Savo (historical province)

Arms of Savo: Sable, per bend a drawn composite bow Or fletched and strung Argent

Savo, or Savonia (Finnish: Savo; Swedish: Savolax), is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders Tavastia, Ostrobothnia and Karelia. Savo is now divided into two provinces: North Savo and South Savo. The largest cities in Savo by population are Kuopio, Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Varkaus and Iisalmi.

Administration

Historical province of Savo in dark blue (modern regions bordered in yellow)

In the 19th century, Savo was divided between Kuopio Province and Mikkeli Province. From 1997 to 2010, it lay within the administrative province of Eastern Finland. The provinces have no administrative function today but survive as ceremonial units. Since 2010, Savo has been divided between the regions of North Savo and South Savo.

History

The province of Savo represents the original homeland of the Savonians, one of the subgroups that later became assimilated to form the Finns. It was the heartland of the east Finnish or Savo dialects.

The people of Savo traditionally pursued slash-and-burn agriculture, which settlers successfully imported into Ostrobothnia and Kainuu, Värmland in southwestern Sweden, and eastern Norway. Settlers from Savo also migrated to Finnish Karelia, Ingria (see: Ingrian Finns) and to southern Sweden, parts of northern Sweden, and Norway (see: Forest Finns).

Savo, which had been a part of Sweden from the late-13th century, was separated from Sweden when Finland was ceded to Russia in September 1809.

Culture

Traditionally, the Savo people have often been considered as "sneaky". Recent research has shown that this reputation is largely due to misunderstandings caused by Savonians' traditional lack of social directness.

Heraldry

The arms of Savo are crowned by a count's coronet, though by Finnish tradition this more resembles a Swedish baronial coronet. Blazon: "Sable, a drawn hand bow in and arrow aimed toward dexter chief, or; bow string, arrowhead and feathered tail, argent." The traditional colors of the province are black and gold.

Further reading

• Anna-Maria Åström (1993). 'Sockenboarne' : herrgårdskultur i Savolax 1790-1850 / Anna-Maria Åström. Skrifter utgivna av Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland (in Swedish). Helsinki: Society of Swedish Literature in Finland. ISBN 951-583-007-9. ISSN 0039-6842. Wikidata Q113529937.
• "Savon historia" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-04-14., digitized book series about history of Savonia, published 1947–2008