A concise synthesis of Hagen's gland lactones 3–6 by a chiron approach starting fromd-mannose is described. Transformation of d-mannose to dihydroxy-vinylfuran 8 followed by Pd(II)Cl2 mediated oxidative cyclisation to obtain the tetrahydrofurofuran diol 7 constituted the key reaction in the totalsynthesis of 3–6.