Lappeenranta Parish, Kymi, Finland Genealogy

Guide to Lappeenranta parish, Finland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Lappeenranta is a city and municipality situated on the shore of lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, about 19 miles from the Russian border. The neighboring municipality of Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2009, and the neighboring municipality of Ylämaa on January 1, 2010. Lappeenranta is also a commercial centre of South-East Finland and the meeting point of the EU and Russia. The current church was completed in 1794 to replace previous church which was part of the fortress which burned down from a lightning strike in 1790. The Swedish name is Villmanstrand .

Records Loss
During the great hatred, the Russians tore apart 1/4 of the church, but stopped the destruction by the fervent prayer of the priest Klemens Forsander; the archive was destroyed. In addition to the parsonage and its archives, the church was also burned in the war on 5/9 1741. It is worth noting that in the Furuhjelm collection (KA) there is a letter written by de Lacy right after the battle of Lappeenranta, which shows that at least the fortress' archives were taken to the Russian side, where it has recently been searched for in vain. (Compare also Kaarlo Blomstedt, Handover of documents stipulated in the Uusikaupunki and Turku peace treaties (Historialline Arkisto XXXII, 12) Helsinki 1924, pp. 15-16.) The church with its belfry burned down in a lightning strike in the summer of 1790. "Historie- och konceptbok för Saima kanals kommerderin" has been lost. O. Durchman, "The Destruction of Church Archives", and "Supplement II", Genos 3 (1932), "Supplement III", Genos 4 (1933), "Supplement VII". Genos 6 (1935).

Villages
As of 1939 the following villages were found in this parish: Lappeenranta.

Place Names
To see what kind of place it is you will need a Finnish gazetteer.

Surrounding Parishes
Lappee

Church Records

 * 1657-1890 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1657-1915 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index & images
 * 1682-1892 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1725-1909 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index
 * 1772-1872 (*); Lappeenrannan seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1803-1880 (*); Lappeenrannan seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1820-1889 (*); Lappeenrannan seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * 1863-1905 (*); Lappeenrannan seurakunta at FamilySearch Catalog &mdash; images
 * Lappeenranta at Finland's Family History Association (FFHA) (Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys ry) &mdash; images

Court Records

 * 1653-1739 (*); Raastuvanoikeus (Lappeenranta) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1827-1860 (*); Raastuvanoikeus (Lappeenranta) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1873-1919 (*); Kansallisarkisto (Helsinki) at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Emigration and Immigration Records

 * 1900-1920 at FamilySearch &mdash; How to Use This Collection; index

Guardianship Records

 * 1827-1860 (*); Raastuvanoikeus (Lappeenranta) at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Taxation Records

 * 1809-1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images