Itäisen Kylpyläpuiston huvila-alue (Östra Badhusparkens villaområde)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The villa area of Itäinen kylpyläpuisto in Hanko reflects in an exceptional way Hanko's significance as a spa town and the period of construction of large villas and pensionats that continued until the First World War. Alongside Ruissalo in Turku, the area is Finland's most representative example of a late 19th-century large villa area.

The spa and villa district follows the long sandy shore of Hanko, to the east of the harbour area and the grid-plan town laid out on rocky terrain. Built at the end of the 19th century and in the early years of the 20th century, the area comprises large two- and three-storey log-built sanatoria and villas with bay windows, balconies, towers and porches. Rich moulding and wooden fretwork also enliven the façades. Some of the villas were designed by well-known architects such as Theodor Höijer, Waldemar Aspelin and Wivi Lönn. The villa area is linked to the Iso Kolalahti shore promenade, which ends in a summer café on a rocky headland.

The casino and gymnasium associated with the Hanko spa have survived. The casino's present appearance is mainly the result of an extensive reconstruction in 1910 (W. Aspelin). From the outset, the spa has included an extensive park area, to which Puistolampi on the north side of the road is connected.

On Puistovuorenniemi there are main-line fortified concrete and stone positions of the base established under the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 with the Soviet Union. See also the military history sites of Hankoniemi.

History

In 1878 the town of Hanko, with state support, established a seaside spa. Spas of this kind had been popular health resorts at the beginning of the 19th century. The spa complex, a restaurant with a dance hall (Kasino), and a park with sports facilities were built on the southern shore of Hankoniemi, on the shore of Kolalahti. The spa complex was gradually demolished in 1944-1950.

In connection with the seaside spa, the town laid out a large number of villa and sanatorium plots along the main road to Tammisaari (now Appelgrenintie). The first of these plots were auctioned in 1880. In 1897 the villa area was extended eastwards along the seashore.

The most active period of villa construction was from the late 1880s to the early 1890s. The town building regulations did not apply to plots outside the town plan area, which made it possible to build even three-storey wooden houses. The builders included not only the wealthiest Hankoites but also people living elsewhere, the most distant of whom were from St Petersburg. The villas and pensionats in the area were used to accommodate spa guests. Some of the villas were at least partly industrially manufactured. Steam sawmills began the mechanical manufacture of building components in the latter half of the 19th century. The master builders of the Hanko Höyrysaha and joinery factory also drew up plans for the villas.