Helsinki Parish, Uusimaa, Finland Genealogy

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

History
Helsinki is the capital city and most populous municipality of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland. Helsinki is located 50 miles north of Tallinn, Estonia, 250 miles east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 240 miles west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.

Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns, Helsinki forms the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1.4 million. Often considered to be Finland's only metropolis, it is the world's northernmost metro area with over one million people as well as the northernmost capital of an EU member state. After Stockholm and Oslo, Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries.

The city was established with merchant rights in 1550 by King Gustav I as Helsingfors at the mouth of the Vantaa river. In 1640 the city was to its present location from where Koskela now. During the Finnish War in 1808 Russian forces captured the city and beseiged the Sveaborg fortress. In November of that same year a fire destroyed about one-fourth of the town.After Finland became part of the Russian Empire the capitol was moved to Helsinki as a symbolic gesture, moving it farther away from Sweden and closer to St. Petersburg. . After the 1827 fire in Turku, the university was moved to Helsinki which greatly contributed to the city's growth and importance.

Villages
As of 1939 the following villages were found in this parish: Brändö, Haaga, Haga, Botby, Boxbacka, Degerö, Dickursby, Domsby, Drumsö, Fastböle, Fredriksberg, Helsinki, Herttoniemi, Hoplaks, Huopalahti, Kaarela, Kottby, Kulosaari, Käpylä, Lauttasaari, Malm, Malmi, Mosabacka, Munkkiniemi, Oulunkylä, Pasila, Pirkko, Pitäjänmäki, Puistola, Pukinmäki, Puotinkylä, Rekola, Räckhals, Santahamina, Sockenbacka, Suomenlinna, Sörnäinen, Sörnäs, Tapanila, Tikkurila, Vallgård, Vallila, Vanha-Käpylä, Åggelby.

Place Names
The following places were identified in the city in 1667 and 1851. 1667: • 3 1851: • 3

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

Surrounding Parishes
The following churches have been established in Helsinki. Please note the founding date may be different than the date when records are available.

Military Congregations
Information on church records created for military units stationed in Helsinki and in Viipuri county can be found at Helsinki Military Parishes.

Records Available at FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Catalog has records from the following churches. The date in the Year column indicates the earliest year for which records are available. The link in the FamilySearch Catalog column will open a new window where you can see the catalog record.

Indexed Collections
FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Suomen Sukututkimusseura = Genealogical Society of Finland - HisKi: Helsinki, More information about the church; Helsinki rural parish, More information about the church
 * Historical Records Collections - Finland
 * - How to Use This Collection
 * - How to Use This Collection
 * - How to Use This Collection

Browseable Image Collections

 * Digihakemisto Helsingin pitäjä (Helsinki rural parish)
 * Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen Yhdistys ry = Finland's Family History Association (FFHA) - Helsinki; Helsingin pitäjä (Helsinki rural parish)
 * 1963-1967 Den Danske Menighed i Gøteborg (Stockholm og Helsinki): Hovedministerialbog (1963-1967) (The Danish Congregation in Gothenburg (Stockholm and Helsinki): Main Ministry Book) at National Archives of Denmark - images; contains death/burials

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Finland.
 * Finland Guided Research
 * Finland Research Tips and Strategies
 * Finland Record Finder
 * Finland Handwriting
 * Finland Letter Writing Guide