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Savonia (Finnish : Savo; Swedish : Savolax) is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders Tavastia, Ostrobothnia and Karelia. Savonia is now divided into two provinces: North Savonia and South Savonia. The largest cities in Savonia by population are Kuopio, Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Varkaus and Iisalmi.
In the 19th century, Savonia was divided between Kuopio Province and Mikkeli Province. From 1997 to 2010, it lay within the administrative province of Eastern Finland. The provinces have no administrative function today but survive as ceremonial units. Since 2010, Savonia has been divided between the regions of North Savonia and South Savonia.
The province of Savo represents the original homeland of the Savonians, one of the subgroups that later became assimilated to form the Finns. It was the heartland of the east Finnish or Savonian dialects.
The people of Savonia traditionally pursued slash-and-burn agriculture, which settlers successfully imported into Ostrobothnia and Kainuu, Värmland in southwestern Sweden, and eastern Norway. Savonian settlers also migrated to Finnish Karelia, Ingria (see: Ingrian Finns) and to southern Sweden, parts of northern Sweden, and Norway (see: Forest Finns).
Savonia, which had been a part of Sweden from the late-13th century, was separated from Sweden when Finland was ceded to Russia in September 1809.
Traditionally, the Savonian people have often been considered as "sneaky". Recent research has shown that this reputation is largely due to misunderstandings caused by Savonians' traditional lack of social directness. [1]
The arms of Savonia are crowned by a count's coronet, though by Finnish tradition this more resembles a Swedish baronial coronet. Blazon: "Sable, a drawn hand bow in and arrow aimed toward dexter chief, or; bow string, arrowhead and feathered tail, argent." The traditional colors of the province are black and gold.
Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces. Finland had always been a unitary state: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from Åland, the provinces had little autonomy. There were never any elected provincial parliaments in continental Finland. The system was initially created in 1634. Its makeup was changed drastically on 1 September 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces. The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009. Consequently, different ministries may subdivide their areal organization differently. Besides the former provinces, the municipalities of Finland form the fundamental subdivisions of the country. In current use are the regions of Finland, a smaller subdivision where some pre-1997 läänis are split into multiple regions. Åland retains its special autonomous status and its own regional parliament.
Ostrobothnia, Swedish: Österbotten, Finnish: Pohjanmaa is a historical province comprising a large western and northern part of modern Finland. It is bounded by Karelia, Savonia, Tavastia and Satakunta in the south, the Bothnian Sea, Bothnian Bay and Swedish Westrobothnia in the west, Laponia in the north and Russia in the east.
The historical provinces are former administrative or cultural areas of Finland, with origins from the slottslän of the Middle Ages. The historical provinces ceased to be administrative entities in 1634 when they were superseded by the counties, a reform which remained in force in Finland until 1997. The historical provinces remain as a tradition, but have no administrative function today.
Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east.
Finland is divided into 19 regions which are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, the development of enterprises, and education. Between 2004 and 2012, the regional council of Kainuu was elected via popular elections as part of an experimental regional administration.
The former Province of Eastern Finland in Finland was divided into three regions, 11 districts and 49 municipalities.
Karelia is a historical province of Finland, consisting of the modern-day Finnish regions of South Karelia and North Karelia plus the historical regions of Ladoga Karelia and the Karelian isthmus, which are now in Russia. Historical Karelia also extends to the regions of Kymenlaakso, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia (Mäntyharju).
North Savo is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region and Lake Kallavesi is the largest lake in the region.
Karelia is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia, Finland, and Sweden. It is currently divided between northwestern Russia and Finland.
The 19 municipalities of the North Savo Region in Finland are divided on five sub-regions.
The 12 municipalities of the South Savo Region in Finland are divided on three sub-regions.
South Savo is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo is 18,768.33 km2, with a population of 153,738 (2011). South Savo is located in the heart of the Finnish lake district, and contains Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland. The three major towns in the region are Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Pieksämäki.
Savonia or Savonian may refer to:
The Savonian dialects are forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savonia and other parts of Eastern Finland. Finnish dialects are grouped broadly into Eastern and Western varieties; Savonian dialects are of the Eastern variety.
Savonians are a Finnish tribe who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia.
Forest Finns were Finnish migrants from Savonia and Northern Tavastia in Finland who settled in forest areas of Sweden proper and Norway during the late 16th and early-to-mid-17th centuries, and traditionally pursued slash-and-burn agriculture, a method used for turning forests into farmlands. By the late 18th century, the Forest Finns had become largely assimilated into the Swedish and Norwegian cultures, and their language, a variety of Savonian Finnish, is today extinct, although it survived among a tiny minority until the 20th century. Descendants of the Forest Finns still live in Sweden and Norway.
The Kuopio Province was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after its capital, city of Kuopio.
Savolax and Karelia County was a county of Sweden 1775–1809 and province of Grand Duchy of Finland 1809–1831. It was formed in 1775 when Savolax and Kymmenegård County was divided into Savolax and Karelia County and Kymmenegård County. Residence city was Kuopio.
The Savonia railway is a five-foot-gauge railway in Finland. Beginning at Kouvola, it connects southern Finland with the eastern regions of South Savo and North Savo via the cities of Pieksämäki, Kuopio and Iisalmi.
Karelians, also known as Finnish Karelians or Karelian Finns, are a subgroup of the Finnish people, traditionally living in Finnish Karelia. Karelians speak eastern dialects of the Finnish language: the South Karelian dialects are spoken in South Karelia, while the eastern Savonian dialects are spoken in North Karelia. The South Karelian dialects were spoken in the Karelian Isthmus prior to the Winter War. Karelians are traditionally Lutheran Christians, with an Orthodox Christian minority, belonging to either the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Orthodox Church of Finland respectively.
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