Hamina is a town and municipality in the Kymenlaakso region of Finland, located approximately 145 km east of Helsinki and about 25 km from Kotka, the regional capital. It is the oldest town in Southeast Finland and is known as a fortress city.
The town is built on a rare circular plan, with the Town Hall at its centre and streets radiating outward, enclosed by a star-shaped fortress. The only other town with a comparable star-and-circle layout is Palmanova in northeastern Italy. Construction of Hamina's defences began in 1722 under Swedish rule, and by the Treaty of Turku in 1743 the Russian border moved to the nearby Kymi River, making Hamina and neighbouring Kotka part of Russia roughly 70 years before the rest of Finland. The central square, Raatihuoneentori, is crowned by a neoclassical town hall designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, and is flanked by a pale-blue Lutheran church, also by Engel, and a vibrant orange Orthodox church designed by Louis Visconti.
Hamina's museums include the Hamina City Museum, housed in an 18th-century building, and the Merchant House Museum, which recreates early 20th-century merchant life. The Reserve Officer School, Finland's training institution for Army, Navy and Air Force officers, occupies a grand building in the town centre. The Hamina Tattoo, an international military music festival, is held each summer, with main concerts at the Central Bastion.