The Swiss in Finland
From 1808 until 1917, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire attracted many Swiss emigrants in the 19th century.
The first Swiss nationals often came via St. Petersburg to take up placements in Finland. The main occupations were cheesemaking and confectionery. The number of Swiss nationals in the Grand Duchy of Finland gradually increased until Finland finally gained independence in 1917.
The Swiss slowly began to organise themselves in the newly formed state, and the Schweizerklub Finnland was founded in 1929 as an independent association. At the beginning of the 1930s, the Swiss club had around 60 members.
It was only after the Second World War that the Swiss community began to grow again, and when Finland joined the EU in 1995, a new era of immigration began, so that today the Swiss club has around 150 family and individual members.
In 2023, just over 2,000 Swiss citizens were living in Finland. The majority of them, around 1,500, are dual citizens. Although Finland is a large country, most of the population lives in the southern Finnish urban centres. This is also the case for the Swiss Abroad, most of whom live in the capital region around Helsinki.
The Schweizerklub Finnland is therefore mainly active in the capital region. In addition to the Swiss club, there is also a friendship association, the Swiss Friends in Finland (Sveitsin Ystävät Suomessa), whose members are mainly Finnish.
The Swiss club’s biggest annual event is the Swiss national holiday celebration. It also organises various social events such as fondue and raclette evenings and a children's Christmas party. There are also smaller events such as games afternoons and beach yoga, May excursions, hiking and mushroom trips, readings, jass championships and, new this year, a “Wiehnachts-Guetzlete” (Christmas biscuit baking).
Fun Facts
- In Finland, there is an outdoor and ski area near the city of Hyvinkää called “Sveitsi” (which means “Switzerland” in Finnish).
- Finnish Emmental cheese is very popular and widespread in Finland. The first Finnish Emmental was produced by Swiss cheesemaker Rudolf Klossner near Kouvola as early as 1856.
- The most well-known Finnish confectionery and chocolate brand today, Fazer, was founded by descendants of the Swiss immigrant family Fazer.
- The Swiss Nobel Prize winner in literature, Carl Spitteler, was employed as a private tutor by two Finnish families between 1871 and 1879. Although both families mostly lived in St. Petersburg, they also spent a lot of time in Finland. His impressions from his stays in Finland were later incorporated into the stories Ei Ole and Das Bombardement von Åbo.
