Österland
Österland or
Österlanden a historical
land of
Sweden. Österland, which literally means eastern lands, is the old name for Finland or what today geographically is the southern part of the
Republic of Finland. It is bounded to the north by Eastern
Norrland.
Provinces
\nThe following seven provinces formed Österland:
History
From early middle ages the Swedish Vikings had been settled on both sides of the
Baltic sea. Following this long standing Swedish presence along the coast of southern Finland the kings of
Svealand, in the
12th century and under influence from the
Church, launched a
crusade which resulted in the conquest of the entire Finland. The conquest took place at the same time as Sweden was united under one king and Österland was seen as a constituent part of the Swedish kingdom, and represented in the election of Swedish kings as early as
1362.
In
1581 the provinces of Österland was declared as the Archduchy of Finland by King
John III of Sweden. It remained part of Sweden until the
Finnish war of
1809, when it was ceded to
Russia along with eastern
Norrland.
See also: Historical provinces of Finland
Category:Lands of Sweden\n
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