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Finland Archives and Libraries

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

Finland National Archives

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.

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:

For Häme and Uusimaa Counties, write:

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 Offices

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:

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 and Libraries

Many genealogical works are deposited in the University of Helsinki Library. The address is:

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

Finland has many organized historical and genealogical societies. Some societies maintain libraries and archives that collect valuable records. For more information, see Finland Societies. Also see these internet sites:

United States Archives

The following archives have specialized collections on Finnish immigration and other records:

  • Finnish-American Historical Archives
    601 Quincy Street
    Hancock, MI  49930
    USA
    Telephone: 877-202-5491 (toll free) ; (906) 487-7274 (local)
    Historical Society of Michigan
  • Suomi or Finlandia College
    601 Quincy Street
    Hancock, MI 49930
    USA
  • Immigration History Research Center
    University of Minnesota
    826 Berry Street
    St. Paul, MN 55114
    USA

Inventories, Registers, Catalogs

Most archives have catalogs, inventories, and guides that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit or use the records of an archive so that you can effectively use your time.

The following publication is a comprehensive list of Finnish archives. It gives names and addresses of the archives and a brief description of their holdings:

  • Suomen arkistojen opas: Arkiven i Finland, en handledning: Guide to Archives Repositories in Finland. Helsinki: Valtion painatuskeskus, 1975. (FHL book 948.97 A35v no. 6 1975)  A general guide written in English about the Finnish public archives is:
  • Guide to the Public Archives of Finland.Helsinki: National Archives, 1980. (FHL book 948.97 J5g)
    Helpful guides written in Finnish and Swedish about the National Archives are:
  • Kansallisarkisto, asiakkaan opas(The National Archives: A Guide). Helsinki: Kansallisarkisto, 1994. (FHL book 948.972 J5k)
    Riksarkivet, en handledning(The National Archives: A Guide). Helsingfors: Riksarkivet, 1995. (FHL book 948.972 J5ka)

The following book series contains a guide to the holdings of the National Archives of Finland:

  • Valtionarkiston yleisluettelo—Översiktskatalog för Riksarkivet(Inventory for the National Archives). 4 vols. Helsiniki: Valtioneuvoston kirjapaino, 1956–73.(FHL book 948.97 A35s)

The following book contains a guide to the provincial archives of Finland:

  • Maakunta-arkistojen opas (Guide to the Provincial Archives). Helsinki: Valtion painatuskeskus, 1976. (FHL book 948.97 A35v no. 2 1976)

A guide to the military archives has been published in English, Swedish, and Finnish:

  • Guide to the Military Archives of Finland. Helsinki: The Military Archives, 1977. (FHL book 948.97 J5ga)
  • Sota-arkiston opas (Guide to the Military Archives). Helsinki: Valtion painatuskeskus, 1974. (FHL book 948.97 A35v no.5 1974)
  • Krigsarkivet: en handledning (Guide to the Military Archives). Helsingfors: Statens tryckericentral, 1977. (FHL book 948.97 A35v no. 9 1977)

These guides are available at the Family History Library. They may also be available at your public or university library or through interlibrary loan.

To find other inventories, guides, catalogs, and directories, look in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

FINLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
FINLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards

Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers:

  • Locate other researchers.
  • Post queries.
  • Send and receive e-mail.
  • Search large databases.
  • Search computer libraries.
  • Join in computer chat and lecture sessions.

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Finland in many sources at local, provincial, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most information is available at no cost.

Some very useful databases and guides for Finland are available on the Internet. In this Wiki, you will find references to sites that contain indexes and transcripts of Finland Church Records, Finland Emigration and Immigration, Finland Maps, and other topics for Finland. You can also find information about addresses and activities of various societies and archives on the Internet.

General sites that act as an index to many interesting Finnish genealogical sites on the Internet include:

  • Family History Finland, part of the WorldGenWeb project:
  • EastEuropeGenWeb -- Link unavailable (April'09)
  • SFHS Finlander discussion forum. Forum (mainly English language)
  • Suku Forum: Forum (Finnish/Swedish language discussion forum)
  • Cyndi’s List for Finland/Suomi: Website
  • Genealogical Research in Finland: Website
  • The Swedish-Finn Historical Society, Seattle WA: Website
  • Family History Library home page: Website]]
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