which protected the otherwise vulnerable curtain wall.

On the sides of the ravelins, so-called lunettes, firing positions, were built as forward fortifications, which provided depth for the defense – in other words, if necessary, it was possible to retreat to the shelter of increasingly strong inner defense lines. The moats have always been dry moats and are bordered by high gray stone walls.

Caponiers are partially independent fortifications built into the moat, which were built into the fortress in the 1800th century.

Powder Cellar and Cherry Park

The Hämeenlinna bastion has a powder cellar built by the Russians in 1785. It also served as a wartime communications center and gas shelter, and after the war, as a warehouse and, among other things, a potato cellar.

The Finnish National Board of Antiquities has renovated the Gunpowder Cellar into a gallery space that can be used during the summer. The Kirsikkapuisto, which blooms in spring, is located in the courtyard of the Gunpowder Cellar. The Hamina Summer Theatre also operates in the Hämeenlinna bastion.

Hämeenlinna bastion, fortress structures

1. bastion main wall

1. cavalier rampart
2. bastion yard
3. curtain
4. port
5. my friend
6. the pass between the bastion and the curtain
7. moat
8. outdoor equipment
9. lunette
10. counterguard
11. ravelin
12. fortress bridge
13. caponier

a. rampart

b. firing level

c. katvetie

d. retaining wall

e. moat

f. moat ditch with pile barriers

g. main defensive wall

h. defensive rampart with firing positions

i. breastwork

j. firing point

k. rampart

Photo: Hamina Fortress. Kaskinen, Ilkka ; Shop, Ulla-Riitta ; HaminaSociety. [National Board of Antiquities] 1992

Signpost 3, Rauhankatu 8

From a bastion fortress to a caponier fortress

The Hamina fortress was extensively repaired and modernized under the leadership of General Alexander Suvorov in the 1790s – at the same time as the entire southeastern Finnish border was being fortified against Sweden. The new fortifications and the renovations of the old fortifications followed the old bastion fortress tradition.

After Suvorov, the fortification of southeastern Finland fell to the Dutch-born general Jan Peter van Suchtelen. Suchtelen began to apply a new fortification system, the caponier fortification, at the beginning of the 1800th century.

Crescent 1, Crescent 2 and Central Bastion

The caponier system represents the fortification concept of the early 1800th century. Caponiers are fortifications built into the moat, operating partly independently. On each side of them are four vaulted cannon casemates, with a loophole in the front wall. The rampart above the caponier is intended for riflemen. There are two caponiers in the Hamina Fortress, Puolikuu 1 and Puolikuu 2. They are located on both sides of the Central Bastion.

The central bastion currently houses the Hamina Bastion, a covered event arena during the summer. The central bastion was not as important to the defense of the fortress as the other bastions. There were no cannon positions on its ramparts, but defense was carried out with rifles.

A special arrow fort

The Arrow Fort is a special addition to the Hamina fortification system. The fortifications, which rise sharply from the surrounding terrain, were originally almost invisible. The ground surface was previously level with the upper edge of the grey stone wall outside the moat, and then began to descend gently towards Kirkkojärvi. The two-fold rampart of the Arrow Fort thus rose only slightly from the surrounding terrain. Several meters of soil have been removed from the area in this century.

The central fort was protected by a deep, walled moat, which was accessed from the upper platform via protected stone steps. Inside the outer rampart is a gallery, a long vaulted passageway that ran almost the entire length of the moat and is largely still intact. The gallery has loopholes from which fire was fired along the moat.

The Arrow Fort was accessed from above the main fortress via an open passage protected on the sides. Its main function was to prevent the enemy from advancing along the narrow coastal strip.

Kirkkojärvi – a medieval bay

The Hamina sports field is located in a unique environment surrounded by ramparts, forts and equipment. The Hamina baseball field is also surrounded by history, located between the Central Bastion and Kirkkojärvi.

During the Middle Ages, the sea level was over a meter higher than it is today. Lake Kirkkojärvi, along the shores of which the Fortress Trail runs, was at that time a large bay protected from storms. Its shores were bases for wilderness visitors and fishermen.

As the shoreline became more densely populated, spring and autumn floods later affected agriculture in particular. At the beginning of the 1900th century, the lake's level was lowered, turning it into a grassy bird lake with shallow shores.

Signpost 4, Raatihuoneenkatu 12

Construction of the central bastion

In 1803, the fortifications on the Kirkkojärvi side of the Hamina fortress began to be rebuilt within the framework of a new caponier system. A large bastion, the so-called Central Bastion, was built in the middle. On either side of it, caponiers Puolikuu 1 and Puolikuu 2 were built in the moat.

There were no more artillery positions in the central bastion, but only a firing platform and a breastwork for riflemen were built for defense.

Unlike the older bastions in Hamina, brick vaults, or casemates, were built inside the rampart of the Central Bastion, with 58 of them fitting into the 240-metre-long rampart. The casemate vaults mainly served as storage facilities. The rampart's log foundations extend to a depth of several metres.

The work was completed in the early 1810s. After the fortress was dismantled in the mid-1800th century, wooden stables and storage buildings were built in the almost one-hectare inner courtyard, or bastion courtyard, for the garrison's cargo.

Prisoners restore the Central Bastion

The central bastion served first as a storage area for the Russian and then Finnish garrisons of Hamina until the 1970s. After that, restoration of the bastion, which had fallen into poor condition, began.

The badly collapsed casemates were largely rebuilt. The work required 600,000 new bricks. At the same time, the bastion's three-meter-deep log foundations were reinforced and the earthen rampart and parapet wall above were reshaped.

The restoration work was carried out by the Hamina Labor Colony under Konnunsuo Central Prison.

Hamina Bastion – a magical event arena 

In the late 1980s, the architectural office of the city of Hamina prepared a use plan for the Central Bastion and decided that the historic and unique area should be open to the public. The idea presented by the city of Hamina for the use of the Central Bastion was in line with the goals of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities and the Prison Service, which restored the area.

The uniqueness of the project required creative planning and collaboration before the decision to build was made in 1997. In 1998, the central bastion was completed as a magnificent event arena, topped with Europe's largest summertime tent.

Several major events and concerts are held annually in the tented canopy and casemate vaults of the Hamina Bastion. The events include the international military music festival Hamina Tattoo, the Night of Lights in September, and the Christmas market event Wanhan Holviston Joulu.

Signpost 5, Kadettikoulunkatu 7

A fortress guarded by drawbridges and gates 

The area of ​​the Savonlinna bastion and the Hamina bastion belongs to the Hamina garrison. Between these bastions is the Vyborg Gate. When the fortress was still in operation, access to the city was through guarded gates. There were three gates in total, and they could be closed with drawbridges and booms.

There was a guardhouse at each gate. All guardhouses have survived to the present day. The guardhouse at the Lappeenranta gate is on Mannerheimintie and the guardhouse at the Meriportti gate is on Maariankatu.

Swedish and Russian border town

The Hamina garrison is connected to both the history and present day of Hamina. Hamina inherited the position of Vyborg in the early 1700th century, when the city's fortifications began by the Swedes. The Russians continued to fortify the city after 1743, when Hamina had become a Russian border town.

When Finland was annexed by Russia in 1809, Hamina lost its military significance as a border town. However, the city was kept in combat readiness until the 1830s by the Russian infantry garrison and field artillery.

From Cadet School to Reserve Officer School

There have always been soldiers in Hamina: Swedish, Russian or Finnish. Perhaps the most influential factor in the lives of the people of Hamina has been the Finnish Cadet School, which operated in Hamina before the Reserve Officers' School. The Cadet School was moved from Savo to Hamina in 1821.

The Cadet School's officers and teachers participated in the city's public life in many areas. Many of its students later influenced national affairs in the fields of culture, politics and economics. Marshal CGE Mannerheim also attended the Cadet School in Hamina before moving to St. Petersburg for officer training.

The Cadet School was closed down during the Russian period of oppression in 1903. When Finland gained independence, Hamina, as the former Cadet School location, was the most natural place for officer training. The Reserve Officer School was established in Hamina in 1920, and it has continued the traditions of a garrison town to this day. The history of the Reserve Officer School is presented by the RUK Museum on Kadettikoulunkatu.

Varvara Schantin – the “bun grandma” of the officer cadets

Varvara Schantin (1870-1941) was a street vendor of bakery products. She also sold buns and coffee to officer cadets at the training ground, for which officer courses 1-43 donated a statue to the city in gratitude. The statue was made by Veikko Haukkavaara.

Signpost 6, Kadettikoulunkatu 6

Reserve Officers' School or RUK

The Reserve Officers' School is a unit under the Army Academy. The Reserve Officers' School is located in the city of Hamina and is part of the Lappeenranta-Hamina garrison.

A total of approximately 1200 reserve officers are trained annually at the Reserve Officers' Training School in Hamina in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Courses. The Reserve Officers' Training Course is held twice a year, and the courses are 14-16 weeks long. The training, which focuses on leadership skills and tactics, provides readiness for officer, management and expert positions in both peace and wartime. The Reserve Officers' Training School is called the largest leadership school in Finland. Since 1920, the Reserve Officers' Training School (RUK) has trained a total of over 180,000 reserve officers for the reserves of the Defence Forces and the Border Guard.

The Reserve Officer Course has five units. The units, the Forward Company and the Intelligence Company, are housed in the traditional RUK main building. The firing battery is located in the garrison area on the other side of Kadettikoulunkatu in the so-called “Hilton”, or Artillery Barracks. The Pioneer Company’s red-brick barracks called “Capernaumi” and the Headquarters and Signals Company’s red-brick barracks are on either side of the Artillery Barracks.

In addition to reserve officer training, the RUK also provides training for conscripts from the Army War College in the Jaeger and Transport Companies. The Jaeger Company is located in the Hamina garrison in the middle of the city of Hamina, and the Transport Company is a couple of kilometers away, in the Pampyöli barracks area. Approximately 600 conscripts begin their military service in Hamina each year. In addition, the Reserve Officers' School organizes advanced courses for officer candidates, wartime leadership courses, and squad leader courses (for reserve non-commissioned officers starting the National Defence College).

In addition to the Reserve Officers' School, Hamina also houses part of the Army Research Center.

RUK main building and park

The main building of the Reserve Officers' School was once also the main building of the Finnish Cadet School. It was designed by architect J. Ahrenberg. In connection with the main building is the Maneesi, a former riding hall, which currently functions as a banquet hall. The area also includes the former RUK headquarters building, which was a laboratory during the Cadet School.

The small brick building in the park is a well from the 1860s. The park also features a section of Hamina's Flag World, the Finnish Flag Road.

On the edge of the RUK field is the Statue of Fallen Officers, designed by K. Kallio and dating from 1957. A piece of paper is embedded in the pedestal, containing the names of over 4000 officers who fell in the wars of 1939-44.

Garrison Club, Orthodox Monument and City Museum

On the other side of Kadettikoulunkatu is the former official residence of the director of the Cadet School, which represents Russian red brick architecture. Today, the building serves as a restaurant and meeting space for associations.

On the same side of the road is a small Orthodox chapel, built in the 1800th century in memory of the wooden St. Peter and St. Paul's Church that previously stood on the RUK grounds.

Kadettikoulunkau is also home to Hamina's oldest residential building, which currently houses the City Museum. The Swedish and Russian rulers, Gustav III and Catherine II the Great, negotiated in the building in 1783.

Signpost 7, Town Hall Square

The birth of the city of Hamina

The Town Hall area and the Merchant's House Museum

The historic center of Hamina around the Town Hall is worth exploring on foot. Along the circular streets you will find atmospheric blocks of wooden houses and church and administrative buildings representing different styles.

You can learn about old merchant traditions on Kasarminkatu, which was a significant shopping street at the turn of the century. Kasarminkatu is home to a culturally and historically valuable log building completed in 1841, which currently houses the Merchants' House Museum. The museum's exhibitions and the former courtyard offer an insight into the lives of merchants and craftsmen at the beginning of the 1900th century.

Unique ring streets: Big Ring Street and Little Ring Street

The town plan of Hamina follows the forms dictated by the fortress. The town plan is a so-called radial town plan, where eight radial streets radiate from the octagonal central square, or Raatihuoneentori. The radial streets are connected by a curved ring street, the current Pikkuympyräkatu.

The current Isoympyräkatu street was formerly the site of a fortress boulevard, an area under military control. In the 1700th century, bourgeois settlements spread into the area of ​​the former fortress boulevard, and the current Isoympyräkatu street was created.

Traffic in and out of the city used to pass through three gates in the ramparts and a bridge over the moat, each guarded by its own guardhouse. The guardhouses still remain, although the gates have been demolished.

The Town Hall in the center

In the middle of the Town Hall Square, at the center of the circular plan, is the Town Hall, built in 1798 according to the drawings of Johan Brockman. The Town Hall has changed its appearance several times due to three major fires that raged in the 1800th century. Its tower houses four bells installed by Johan Könni the Younger in the 1840s.

During its history, the town hall has housed, among other things, a bank, police stations, shops and a museum. It has also temporarily housed both a Swedish and an Orthodox parish. The town hall underwent extensive renovations from 1987 onwards, and was reopened in the summer of 1996. Since then, the building has served as meeting rooms for the city council and the city government.

Aladdin's City Palace and Three Churches

A large part of Hamina's past can be seen in the surroundings of the Town Hall Square. The square is surrounded by old, well-preserved buildings, each of which tells its own story.

The terracotta-colored Peter and Paul Orthodox Church from the early 1800th century. According to the story, the drawings of the Byzantine-style round temple were signed by the architect Louis Visconti, but the sources related to this claim are incomplete or non-existent. It is possible, however, that Visconti may have influenced the design of the church as a model. The bell tower, completed in 1863, was designed by the engineer Lieutenant Hintzen in 1858.

On the other side of the Town Hall Square is the sky-blue Lutheran church designed by CL Engel and built in 1843. It, in turn, follows the form of a Greek temple.

The Town Hall Square also shows the medieval grey stone church of Vehkalahti, which was transformed into a neoclassical style by Engel in the 1820s.

Several notable merchant families have influenced Hamina, many of whom were of Russian origin. On the edge of the market square is the thunder-blue city palace of the Aladin family from the late 1800th century. It represents the neo-Renaissance and the so-called carpenter style. The building currently houses, among other things, a café and banquet facilities.

The great fires of Hamina in 1821, 1840 and 1887

Hamina was plagued by several major fires in the 19th century. A fire broke out in the house of Trade Councillor Christian Bruun on the corner of Pikkuympyräkatu and the current Fredrikinkatu on 18 August 1821. The cause of the fire was the negligence of a maid. The fire destroyed approximately 90% of the buildings in the city centre.

The reconstruction work had not yet been completed when another major fire broke out on May 22, 1840 – also caused by careless fire management. The fire damage was estimated to be even greater than in the previous fire.

Late in the evening of September 24, 1887, a fire broke out in the stable of a house on Pikkuympyräkatu, which had a hay storage room upstairs. The fire destroyed 28 houses. This fire was the last major fire to hit Finnish cities.

After the fires, plans were made to change the city's unique circular plan. However, it was decided to keep the old radial system, but the streets were widened and the plots were expanded. The new plan was drawn up by Waldemar Aspelin and was approved in 1888. The same year, the Hamina volunteer fire brigade also began operations.