Finland Archives and Libraries


 * Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
 * If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
 * Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the FamilySearch Library may have microfilmed and/or digitized copies of them.

Finland National Archives
Finland National Archives - ASTIA: All vital records from the years 1811–1918 have been digitized from the original documents in grayscale. Color digitization of non-public vital records less than 100 years old is underway.
 * ASTIA National Archives transaction service Instructions
 * 1527 - 100 yrs ago: Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Parish Records, index, incomplete
 * Enter the name of the town, city, or parish in the free word search.
 * 1800s-early 1900s: Finnish Military Parishes - index, incomplete.
 * Enter the name of the town, city, or parish in the free word search.
 * 1700s-1900s: Finland Orthodox Church Archives - index, incomplete.
 * Enter the name of the town, city, or parish in the free word search.
 * Manuscript Collection: The Manuscript Collection contains approx. 900 archives of individuals, families and associations.

Digihakemisto search platform for ASTIA. This gives a more efficient approach for browsing and has additional reference lists of contents.
 * Website
 * Parish records

The HisKi Project

 * 1860-1900: HisKi Project, The Genealogical Society of Finland - index, incomplete. Instructions
 * The database includes indexes and extracts to many Finnish parish records. Records from additional parishes are added to the database as they become available. It includes christenings, marriages, burials, and moves. The indexes include records for some parishes during the period 1860 to 1900, for which the FamilySearch Library does not currently have all the records.

Digiarkisto

 * Finland's Family History Association, free for most records ($): membership gives access to some images not on free site. Images, no index. In Finnish. Incomplete.
 * Finland's Family History Association (FFHA) was founded in 2004. The goal of our association is to provide an online source of archived materials such as communion books, census records etc. for everyone interested in genealogy.
 * A great deal of the digitized material is available to everyone free of charge. Members also get access to more material, such as from 100 to 125 year old church records, court and military records and provincial accounts.

DISBYT

 * DISBYT - Finland
 * DISBYT Finland is a subscription database created by the Computer Genealogy Society of Sweden.
 * Users may try out the database for free by entering the username: guest and password: guest
 * The DISBYT Finland database contains at present 358,000 persons who lived before 1913 in Finland. Each record can represent one or more individuals and consists of info about name, parish and year for events such as birth, marriage and death and also includes the name of the submitter.

Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdisstys (Finnish Family History Association)
Finnish Family History Association Contact Information
 * Archives
 * Church Records
 * Digitized records submitted by volunteers who are interested in a specific location. Best features are available with a membership.

Katiha
Katiha (Karelian Database) E-mail: karjalatietokanta@kansallisarkisto.fi Website Search Search Instructions
 * Database of indexed church records of the ceded Karelian region.
 * The source material of the Karelian database includes church records of the ceded region for the period 1700-1950.
 * • Lutheran parish records
 * • Orthodox church records

National and Regional Archives
Finland has nine archives facilities throughout the country. One national archive, one archive for the Sámi, and seven regional archives. Each facility also has a large collection of printed material about its area, including local histories and biographies. The provincial archives are open to the public and will answer correspondence. Each archive has different service hours, so make sure you know the days and times it is open before visiting.

National Archives
Kansallisarkisto
 * Visiting address: Rauhankatu 17
 * Postal address: PL 258, FI-00171 Helsinki
 * Telephone: +358 29 533 7000

Sámi Archives
Saamelaisarkisto
 * The Sámi Cultural Centre Sajos, FI-99870 Inari
 * Telephone: +358 50 408 3062
 * Email: saamelaisarkisto@kansallisarkisto.fi

Regional Archives
Hämeenlinnan Kansallisarkisto - Häme and Uusimaa counties
 * Visiting and post: Aittatie 2, FI-13200 Hämeenlinna
 * Telephone: 358 29 533 7140

Joensuun Kansallisarkisto - Pohjois-Karjala County formed in 1960 from the eastern half of the former Kuopio County
 * Visiting address: Yliopistokatu 6 A
 * Postal address: PL 146, FI-80101 Joensuu
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7160

Jyväskylän Kansallisarkisto - Keski-Suomi County formed in 1960 from the eastern part of the former Vaasa county and the border parishes from Häme, Mikkeli, and Kuopio Counties
 * Visiting address: Pitkäkatu 23
 * Postal address: PL 25, FI-40101 Jyväskylä
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7180

Mikkelin Kansallisarkisto- Kymi, Mikkeli, and Kuopio counties and for the former Viipuri County and the parishes of Salla and Petsamo, which were ceded to Russia
 * Visiting address: Pirttiniemenkatu 8 A
 * Postal address: PL 2, FI-50101 Mikkeli
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7200

Oulun Kansallisarkisto - Lappi and Oulu counties
 * Visiting and postal address: Arkistokatu 6, FI-90100 Oulu
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7230

Turun Kansallisarkisto - Turku-Pori County
 * Visiting address: Aninkaistenkatu 11
 * Postal address: PL 383, FI-20101 Turku
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7260

Vaasan Kansallisarkisto - Vaasa County (see also Jyväskylän maakunta-arkisto)
 * Visiting address: Varastokatu 2
 * Postal address: PL 240, FI-65101 Vaasa
 * Telephone (during the opening hours of the reading room): +358 29 533 7300

Ålands landskapsarkiv - Ahvenanmaa (Åland) County
 * Visiing address: Strandgatan 37
 * Postal address: Pb 1060, AX-22111 Mariehamn
 * Telephone: +358 18 25 344
 * E-mail: arkivet@regeringen.ax

Parish Archives
Local parishes usually have church records created after 1900. They may also have earlier records. You can write to local parishes and church archives for information. For more information, see Finland Church Records. Finnish law does not require churches to deposit their records with the national or regional archives. If they choose to do so, they may designate any organization as the repository for their records.

Military Archives
Finnish military records from 1810 have been transferred to the National Archives in Helsinki. Finnish military records that were created before 1810 are preserved at the Military Archives of Sweden. The address for the archives is:
 * Krigsarkivet S-115 88 Stockholm Sweden Telephone: 011-46-8-782 41 00 Fax: 011-46-8-782 69 76 Website

Other Finnish Archives
An archive that has newspaper clippings from Swedish-language newspapers from the early 1900s to the present, including death announcements, emigration information, and indexes, is:


 * Brages Urklippsverk Kaserngatan 28 00130 Helsingfors Finland

National Library of Finland
Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto  Unioninkatu 36 00170 Helsinki Finland National Library of Finland

Museums
The National Museum of Finland Mannerheimintie 34 00100 Helsinki Finland

Locations: Museums and Castles Website

Records Offices
Vital records of Finland have traditionally been kept by the church.
 * Catholic parishes
 * Evangelical parishes
 * Orthodox congregations

In 1923 a freedom of religion law was passed. As a result, people who did not have a religious preference were recorded in a civil registry [Siviilirekisteri/Civil registret]. Later, people who belonged to churches other than the state churches were also included in the civil registry. Väestörekisterikeskus PL 7 (Kellosilta 4) 00521 Helsinki Finland Telephone: 011-358-9-229 161 Fax: 011-358-9-2291 6795 Website