The
historical provinces of
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
is a legacy of the country's joint history with
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. The provinces ceased to be an administrative entity already in 1634 when they were superseded by the Counties, a reform which remained in force in Finland until 1997. The provinces remain as a tradition, but have no administrative function today. The spread of dialects of
Finnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
approximately follow their borders.
First name in the parentheses is the Finnish name and the second is the Swedish.
Finland ProperFinland Proper, , is a historical province in south western Finland, centred on the historic city of Turku and the Turku Castle. It borders Satakunta, Tavastia and Uusimaa. It is also bounded by the Baltic sea facing Åland. There is also a modern region by the name Finland Proper...
(Varsinais-Suomi, Egentliga Finland)
Karelia (Karjala, Karelen)
LaponiaLaponia is a historical Finnish Province in the north of Finland. The present-day Finnish region, modern province of Lapland contains also an Ostrobothnian area outside of the historical Laponia. The historical province formed a part of a larger Swedish historical province of Laponia before...
(Lappi, Lappland)
OstrobothniaOstrobothnia, and , is a historical province of Finland to the west and north in Finland. It borders on Karelia, Savonia, Tavastia and Satakunda in the south, and on Västerbotten in Sweden, and Laponia in the north...
(Pohjanmaa, Österbotten)
SatakuntaSatakunta is a historical province of Finland. It borders the historical provinces of Finland Proper, Tavastia and Ostrobothnia, also the Gulf of Bothnia....
(Satakunta, Satakunda)
SavoniaSavonia is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders to Nylandia, Tavastia, Ostrobothnia, and Karelia.- Administration :For current affairs see: Eastern Finland...
(Savo, Savolax)
TavastiaTavastia, Tavastland or Häme, Russian Emi or Yemi, is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Nylandia.- Administration :...
(Häme, Tavastland)
Uusimaa (Uusimaa, Nyland)
ÅlandThe Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. It is situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and forms an autonomous, demilitarized, monolingually Swedish-speaking administrative province, region and historical province of Finland...
(Ahvenanmaa, Åland)
At the funeral of King
Gustav VasaGustav I, born Gustav Eriksson and later known as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Vasa, an influential noble family which came to be the royal house of Sweden for much of the 16th and 17th centuries...
in 1560 the coats of arms for the provinces were displayed together for the first time and several of them had been granted for that particular occasion.
Discussion
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The
historical provinces of
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
is a legacy of the country's joint history with
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. The provinces ceased to be an administrative entity already in 1634 when they were superseded by the Counties, a reform which remained in force in Finland until 1997. The provinces remain as a tradition, but have no administrative function today. The spread of dialects of
Finnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
approximately follow their borders.
First name in the parentheses is the Finnish name and the second is the Swedish.
- Finland Proper
Finland Proper, , is a historical province in south western Finland, centred on the historic city of Turku and the Turku Castle. It borders Satakunta, Tavastia and Uusimaa. It is also bounded by the Baltic sea facing Åland. There is also a modern region by the name Finland Proper...
(Varsinais-Suomi, Egentliga Finland)
- Karelia (Karjala, Karelen)
- Laponia
Laponia is a historical Finnish Province in the north of Finland. The present-day Finnish region, modern province of Lapland contains also an Ostrobothnian area outside of the historical Laponia. The historical province formed a part of a larger Swedish historical province of Laponia before...
(Lappi, Lappland)
- Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia, and , is a historical province of Finland to the west and north in Finland. It borders on Karelia, Savonia, Tavastia and Satakunda in the south, and on Västerbotten in Sweden, and Laponia in the north...
(Pohjanmaa, Österbotten)
- Satakunta
Satakunta is a historical province of Finland. It borders the historical provinces of Finland Proper, Tavastia and Ostrobothnia, also the Gulf of Bothnia....
(Satakunta, Satakunda)
- Savonia
Savonia is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders to Nylandia, Tavastia, Ostrobothnia, and Karelia.- Administration :For current affairs see: Eastern Finland...
(Savo, Savolax)
- Tavastia
Tavastia, Tavastland or Häme, Russian Emi or Yemi, is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Nylandia.- Administration :...
(Häme, Tavastland)
- Uusimaa (Uusimaa, Nyland)
- Åland
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. It is situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and forms an autonomous, demilitarized, monolingually Swedish-speaking administrative province, region and historical province of Finland...
(Ahvenanmaa, Åland)
Heraldry
At the funeral of King
Gustav VasaGustav I, born Gustav Eriksson and later known as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Vasa, an influential noble family which came to be the royal house of Sweden for much of the 16th and 17th centuries...
in 1560 the coats of arms for the provinces were displayed together for the first time and several of them had been granted for that particular occasion. After the separation of Finland from Sweden in 1809 the traditions for the provincial arms has somewhat diverged. Finland maintains the distinction between
DucalA duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy. The title comes from the Latin Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Roman authors...
and
CountA count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The British equivalent is an earl...
al dignity shown in the coronets for arms of the historical provinces while all the
SwedishThe provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
provinces carry the Swedish style Dukal coronet since 1884. The division of Lapland also necessitated a distinction between the Finnish and the Swedish coats arms.
During the reign of king Karl IX there was emigration from Savonia to the western parts of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and eastern
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, to the
FinnskogenFinnskogen is an area of Norway situated in the county of Hedmark, named so because of immigration of Finnish people in the 17th century, the so-called Skogfinner/"Forest Finns"....
or "Finnish forest." The ancient Savonian dialect was preserved in these areas until the last speakers died in the
1960sThe 1960s was the decade that ran from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 1969.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends in the west, particularly United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France,...
.
The coats of arms of the historical provinces have served as a basis for the arms of newer administrative divisions.
See also
- Lists of unofficial regions by country
- Historical provinces of Sweden and Finland
The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
- Österland
Österland or Österlanden was a medieval term used for the southern part of Finland. It gradually fell out of use by the 15th century. Finland remained a part of Swedish Realm - also known today as Sweden-Finland - until the Finnish war of 1808–09, when it was ceded to Russia and came to...
- Norrland
Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...
- Provinces of Finland
The state of Finland consists of 6 provinces . The provincial authority is part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from 12 to 6...
- Regions of Finland
Finland is divided into 20 regions . The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are...
External links