Hanko (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈhɑŋko]; Swedish: Hangö) is a town in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country.

Both of them received their current appearance after World War II, as their predecessors were either damaged or destroyed by the Soviet Armed Forces.

Hanko has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), which is significantly milder in terms of temperatures than the average of the same latitude.

Compared to, for example, Helsinki, Hanko's climate is more oceanic on average, which means milder in winter and cooler in summer.

The fortification works on the Hanko Peninsula had already been started by the end of the 18th century, when the Swedish constructed three separate forts on the outlying islands.

The forts were taken over by Russia in 1809, and were later bombarded by the Royal Navy during the Crimean War and were eventually blown up during the hostilities by their own defenders.

[14][15] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hanko was the port of choice for emigrants leaving Finland for a new life in North America.

In the late 19th century, while Finland was still a Grand Duchy under Russia, Hanko was a popular spa resort for the Russian nobility.

Field Marshal C. G. Mannerheim owned a café, De fyra vindarnas hus (Finnish: Neljän Tuulen Tupa, English: The House of the Four Winds), which is still popular among tourists and residents alike.

The Bengtskär lighthouse, situated 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Hanko, is the tallest (52 m or 171 ft) in the Nordic countries.

In the Moscow Peace Treaty that ended the Winter War on 13 March 1940, Hanko was leased to the Soviet Union as a naval base for a period of 30 years.

As a curiosity, it can be noted that the short Russo-Finnish front across the base of the peninsula on the Finnish side was held in part by volunteer troops from Sweden.