Karelia (Finland)

Karjala, Karelen

Last modified: 2005-04-09 by phil nelson
Keywords: finland | karelia | karjala | karelen | carelia | armoured arm | swords: 2 | crown (yellow) | old finland |
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• About the flag
• Blazon

See also:

• Eastern Finland (Itä-Suomen lääni, Östra Finlands län)
• Southern Finland (Etelä-Suomen lääni, Södra Finlands län)
• Northern Karelia region (Pohjois-Karjalan maakunta, landskapet Norra Karelen)
• Karelia (Russia)
• Finland provinces
• Finland

• Different Karelias, a map of historical borders (20th Century) from Virtual Finland

About the flag

The legend says: one arm is the arm of Russian cossack with curved sword; the other arm with straight sword is the arm of Swedish knight. The coat of arms symbolizes the long wars of Russia and Sweden. The coat of arms were shown first time at funeral ceremony of Gustav Vasa. The Finnish writer Alopaeus wrote in 1792 that the Karelian coat of arms were granted by the Russian czar Ivan IV Grozny, but he was wrong.
Victor Lomantsov, 1 October 2001

Indeed. Due to its geographical position Karelia happened to become in the Middle Ages the main battle field between the exp