The creation and granting of counties and baronies in Finland began with the coronation of King

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

in 1561 and continued through

Great Reduction In the Great Reduction of 1680, by which the ancient landed nobility lost its power base, the Swedish Crown recaptured lands earlier granted to the nobility. ''Reductions'' ( sv, reduktion) in Sweden and its dominions were the return to the Crown ...

s in the latter half of the 17th century. Eric XIV created two baronies in 1561, the barony of Arvasalo to Lars Fleming, who was later entitled to use the name of his manor, Sundholmen, as his barony, and the barony of Joensuu to Klas Kristersson

orn Orn or ORN may refer to: *Orn (name), a given name and surname * ''Orn'', the second book in Piers Anthony's trilogy Of Man and Manta * Offshoring Research Network, an international network researching the offshoring of business processes and ser ...

King John III is responsible for both the first granted barony, the barony of Viikki, to Klaus Eriksson Fleming in 1570 and the first granted county, the county of Raseborg, to baron Sten Eriksson of Grevsnes' widow and heirs in 1571.

King Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...

recognized in 1594 Erik Bielke, the heir-general of late baron Lars Fleming, as baron without specifying a barony, and simultaneously his father (widower of baron Lars' heiress) and siblings. Much later, in Gustav II Adolf's reign, the same baron Erik was granted permission to use his own late father-in-law's (Klas Fleming's) barony of Wik as his and his wife's baronial title. King Charles IX granted just one barony, the barony of Nynäs to Abraham Leijonhufvud, and Gustav II Adolf granted the county of Pärnu (in modern

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

) to Frans Bernhard von Thurn, the barony of

Kimito Kimito (; fi, Kemiö ) is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Dragsfjärd and Västanfjärd to form the new municipality of Kimitoön. Prior to the consolidation, it was one of the four municipalities l ...

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...

and the

barony of Tuutarhovi Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

(in Ingria, now Tuutari) to Juhana Skytte.

Creation of baronies under Queen Christina I

Queen

Christina I of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden in Queen regnant, her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father ...

was a most profligate

donator ''Donator'' is a Croatian film directed by Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrins of Croatia, Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croati ...

, having created more than half of the ever existed baronies, during 1647-54: *

county of Wasaborg A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Gustaf Gustafsson Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

, her illegitimate half-brother * county of

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

(Arensburg), in Saaremaa, today

(later exchanged to Pärnu in continental coast of today Estonia) to Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and his brothers *

county of Sortavala Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bor ...

to Johan Adam Banér *

county of Pori A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

to Gustaf Horn * county of Korsholm and Wasa to

Gabriel Oxenstierna Baron Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (15 June 1587 – 27 November 1640) was a Swedish statesman. Born either in Tyresö, Sweden, or in Reval (modern Tallinn, Estonia), he was the son of Privy Councillor Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna and Ba ...

* county of Salmi and Suistamo

pogosta ''Pogost'' (russian: погост, from Old East Slavic: погостъ) is a historical term with several meanings in the Russian language. It has also been borrowed into Latgalian (''pogosts''), Finnish (''pogosta'') and Latvian (''pagasts' ...

to Carl Gustaf Wrangel * county of Kronborg to Ture

Oxenstierna Oxenstierna ( , ) is a Swedish noble family, originally from Småland in southern Sweden which can be traced up to the middle of the 14th century. The Oxenstierna family held vast estates in Södermanland and Uppland during the late Middle Ages a ...

barony of Loimijoki Loimaa (; historical sv, Loimijoki) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

and

county of Nyypori A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

to Arvid Wittenberg * county of Karleborg to Klas Tott * barony of Korpo to count

Nils Bielke Count Nils Bielke (7 February 1644 in Stockholm – 26 November 1716) was a member of the High Council of Sweden, military and politician. Born the eldest son of Baron Ture Nilsson Bielke, who died in 1648, Queen Christina granted the young b ...

* barony of Kajaneborg to count Per Brahe * barony of Örneholma to Juhana Adler-Salvius *

barony of Liperi Liperi ( sv, Libelits) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . The municipality covers an area of ...

pogosta to

Hermann Fleming Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

barony of Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

to Erik

Gyllenstierna Gyllenstierna is a Swedish surname that may refer to: * Ebbe Gyllenstierna (1911–2003), Swedish Army officer and modern pentathlete *Christina Gyllenstierna (1494/5–1559), wife of Sten Sture the Younger and Swedish resistance leader *Görwel G ...

* barony of Kitee pogosta to count

Axel Lillie Count Axel Lillie, also spelled Lillje (23 July 1603 – 20 December 1662) was a Swedish soldier and politician. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor General of Pomerania in 1643, Privy Councilor in 1648, Governor General of Pomerania in 1652 ...

* barony of Limingo to

Matias Soop Matias is a form of the given name Matthew. In German-speaking Europe it is most often written as Matthias. It appears in this form in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Alternate spellings are: Mathias, Mattias, Mattis, Mats and Matti. Matias ...

* barony of Marienburg (in Livonia) to Gustaf Horn and certain his relatives * barony of Vöråborg to Göran Paijkull *

barony of Tohmajärvi Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

pogosta to Lars Kagg *

barony of Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipal ...

to Gustaf Banér *

barony of Laihia Laihia ( sv, Laihela) is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. ...

to Carl Bonde *

barony of Pyhäjoki Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the Brit ...

to Klas Bielkenstierna * barony of Iijoki to

Åke Axelsson Tott Åke is a masculine Swedish given name, possibly derived from the medieval Germanic name ''Anicho'', derived from ''ano'' meaning "ancestor". In Sweden, May 8 is the Name day for Åke. There are variant spellings, including the Danish/ Norwegia ...

* barony of Ikalapori to

Schering Rosenhane Schering may refer to * Schering (surname) * Schering Bridge, an electrical circuit *Schering AG, a German pharmaceutical company *Schering-Plough, an American pharmaceutical company *Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH was ...

barony of Hailuoto Hailuoto (; sv, Karlö) is a Finnish island in the northern Baltic Sea and a municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Hailuoto is (), which make it the smallest municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia and the former Oulu Pr ...

Berndt Taube Taube is an ancient Baltic noble family, originally from Denmark, Jutland whose earlier roots can be traced from Westphalia, Germany. History The family historic references: Engelke Tuve (Taube) 1373 Danish vassal in Estonia. Another branch ...

* Hans

Wachtmeister (Wm; German for 'master-sentinel' or 'watch-master') is a military rank of non-commissioned officers (NCO) in Austria and Switzerland. The was initially responsible for the guard duty of the army. Later, it became the equivalent NCO-grade of ...

Baron of Koivisto * Johan

Kurck The Kurki or Kurck family, also known as the family of Laukko, is a medievally-originated Finnish noble family that produced several historically prominent persons. It is documented in the late 14th century. The family is usually divided in seve ...

baron of Lempäälä Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

* Jakob and Anders Lilliehöök barons of Närpes * Kasper and Carl Henric Wrede

barons of Elimä Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or k ...

* Erik Fleming baron of

Lais Lais or Laïs may refer to one of the following: Places * Lais, Indonesia, a district in the Musi Banyuasin Regency in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia * Lais River in Arjeplog Municipality, Sweden * Lais (barony), a former barony and castle near ...

, near

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

in what is now Estonia After Christina's reign, fiefs were soon to be confiscated, but yet

Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

created P. Wuertz baron of Örneholma that had fallen extinct.

References

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Counties And Baronies In Finland Geographic history of Finland 16th century in Finland 17th century in Finland Early Modern history of Sweden Finland under Swedish rule