Historical provinces of Finland

The historical provinces (Finnish: historialliset maakunnat, singular historiallinen maakunta, Swedish: historiska landskap) are former administrative or cultural areas^[1] of Finland, with origins from the slottslän (linnalääni) of the Middle Ages.^[2] The historical provinces ceased to be administrative entities in 1634 when they were superseded by the counties, a reform which remained in force in Finland until 1997. The historical provinces remain as a tradition, but have no administrative function today.

The first name in the parentheses is the Finnish name and the second is the Swedish one.

Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi, Egentliga Finland)

Karelia (Karjala, Karelen)

Laponia (Lappi, Lappland)

Ostrobothnia (Pohjanmaa, Österbotten)

Satakunta (Satakunta, Satakunda)

Savonia (Savo, Savolax)

Tavastia (Häme, Tavastland)

Uusimaa (Uusimaa, Nyland)

Åland (Ahvenanmaa, Åland)

History

Most of the historical provinces are defined by slottslän (linnalääni), which was an administrative system established by Birger Jarl and King Magnus III of Sweden.^[3] The historical provinces which can be defined by slottslän are Åland (Kastelholm [fi]), Finland Proper (Turku [fi]), Satakunta (Kokemäenkartano [fi]), Uusimaa (Raseborg [fi] and Porvoo [fi]), Karelia (Viipuri [fi]), Häme (Hämeenlinna [fi]), Ostrobothnia (Korsholm [fi]) and Savo (Savonlinna [fi]).^[2]

The administrative system was replaced in 1634, when the historical provinces and slottslän were replaced by provinces. Even after this, names of the historical provinces were used for the names of the counties, and also as the basis for the territorial definition of the counties. The old symbols of the historical provinces continued to exist in the coats of arms of the counties.

The historical provinces gained a new meaning as part of the national awakening in the 19th century. Such as in Zacharias Topelius' Maamme, where the Finnish tribes based on historical provinces and their perceived stereotypes played a central role in the book.^[4]

Heraldry

At the funeral of King Gustav Vasa 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 have somewhat diverged. Finland maintains the distinction between ducal and comital dignity shown in the coronets for arms of the historical provinces, while all the Swedish provinces have carried the Swedish style ducal coronet since 1884. The division of Lapland also necessitated a distinction between the Finnish and the Swedish coats of arms.

The coats of arms of the historical provinces have served as a basis for the arms of the current administrative divisions, the regions of Finland.