Finland Counties

Back to Finland Page►

The first counties formed in Finland were Castle Counties (Linnalääni, Slottslän) established in 1595. They continued until an administrative reform in 1634. During the years Finland was associated with Russia the number of counties grew from six to eight. on 31 December 2009 the counties were replaced by seven Regional Administrative Agencies (Aluehallintovirasto).

Castle Counties 1595-1634
These nine fiefs (Finnish: Linnalääni, Swedish: Slottslän) were used as administrative regions from 1595 to 1634.

Counties 1634-1809
The nine Castle Counties were replaced with five counties (Finnish: lääni, Swedish: län). The description below each map list the names of the counties in Finnish and Swedish.

Counties 1809-1917
Under Russian administration Finland was designated the Grand Duchy of Finland (Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, Russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, Swedish:Storfurstendömet Finland) there were initially no changes to Finland's borders or county structure. In 1812 the county of Viipuri / Viborg (also knows as Russian Finland, or Old Finland) was separated from the Russian Empire and incorporate with the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1830 parts of Lapland and Västerbotten were incorporated into Oulu / Uleåborg county.

In 1831 the county of Uudenmaan ja Hämeen / Nylands och Tavastehus were divided into Häme and Uusimaa counties. The southern part of the former Kymenkartano / Kymmenegård County were also added to Uusimaa County. Mikkeli / St. Michels County was formed from the northern and central parts of Kymenkartano / Kymmenegård County, along with parts of the counties of Viipuri / Viborg and Savon ja Karjalan / Savolax och Karelen. The remaining parts of the counties of Savo and Karelia became the county of Kuopio.

Counties 1917-2009
In 1918 the County of Ahvenanmaa / Åland was separated from Turun ja Porin / Åbo och Björneborg (Turku-Pori) County and recognized as an autonomous region of Finland. In 1921 Petsamo County was added to Finland as a result of the Peace of Tartu. In 1922 it was annexed to Oulu / Uleåborg County, from which in 1938 Lapi / Lapland County was created.

In 1941 parts of Vipurii / Viborg and Uusimaa / Nyland counties were ceded to Russia, and 1945 the area remaining in Finland was renamed Kymi / Kymmene County. During the Lapland War of 1944-1945 Russian forces occupied region of Petsamo, and the as a result of the 1947 Peace of Paris, it was ceded to the Soviet Union.

In 1960 the county of Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen (North Karelia) was formed from Kuopio / Kuopio County, and the county of Keski-Suomi / Mellersta Finland (Central Finland) was formed from the counties of Vaasa / Vasa, Häme / Tavastehus, Mikkeli / Sankt Michel and Kuopio / Kuopio.

On 1 January 1998 as part of the 1 September 1997 Maakuntajakolaki (County Apportionment Act) the counties were reorganized into six new counties. This lasted through 2009 when the counties were replaced by seven Regional Administrative Agencies (Aluehallintovirasto, Swedish: Regionförvaltningsverk).