The Kuopio Province (Finnish: Kuopion lääni, Swedish: Kuopio län, Russian: Куопиоская губерния) was a province of Finland[1] from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after its capital, city of Kuopio.

Kuopio Province
Kuopion lääni
Kuopio län
Province of Finland
1831–1997
Coat of arms of Kuopio
Coat of arms
CapitalKuopio
Area 
• 1.1.1993
19,954 km2 (7,704 sq mi)
Population 
• 1.1.1993
258,662
History 
• Established
1831
• Disestablished
1997
Preceded by
Succeeded by
County of Savolax and Karelia
Northern Karelia Province
Eastern Finland Province

History

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The predecessor of province was the County of Savolax and Karelia, which was established in 1775 when Finland was integrated part of Sweden.

As a consequence of the tumultuous conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden had allied itself with the Russian Empire, United Kingdom and the other parties of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleonic France. However, following the treaty of Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Russia made peace with France and left the coalition. This enabled Russia in 1808 to challenge Sweden in the Finnish War, over the control of Finland. In the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809 Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, east of the Torne River, to Russia.

The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and were reconstituted into the Grand Duchy of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as the Grand Duke. At first there wasn't any changes in the County of Savolax and Karelia, which was now a province in the autonomic Grand Duchy. Kuopio Province was established in 1831 from this province, while its southern parts were transferred to the new Mikkeli Province.

In 1960 the eastern part of the Kuopio province was separated as the Northern Karelia Province. In 1997 the province was reunited with Northern Karelia and together they merged with the Mikkeli Province, to establish the new Eastern Finland Province.

Maps

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Provinces of Finland 1776: 1: Turku and Pori, 4: Vaasa, 10: Oulu, 14: Nyland and Tavastehus, 15: Kymmenegård, 16: Savolax and Karelia
 
Provinces of Finland 1831: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 13: Viipuri
 
Provinces of Finland 1945: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 8: Kuopio, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland
 
Provinces of Finland 1996: 1: Turku and Pori, 2: Uusimaa, 3: Häme, 4: Vaasa, 5: Kymi, 6: Mikkeli, 7: Central Finland, 8: Kuopio, 9: Northern Karelia, 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland
 
Provinces of Finland 1997: 10: Oulu, 11: Lapland, 12: Åland, 22: Southern Finland, 23: Western Finland, 24: Eastern Finland

Municipalities in 1997 (cities in bold)

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Former municipalities (disestablished before 1997)

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Governors

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kuopio" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 947.

62°53′33″N 27°40′42″E / 62.8925°N 27.6783°E / 62.8925; 27.6783