Town Hall Square

A great part of Hamina's history can be seen in the surroundings of Raatihuoneentori. The square is surrounded by old, preserved buildings, each of which tells its own story. The terracotta-colored St. Peter's and Paul’s Orthodox Church was built in the early 19th century. The drawings of the Byzantine-style round temple date from 1831. The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1832 and it was completed in 1837.

On the other side of the square, you can see a sky-blue Lutheran church from 1843 designed by C. L. Engel. It follows the shape of a Greek temple. The medieval gray stone church of Vehkalahti can also be seen from the square, which underwent a neoclassical transformation by Engel in the 1820s. The renovation of the church and the new bell tower were completed in 1828.

Hamina has been influenced by several prominent merchant families, many of whom were of Russian origin. On the edge of the square is the thunder blue town palace of the Aladin family from the end of the 19th century. It represents the Neo-Renaissance and the so-called joinery style. The building currently houses a cafe and facilities for different events.

Hamina opened its own Walk of Fame Hamina. A star will be granted for those famous people or institutions from the Hamina or Vehkalahti area having a long-term influence and placed on the inner circle of the square. It enriches Hamina's streetscape and brings the stories of famous people from the area closer to the inhabitants and tourists.

CIRCULAR CENTRE OF HAMINA

In Hamina's circular center is the octagonal Town Hall Square, from which eight radial streets start. These are intersected by two concentric nested circular streets, Pikkuympyräkatu and Isoympyräkatu. Of these, only Pikkuympyräkatu makes a full circle around the square. There is a chain of fortifications outside the main square that surrounds the city center. Most of Hamina's oldest buildings are located inside the fortress chain.

Hamina Fortress

In Hamina's symmetrical fortress model, the circle was geometrically divided by squares in such a way that an octagonal polygon was created.

There are only two such star-shaped fortresses, inside which there is a town in the shape of a circle, left in Europe: Hamina and Palmanova.

Welcome in the midst of history

History lives on in Hamina

Explore Hamina Museum Street