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.

Online Records
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.

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.

Provincial Archives
Finland has eight regional archives that house records about their particular area. Most Finnish records of genealogical value are kept at provincial archives, including the following:
 * Church records
 * Census records
 * Emigration records
 * Court records

Each provincial archive 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.

For Turku-Pori County, write:
 * Turun maakunta-arkisto PL 383 20101 Turku Finland Telephone: 011-358-2-2760 818 Fax: 011-358-2-2760 810

For Häme and Uusimaa Counties, write:
 * Hämeenlinnan maakunta-arkisto 13100 Hämeenlinna Finland Telephone: 011-358-3-653 3801 Fax: 011-358-3-653 3810

For Kymi, Mikkeli, and Kuopio Counties and for the former Viipuri County and the parishes of Salla and Petsamo, which were ceded to the USSR in 1944, write:
 * Mikkelin maakunta-arkisto PL 2 00101 Mikkeli Finland Telephone: 011-358-15-321 310 Fax: 011-358-15-321 3157

For Vaasa County (see also Jyväskylän maakunta-arkisto), write:
 * Vaasan maakunta-arkisto PL 240 65101 Vaasa Finland Telephone: 011-358-6-317 3912 Fax: 011-358-6-312 0392

For Keski-Suomi County, which was formed in 1960 from the eastern part of the former Vaasa county and the border parishes from Häme, Mikkeli, and Kuopio Counties, write:
 * Jyväskylän maakunta-arkisto 40100 Jyväskylä Finland Telephone: 011-358-14-617 592 Fax: 011-358-14-610 651

For Pohjois-Karjala County, which was formed in 1960 from the eastern half of the former Kuopio County, write:
 * Joensuun maakunta-arkisto PL 146 80101 Joensuu Finland Telephone: 011-358-13-251 4602 Fax: 011-358-13-251 4606

For the counties of Lappi and Oulu Counties, write:
 * Oulun maakunta-arkisto PL 31 90101 Oulu Finland Telephone: 011-358-8-311 7066 Fax: 011- 358-8-311 7068

For the county of Ahvenanmaa (Åland) County, write:
 * Ålands landskapsarkiv PB 60 22101 Mariehamn Finland Telephone: 011-358-18-253 44 Fax: 011-358-18-191 55

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.

Military Archives
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

Finnish military records from 1810 are at the Military Archives of Finland. (Most of the records begin in 1812.) The address for the archives is:


 * Sota-arkisto PL 266 00170 Helsinki Finland Telephone: 011-358-9-161 6362 Fax: 011-358-9-161 6371

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