Hanko Front Museum: Irma bunker

Bunker Irma is the gem of the Harparskog Defence Line. It is located in Harparskog, approximately five kilometres from the Hanko Front Museum. The bunker is open to visitors on summer weekends and by appointment at other times throughout the year.

Most of the bunker’s interior is original. The bunker is equipped with a 45 mm anti-tank gun and a machine gun. When designing and building bunkers in 1940–1941, many different factors had to be considered, as various challenges could arise during their use in wartime. At Irma, visitors can discover the ingenious ways in which the Finns addressed various challenges using the resources available to them.

The Irma Bunker is located on the former heavily fortified line of defence, the Harparskog Line, that passed through Harparskog as part of the Finnish system of defence against the Soviet naval base on Hanko Peninsula. Various tank obstacles of large stone blocks and boulders were installed at the front line. Part of an almost four-kilometre long series of stone obstacles can be seen next to the Irma bunker.