Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

and

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) 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. History On Septemb ...

. It also bordered the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

History

On September 1, 1997 the

Uusimaa Province The Province of Uusimaa ( fi, Uudenmaan lääni, sv, Nylands län) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. It was established in 1831, when the County of Nyland and Tavastehus was divided into the Häme Province and Uusimaa Province. In ...

, the

Kymi Province The Kymi Province ( fi, Kymen lääni, sv, Kymmene län) was a province of Finland from 1945 to 1997. The Kymi Province was the remainder of the territory from the Viipuri Province after the main part was left to Russia at the Moscow Armisti ...

and the southern parts of the

Häme Province The Province of Häme ( fi, Hämeen lääni, sv, Tavastehus län) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. In 1997 the southern parts with Kanta-Häme, Päijät-Häme was merged with the province of Uusimaa and Kymi into the new Provin ...

were joined to form the new Southern Finland Province. All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration. The State Provincial Office of Southern Finland employed about 380 persons. Its service offices were located in the cities of

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, and

Kouvola Kouvola () is a cities of Finland, city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki, Kymijoki River in the Regions of Finland, region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lapp ...

. The administrative seat was placed at Hämeenlinna.

Regions

Southern Finland was divided into six regions: *

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Obla ...

(''Etelä-Karjala / Södra Karelen'') * Päijänne Tavastia (''Päijät-Häme / Päijänne Tavastland'') *

Tavastia Proper Tavastia or Tavastland may refer to: * Häme (Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') * Tavastia (historical province), a historical province of the kingdom of Sweden, located in modern-day Finland * Tavastia (constituency), formerly Tavas ...

(''Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland'') *

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, He ...

(''Uusimaa / Nyland'') *

Eastern Uusimaa Eastern Uusimaa or, officially, Itä-Uusimaa ( fi, Itä-Uusimaa; sv, Östra Nyland; literally "Eastern New Land") was one of the 19 regions of Finland, until it consolidated with the region of Uusimaa on January 1, 2011. It bordered the region ...

(''Itä-Uusimaa / Östra Nyland'') *

Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso ( sv, Kymmenedalen; " Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means literally ''The Valley of River Kym ...

(''Kymenlaakso / Kymmenedalen'')

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Southern Finland was divided into 72

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in 2009. *

Artjärvi Artjärvi ( sv, Artsjö) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Orimattila on January 1, 2011. The municipality was located in the Päijänne Tavastia region. It had a population of 1,412 (31 October 2010) and ...

Asikkala Asikkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. Asikkala's neighboring municipalities are H ...

Askola Askola () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Monninkylä is the largest village of municipality i ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

Forssa Forssa is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located almost in the centre of a triangle defined by the three largest major cities in Finland (Helsinki, Turku and Tampere), in the Tavastia Proper region, and which is crossed by Highway 2 ...

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...

Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...

* Hartola *

Hattula Hattula is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper regions of Finland, region and until 2010 it was located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surr ...

* Hausjärvi *

Heinola Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in ...

Hollola Hollola () is a municipality of Finland, located in the western part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality is unilingually Finnish and has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Pop ...

Humppila Humppila is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Tavastia Proper in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is wate ...

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; sv, Hyvinge, ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The city was chartered in 1960. The population of Hyvinkää is (). Its neighboring municipal ...

Hämeenkoski Hämeenkoski (; Koski Hl until 1995, see Koski Tl) is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the municipality of Hollola on 1 January 2016. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia reg ...

Iitti Iitti (; sv, Itis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. ...

Ingå Ingå (; fi, Inkoo) is a municipality of Finland. Ingå is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

Janakkala Janakkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala". Janakkala is located along the Highway 3 ( E12) in the province of Southern Finland and is part of ...

Jokioinen Jokioinen ( sv, Jockis) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Tavastia Proper regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

Järvenpää Järvenpää (; sv, Träskända) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located on the Helsinki–Riihimäki railway track in Uusimaa region, some north of Helsinki. Neighbouring municipalities are Tuusula, Sipoo and Mäntsälä. People ...

Karjalohja Karjalohja (; sv, label= Swedish, Karislojo) is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. Before merging into Lohja, the municipality had a population of (31 December ...

Karkkila Karkkila (; sv, Högfors) is a town and a municipality of Finland. Neighboring municipalities are Lohja, Loppi, Tammela and Vihti. Geography Karkkila is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an ar ...

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; sv, Grankulla) is a small town and a municipality of inhabitants () in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. It is surrounded and enclaved by the City of Espoo, in the Capital Region of Greater Helsinki. Kauniainen was founde ...

* Kerava *

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; sv, Kyrkslätt, , Sweden ) is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of inhabitants () in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "''Kirkkonummi''" and "''Kyrkslätt''" in English language, English is "church heath". ...

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

Kärkölä Kärkölä () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

* Lapinjärvi *

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

Lemi Lemi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in South Karelia in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The ...

* Liljendal *

Lohja Lohja (; sv, Lojo) is a city and municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland. The city has a population of 47,518 (2017), and it covers an area of of which , or 8.3 percent, is water. The population density of Lohja is . The municipality is ...

Loppi Loppi (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region, located about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) south of the city of Hämeenlinna. Loppi was founded ...

* Loviisa *

Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

Miehikkälä Miehikkälä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Kymenlaakso in terms of popula ...

Myrskylä Myrskylä (; sv, Mörskom) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region and it is the smallest municipality in the region in relation to its population; the municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which ...

* Mäntsälä *

Nastola Nastola is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with the city of Lahti on 1 January 2016. In the province of Southern Finland, Nastola is part of the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality had a population of (30 June 2015) and cover ...

Nummi-Pusula Nummi-Pusula () is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with Lohja on 1 January 2013. Its seat was in Nummi. Nummi-Pusula was formed in 1981 from the former municipalities Nummi and Pusula. It was located in the province of Southern ...

Nurmijärvi Nurmijärvi () is the most populated rural municipality of Finland, located north of the capital Helsinki. The neighboring municipalities of Nurmijärvi are Espoo, Vantaa, Tuusula, Hyvinkää and Vihti, and it is part of the Greater Helsinki. Th ...

* Orimattila *

Padasjoki Padasjoki () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is from Padasjoki to Lahti and to Heinola. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipality of Finland located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town center of Parikkala is about from the Russian border. The municipality ...

* Pernå *

Pornainen Pornainen (; sv, Borgnäs) is a small municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The neighboring municipalities are Askola in the east, Mäntsälä in the north, Porvoo in the so ...

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...

Pukkila Pukkila (; Swedish: ''Pukkila'', also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingu ...

Pyhtää Pyhtää ( sv, Pyttis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region, west of the city of Kotka. Overview The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Th ...

Raseborg Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as ...

Rautjärvi Rautjärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . M ...

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; sv, Ruokolax; literally translated the "Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, ...

* Ruotsinpyhtää *

Savitaipale Savitaipale (; literally translated the "clay passage") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

Sipoo Sipoo (; sv, Sibbo) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The administrative center of the munic ...

Siuntio Siuntio (; sv, Sjundeå) is a municipality of Finland located in the Uusimaa region in the province of Southern Finland. Its neighboring municipalities are Ingå to the west, Kirkkonummi, to the east, Lohja to the north-west, and Vihti to the nor ...

Suomenniemi Suomenniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Mikkeli on 1 January 2013. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of (31 December ...

Sysmä Sysmä () is a municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Asikkala, Hart ...

Taipalsaari Taipalsaari is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Nei ...

* Tammela *

Tuusula Tuusula (; sv, Tusby ) is a municipality of Finland. It belongs to the Helsinki sub-region of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and is by far the third largest municipality in Finland after Nurmijärvi and Kirkkonummi ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

Vihti Vihti (; sv, Vichtis) is a small municipality located in the Uusimaa region of province of Southern Finland, approximately northwest of the capital city Helsinki. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is wate ...

Virolahti Virolahti (; sv, Vederlax) is the southeasternmost municipality of Finland on the border of Russia. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The population densit ...

Ylämaa Ylämaa (; literally translated the "Highland") is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of Southern Finland as part of the South Karelia region. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2010.Ypäjä Ypäjä is a municipality located in the countryside of South-Western Finland. It belongs to the province of Southern Finland and the region of Tavastia Proper. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. T ...

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

* Anjalankoski * Ekenäs *

Elimäki Elimäki (Swedish: ''Elimä'') is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the region of Kymenlaakso. The municipality had a population of 8,199 and covered an area of 391.74 km² ...

Hauho Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland). Hauho was amalgamated with the municipality of Hämeenlinna ...

Jaala Jaala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 1,906 (2003) and covered an area of 563.06 km² of which 129.89 km ...

Joutseno Joutseno () is a former town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on 1 Ja ...

* Kalvola *

Karis Karis (; fi, Karjaa ) is a town and former municipality in Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Ekenäs and Pohja to form the new municipality of Raseborg; fi, Raasepori. It is located in the Finnish province of Southern ...

Kuusankoski Kuusankoski is a neighbourhood of city of Kouvola, former industrial town and municipality of Finland, located in the region of Kymenlaakso in the province of Southern Finland. The population of Kuusankoski was 20,392 (2003) and the total are ...

Lammi Lammi ( sv, Lammi, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population ...

Pohja Pohja (; sv, Pojo) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Ekenäs and Karis to form the new town of Raseborg in 2009. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality ...

Renko Renko is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population of 2,378 (30 Novembe ...

* Saari *

Sammatti Sammatti () is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the city of Lohja in the beginning of 2009. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 1,365 ...

Tuulos Tuulos ( sv, Tuulos, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on January 1, 2009. The administrative center of Tuulos was Syrjäntaka. Neighbouring municipalities were Hauho, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala a ...

Uukuniemi Uukuniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of 516 (2003) and it covered an area of 156.58 km² of which 54.8 ...

Valkeala Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...

Vehkalahti Vehkalahti () is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality surrounding the town of Hamina in south-eastern Finland. At the beginning of 2003 Hamina and Vehkalahti combined to form a new town of Hamina. History These souther ...

Governors

Tuula Linnainmaa Tuula Linnainmaa ( Forss; born 8 January 1942) is a retired Finnish politician representing the National Coalition Party. She served as a Member of Parliament for the Uusimaa constituency in 1987–1997, and as the transport minister in the fi ...

1997-2003 *

Anneli Taina Anneli Taina (born June 21, 1951) is a Finnish politician who was Minister of Defence and Minister of Housing for the Finnish Government, and then Governor of the Southern Finland Province. Career Anneli Taina was born on June 21, 1951, in Im ...

2003-2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Southern Finland was composed of the arms of Tavastia, Karelia and

Notes

External links

Southern Finland State Provincial Office
- Official site {{Coord, 60, 30, N, 26, 00, E, type:adm1st_region:FI, display=title Provinces of Finland (1997–2009) States and territories established in 1997 States and territories disestablished in 2009