Hanko Water Tower

The 1943 water tower is the highest point in Hanko and the best overview of the town, the harbour, and the surrounding archipelago. An observation deck on the upper floor (reached by a lift) gives a 360-degree panorama; on a clear day Estonia is just visible across the Gulf to the south.

Open daily in summer, weekend afternoons only off-season. Small admission fee. The viewing deck includes some history of the tower itself and Hanko's strange role as the Soviet leasehold base from 1940 to 1941. The base of the tower has a small cafe in season.

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A story
The original 1880s water tower, a wooden landmark on the town's high point, was destroyed by Soviet bombing during the Winter War in 1940. The current concrete tower — austere, almost brutalist, with a viewing platform on top — was built in 1943 to a wartime design that prioritised function over the genteel resort aesthetic of its predecessor.