Hanko

Hanko is the southernmost city in Finland. It blossomed as a spa town in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It was a glamorous retreat for Russian nobles, tsars and artists. Of course we know what happened to the Russian nobility in 1917. But many of the grand seaside villas built by the formerly wealthy summer visitors remain and are operated as fancy guesthouses. Hanko now is an important port for goods on the way to Russia. We had purchased a three day train pass before our children came to visit. We used two days traveling to and from Rovaniemi. Hanko was one of the places we had not been that we could travel to and from in one day's time. So we spent a lovely day there. Kind of like going to a small North Carolina beach town--not much to do but not doing much can be very refreshing. And the views were lovely.

Wood Buildings - Puutalot

Wood houses and buildings have, generally speaking, given way to well-insulated rectangular buildings of modern construction materials. Quite a few have survived and/or been restored in Hanko.

Monument of Liberty

This monument was originally constructed to commemorate the landing of liberating German forces in 1918. After WWII it was taken down, a rational reaction to the damage inflicted on Finland by German forces, especially in Rovaniemi which they basically leveled. The monument was re-erected in 1960.

Emigration Monument

Hanko has been a major point of departure from Finland. Between 1881 and 1931, about 500,000 Finns left for the USA and Canada by way of the Hanko docks.

The Church of Hanko

The Church is situated on Vartiovuori which means guard hill. It is relatively new since the original church built in the late 1800's was badly damaged during the Continuation War (World War II). Also the bricks were degraded by the salty coastal climate. The church was renovated in 1953 and an annex built in 1971. Actually, the only thing that is old about this church is its location. By the way, it's Lutheran.

Church Interior

Note the same statue of the Savior that is in many of our visitor's centers.

Freighters Unloading

For a little town of 10,000 people Hanko is a pretty important port for commerce.

View of Cars and Storage Tanks

Waiting to be Transported to Russia

When traveling on one of the main ring roads in Helsinki we often see semi trucks moving goods from Hanko to St. Petersburg. These cars are stored at the port until they can be loaded onto trucks or train freight cars. It is odd to see so many SUVs and heavy cars in Finland. We rarely see them on the roads here. But gas in Russia is relatively inexpensive and a certain segment of the population there has a lot of money. When we were in Moscow the roads were very congested with primarily with luxury cars and there seemed to be few rules for driving or parking. And if there were any the drivers pretty much disgregarded them.

Hauensuoli

This little island was the first stop on our harbor cruise. Hauensuoli is translated literally as "Pike's gut." The narrow strait between two small islands is a prtoected antural harbour where sailing ships from countries around the Baltic Sea used to wait out storms in days long ago.

Petroglyphs

Many of the sailors who passed through here carved their initials, coats of arms, or tales of bravery on the rocks. Some 600 rock carvings dating back to the 17th century remain. They have been painted various colors so visitors can easily see them. Because of these rock records Hauensuoli is sometimes called "The guestbook of the Archipelago."

Unfortunately, we didn't pay close enough attention to the tour announcements. But this island was the second stop we made while on our little harbor cruise out of Hanko. What follow are a number of pictures we took of ruins and what was once the best man could do to protect himself from enemies on the sea is clearly obsolete technology. Look at those gorgeous Finnish skies. I still think they are a different color of blue than we have at home.

Unfortunately, we cannot identify this little island, nor can Google from which we have come to expect so much. But it was a fort built to protect the harbor against enemies. What impressed me most is how just a century ago it offered important protection and how quickly it deteriorated once it was no longer used.