ROAD 5 - HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ROAD FINLAND

The National Road Finland is an integral part of the Finnish history and its various phases. It was on the National Road that Finland’s future was resolved several times in the past. The oldest signs of habitation in Finland are about 10,000 years old - and date from a time when the ice sheet had just retreated from the area. Various objects and rock paintings dating back up to 7,000 years have given information on the way of life and living conditions of Finland’s early inhabitants.

Finnish rock paintings are associated with the Stone Age and the hunting culture. There are plenty of rock paintings on the National Road Finland, especially on the shore rocks of the lake Saimaa and in the Suomussalmi region. The Vikings first visited Finland in the 11th century, and the trade with the Vikings brought Finnish people closer to the Western European culture and enabled the establishment of Christianity in the country.

Throughout its history, Finland has been under the rule of either Russia or Sweden. The landscape of the National Road is marked with Novgorod’s and Sweden’s battles over Finland. Here you can find the border of the peace treaty of Pähkinäsaari (1323), and the border of the peace treaty of Teusina (1595), which followed the war between Sweden-Finland and Russia. The latter stretches from the city of Savonlinna via Kainuu to the lake Inari and up to the Arctic Ocean. Old boundary marks and other monuments show the locations of these old borders. Under the Swedish rule in the 16th century, the burn-beating and hunting culture that required large areas of land, spread to the regions of Savo and Kainuu. As a consequence, the Sámi people, whose former presence is still commemorated by many Sámi place names on the National Road Finland, had to move towards Northern Finland.

Russia conquered Finland in 1808-1809, and many regions, such as, Porrassalmi and Koljonvirta, have memorials of these battles. As an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia, Finland was allowed to preserve its legislation and social system, and it was able to develop as a state and strengthen its distinctive culture, for instance, by giving voting rights to women as the first country in the world. After the Russian revolution, Finland declared its independence on December 6, 1917.

The tensions between the East and the West broke out again, when Finland had to enter the Second World War as the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939. The Winter War ended after strenuous battles in the peace of Moscow and territorial losses on March 13, 1940, but Finland kept its independence. “The wonder of the Winter War”, the Finns’ brave and successful battle under the harsh winter conditions, was world-wide news at the time and a great miracle in military history. The spirit of the Winter War still is one of the cornerstones of the Finnish independence and national spirit.

The Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union broke out in June 1941. It ended in the summer of 1944 when Finland, under the command of Marshall Mannerheim, agreed on an interim peace on September 19, 1944. The armistice was followed by the Lapland War against the Germans on the Finnish territory. Marshall Mannerheim led the wars from the city of Mikkeli, which is located on the National Road Finland. Today the Päämajamuseo museum serves as a reminder of the old headquarters. Other museums on the National Road Finland, such as the Winter War Museum in the city of Kuhmo and the Raatteen Portti (Gateway to Raate) museum that exhibits the historical battle on the Raatteentie road, war memorials and partly restored defense lines each tell their own story of these Finnish survival battles.

Born in a croft in Lepikko, Pielavesi, on the National Road Finland, Urho Kaleva Kekkonen was the longest-standing president of Finland (1956-81). Kekkonen had a significant effect on the development of an independent and neutral Finnish state and the Finnish nationality. Since 1995 Finland has been a member of the European Union.

The history of the National Road Finland is characterized by migration and setting of boundaries between the East and the West as well as the South and the North. The most significant immigration movement took place after the Second World War, as refugees from Karelia migrated to Finland. This historical period is exhibited in Iisalmi’s refugee center and Alapitkä’s settlement museum. Urbanization, changes in the industrial structure, a new experience-oriented culture as well as the development of information and communications technology are the factors which shape the history of the National Road Finland today.