| Hamina | |
| Official Name: | Finnish: Haminan kaupunki Swedish: Fredrikshamns stad |
| Other Name: | Fredrikshamn |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Flag Size: | 120x70px |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Coordinates: | 60.5667°N 39°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Finland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kymenlaakso |
| Subdivision Type2: | Sub-region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kotka-Hamina |
| Leader Title: | Town manager |
| Leader Name: | Ilari Soosalu |
| Established Title: | Charter |
| Established Date: | 1653 |
| Blank3 Name: | Climate |
| Blank3 Info: | Dfb |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +02:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +03:00 |
| Named For: | Frederick I of Sweden |
Hamina (in Finnish pronounced as /ˈhɑminɑ/; Swedish: Fredrikshamn, pronounced as /sv-FI/, Sweden in Swedish freːdrɪksˈhamːn/) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately 145km (90miles) east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso region, and formerly the province of Southern Finland. The municipality's population is (as of)[1] and covers an area of NaNHamina}}, of which NaNHamina}}is water. The population density isNaNHamina. The population of the central town is approximately 10,000. The municipal language of Hamina is Finnish.
Highway 7 (E18) is the town's road connection to Helsinki, after it was upgraded to a continuous motorway in September 2014. Hamina is also the base of one of the most important harbors of Finland, the Port of Hamina-Kotka. The port specializes in forest products and the transit of cargo to Russia. One of Google's five European data centers is situated in Hamina.[2]
Vehkalahti was as a municipality first mentioned in 1336. At the proposal of Count Per Brahe, the area surrounding the Vehkalahti church (today St. Mary's Church) received its charter in 1653 through the establishment of Vehkalahden Uusikaupunki (Veckelax Nystad in Swedish, "The New Town of Vehkalahti"). The town was later destroyed during the Great Northern War in 1712.[3] As the commercially vibrant city of Vyborg was lost to Russia in 1721, Fredrikshamn (named in 1723 in the honor of King Frederick I of Sweden) was dedicated to replace it.[4] The town, hitherto a small domestic port with restricted trading privilege's, was granted extensive rights to conduct foreign trade. The Finnish speaking population soon abbreviated the name of the town to Hamina. The reconstruction of the town was completed between 1722 and 1724. The star-shaped fortress and the circular town plan, designed by Axel Löwen, were based on Central European and Italian Renaissance concepts from the 16th century. Fortress towns with a circular street plan like this are quite rare; one example is Palmanova in Italy.[5]
In 1743, Hamina was surrendered to Russia, after the Russo–Swedish War, 1741–1743, and the town of Loviisa was the next Swedish candidate for an Eastern-Finnish trade center. Hamina became a Russian frontier town, for which a fortress was desirable.
The Treaty of Fredrikshamn (1809), by which Sweden ceded Finland, including parts of the province of Lappland and Åland, was signed in Hamina. Thus Sweden was split, and the eastern half was formed into the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. In 1812, the previously conquered territories known as Old Finland (including Hamina) were joined to the Grand Duchy.
Hamina Cadet School was founded in 1819 and was in operation until 1903. In 1920 the Reserve Officer School began in the same facilities.
Because the town was founded next to the Vehkalahti Church, the municipal center had always been inside the town borders. Vehkalahti and Hamina were consolidated in 2003, and the old coat of arms was replaced with Vehkalahti's coat of arms. The old coat of arms was readopted in January 2013.[6]
Results of the 2021 Finnish municipal elections, resulted in The Finns Party being the largest group on Hamina council, in Hamina.[7]
