"…sådant fosterländskt förhållande äro likt ett mäktigt träd i hvars krona seklernas andar samtalat, och hvars rötter trängt ned till det inre af jorden"

Adolf Iwar Arwidsson (Pekka Kuoharinen)

For almost 700 years Finland had been part of Sweden.

For almost 700 years had Finland shared the same king, the same laws, the same flag, the same currency. The Finns had been a part of Sweden as much as Sweden a part of them. The capital, Stockholm, had been built not only by Swedish hands but also by Finnish. Periodically Stockholm saw one tenth of their population come from Finland. The Finns had been part of every parliament, kept members in the Swedish academy, been ambassadors and it was even so that the archbishop (the head of the Swedish church) Carl Fredrik Mennander came from Finland. Truly, Finland had been ruled as much by Swedes as Sweden had by Finns.

The fateful day 17^th September 1809 have been today corrected.

The nearly bloodless war came to an end, peace was signed and Russia had been beaten.

The Swedish army marched into Åbo to the thunder of cannons followed by a marching band and lastly at the townhall a male choir who sang the kings song as the generals approached. In the front rode king Karl XIV Johan followed by the Swedish admirals Johan Lagerbielke and Gustaf af Klint and after them some 20 naval officers. Next came Gustav Erik Frölich and Fredrik Wilhelm Edelsvärd followed by their officers and then the Swedish army, floral wreaths crowned the soldiers who had liberated Southern Finland and driven the mighty Russia out of Finland at Helsingfors. Then came Carl Fredrik Bennet and the northern army hailed as Uleåborgs liberator and protector of the north, perhaps hailed more by the finnomen than the others. Last came Georg Henric König and his small entourage of only 750 men who had liberated much of Western Finland.

Sveaborg lay in Swedish hands and was again garrisoned with troops and ships to protect the key to all of Finland and the capital was returned to Åbo by proclamation of the king and a new university and academy was to be established since the old had moved to Helsingfors.

Celebrations were held across across the whole kingdom on the 6^th June 1841.