Listen to the story of the music pavilion. Narrated by Mi Grönlund.
The first music pavilion in Hanko Spa Park was built in 1890. It was like a large speaker with dance and operetta melodies.
At the time of the establishment of the spa in 1879, the Seurahuone, located on the site of the casino, served as a high-quality restaurant, a reading room and the stage for the most diverse social events. The season was refreshed by parties, theater performances, concerts and popular proms.
In addition to the daily food and social music, in the social room you could also sometimes hear classical music concerts for more demanding tastes. Over the years, such greats as Aino Ackté, Helge Lindberg and Ida Ekman wrote their names on the list of performers, Oskar Merikanto, Kosti Vehanen and Ilmari Hannikainen performed as pianists. Finland's top choirs performed at the Kasino: Suomen laulu, Akademiska Sångföreningen's and Ostrobothnia's choir, assembled from the singers of the Student Union.
The size and level of the regular spa orchestras varied every year. Sometimes a competent restaurant orchestra was invited from abroad to work in Hanko for the summer. Most often, the orchestra was assembled from domestic and foreign professional musicians. Leo Funtek and Selim Palmgren were the most famous of the spa's music directors.
You could rent a canoe, rowing or sailing boat from the pier in front of the casino, because the sea air is known to be good for the body and mind. There was also a bowling alley, horse riding arena and tennis courts nearby.
Text: Sampsa Laurinen.
Photos: Hanko Museum.
Sources: Birgitta Ekström-Söderlund: The most precious gem, Hanko spa 1879?1939 Otava, 2011. Fabian Dahlström: Musiklin i Hangö 1874?1914 Åbo Akademi, 1976.
This story has been produced with the support of the Svenska Kulturfonden.
