story and history

About us

Hanaholmen is an inspiring and unique meeting place that brings together Nordic culture, art, and current discussions. We are located in Espoo, just outside Helsinki, on our own small peninsula. Here you will find a Swedish-Finnish cooperation and cultural center, a hotel with modern meeting facilities, Nordic gastronomy, as well as the Swedish- Finnish Cultural Foundation - Hanaholmen’s administrative principal, which holds ultimate responsibility for our operations.

Within the framework of the bilateral cooperation, Hanaholmen offers a diverse program, ranging from cultural events and art exhibitions to timely seminars addressing both crisis preparedness and other pressing societal issues. Our programme division works by bringing people and organizations together, initiating new collaborations, organizing constructive dialogues, and seeking solutions to the most challenging questions of our time. The ultimate goal of Hanaholmen's activities is to create added value through collaboration between Sweden and Finland and to foster a ripple effect for the greater benefit of our societies.

A visit to Hanaholmen is enhanced by our atmospheric hotel, which offers a relaxing stay in an archipelago setting surrounded by Nordic art and design. Good food is a central part of the overall experience. Our award-winning restaurant, PLATS, takes you on a culinary journey through the delicious and innovative flavors of Nordic cuisine. Local ingredients and sustainability are key here.

Hanaholmen’s values – trust, openness and integrity, joy, and sustainable development – permeate all of our activities. We work to promote cultural understanding and Swedish-Finnish cooperation on a concrete level. Hanaholmen offers a space where everyone can be inspired and find new perspectives by reflecting on the reality and experiences of the other country.

History

The Hanaholmen Cultural Centre was inaugurated on 1 June 1975 by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden and the President of Finland, Urho Kekkonen. Discussions about building a cultural centre for Sweden and Finland began as long ago as 1967, when Sweden decided to cancel SEK 100 million of Finland’s wartime debt in conjunction with Finland’s 50th anniversary.

It was clear to those involved in the discussions about a bilateral cultural centre in the 1960s that the work that the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation had begun at the beginning of the decade would sooner or later need a roof over its head. Finland also lacked an equivalent to the cultural centres found elsewhere in the Nordic region: Lysebu, Voksenåsen and Schaeffergården. When the cultural centre came to fruition in the early 1970s, the time was ripe for a major investment in Finnish-Swedish cooperation, in a way that it perhaps had not been a decade earlier.

The decision to build the cultural centre on Hanaholmen was not a matter of course but was the subject of a lengthy domestic and cultural policy debate. President Urho Kekkonen was among those who supported the idea that the cultural centre should be set up at Sveaborg instead of Hanaholmen. The decision was finally made in the Finnish parliament, with 93 versus 67 in favour of Hanaholmen.

The site at Hanaholmen was owned by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation, inherited from brewer’s son Nicholas Sinebrychoff. The Finnish Government negotiated an agreement and bought the plot. Even before the house was ready, the centre started its work in an office in central Helsinki.

Since its inception in 1975, Hanaholmen has not only reflected but also influenced the development of society. According to historian Stefan Nygård, Hanaholmen can be regarded as a kind of semi-actor, facilitating meetings and discussions on a wide range of topics, but choosing which areas of society are given special attention. In addition, the Cultural and Conference Centre has been managed by several strong leaders who have made their mark on the activities in close interaction not only with general social development, but also with national and international networks and institutions, and with the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Management

Day-to-day operations at Hanaholmen are managed by CEO Gunvor Kronman. The hotel and restaurant business are supervised by Hotel Manager Kai Mattsson. Hanaholmen’s Management Team consists of six members.

Hanaholmen’s executive board consists of five members from Finland and five from Sweden. The chairman is appointed by the Finnish Government. The current chairman (from 2009) is LLM Kimmo Sasi.

Fom Finland:

• LLM Kimmo Sasi (Chair)
• Dean Timo Korkeamäki (Vice Chair)
• MEP Hanna Kosonen
• Assistant Professor Johan Strang
• Ambassador Helena Tuuri

Fom Sweden:

• CEO John Brattmyhr
• Opposition Vice Mayor, Stockholm, Christofer Fjellner
• Fmr Governor Elisabeth Nilsson (Vice Chair)
• Municipal Commissioner Claes Nordmark
• University Principal Astrid Söderbergh Widding