Finland Provinces

Back to Finland Page►

The term provinces in Finland can refer to either the historical provinces (historialliset maakunnat) or administrative divisions (läänit) of Finland, as well as modern regions (maakunnat). Historical provinces were defined by the region administered by the castle counties (linnalääni, Swedish: slottslän). Provincial names were used in the county name until King Gustav III's county reform of 1776.

Castle Counties (Linnalääni, Slottslän)
These nine administrative regions were used from 1595 to 1634.

Historical Provinces
Since 1634 the historical provinces have no administrative significance, but remain a traditional part of Finland. Modern provinces with administrative functions began to be formed in the 1920s. These were based on economic influences causing municipalities to join together creating an provincial union (Finnish: maakunnan liitto, Swedish: landskapsförbund). In 1994 legislative reform was introduced to expand this to the entire country.