Savonians ( fi, Savolaiset, Savonian: ''Savolaaset'', ''Savolaeset'') are a subgroup ( ''heimo'') of the

Finnish people Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia.

History

Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Karelian peasants who, during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, had settled in the areas that would later become known as ''Savonia'' in order to find new lands suitable for

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

agriculture. During 16th and 17th centuries, many Savonians emigrated to Eastern Norway and Central Sweden were they became known as the

Forest Finns Forest Finns ( fi, Metsäsuomalaiset, Norwegian bokmål: ''Skogfinner'', Norwegian nynorsk: ''Skogfinnar'', sv, Skogsfinnar) were Finnish migrants from Savonia and Northern Tavastia in Finland who settled in forest areas of Sweden proper and N ...

. In the 17th century, there was also a migration to Swedish Ingria (now part of Russia), where they became known as

Savakot Savakot (plural; singular: Savakko) were one of the two main subgroups of Ingrian Finns, the other being the Äyrämöiset. The Savakot descended from Finnish ( Savonian) peasants who had migrated to Swedish Ingria (now part of Russia) from Savo ...

and collectively known as the

Ingrian Finns The Ingrians ( fi, inkeriläiset, ; russian: Ингерманландцы, translit=Ingermanlandts'i), sometimes called Ingrian Finns, are the Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lu ...

together with the

Äyrämöiset The Äyrämöiset or, as the Russians call them, Evrimeiset ( Russian: Эвремейсы), were a Finnish language-speaking people who lived in the Saint Petersburg Oblast and earlier also on the Finnish part of the Karelian Isthmus. Äyrämöi ...

(Finnish Karelians).

Description and stereotypes

The stereotypical Savonian is talkative, easy-going, jolly and humorous, occasionally even to an offensive degree. Traditionally, the Savonians have often been considered to be "sneaky" and "mendacious." However, recent research has shown that this infamy is largely due to misunderstandings caused by the traditional Savonian social indirectness.Yle News Savolainen kierous onkin vaarinymmarrys : http://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5338205 Savonians and Karelians were the first people in Finland to use surnames, beginning during the Middle Ages. These surnames are known for containing the "nen" diminutive.

Famous Savonians

* Juhani Aho * Hannu Aravirta * Juhan af Grann * Harri Hakkarainen * Pekka Halonen * Teemu Hartikainen * Jukka Hentunen * Marko Hietala * Kari Hietalahti * Pekka Janhunen * Olli Jokinen *

Jussi Jääskeläinen Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen (; born 19 April 1975) is a Finnish football coach and retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During his career, Jääskeläinen most notably represented Bolton Wanderers from 1997 until 2012, making 530 app ...

* Juha Kankkunen *

Kasperi Kapanen Samu Kasperi Kapanen (born 23 July 1996) is a Finnish professional ice hockey right wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He made his Liiga debut playing with KalPa during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. Kapanen was ...

Sami Kapanen Sami Hannu Antero Kapanen (born 14 June 1973) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played 12 NHL seasons for the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the majority own ...

* Klaus Karppinen *

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...

* Kalle Kerman * Harri Kirvesniemi *

Hannes Kolehmainen Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen (; 9 December 1889 – 11 January 1966) was a Finnish four-time Olympic Gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-dista ...

Mikko Kolehmainen Mikko Yrjö Ilmari Kolehmainen (born 18 August 1964 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish sprint canoer who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won the gold medal in the K-1 500 m event at Barcelona in ...

* Sakari Kuosmanen * Kaapo Kähkönen *

Esapekka Lappi Esapekka Lappi (born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2012 Finnish Rally Champion, 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. Career 2012 Lappi won the 2012 Finnish Rally Championship with Ford Fiesta S200 ...

* Kari Laukkanen * Juice Leskinen * Otto Leskinen *

Erkki Liikanen Erkki Antero Liikanen (born 19 September 1950) is a Finnish social democratic politician and a former Governor of the Bank of Finland. Early life and education Erkki Antero Liikanen obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Economic ...

* Paavo Lipponen * Eetu Luostarinen *

Paavo Lötjönen Paavo Lötjönen (born 29 July 1968) is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Paavo comes from a family where both of his parents were professional musicians. At the age of 6, he took a cello and decided that would be the instrument he ...

* Otto Manninen * Sanna Marin *

Jarmo Myllys Jarmo Pentti Kalevi Myllys (born 29 May 1965) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as their ninth-round pick, #172 overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the goalkeeping ...

Ari-Pekka Nikkola Ari-Pekka Nikkola (born 16 May 1969) is a Finnish former ski jumper. Career He won two gold medals in the Team large hill competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. His best individual finis ...

Spede Pasanen Pertti Olavi "Spede" Pasanen (10 April 1930 – 7 September 2001) was a Finnish film director and producer, comedian, and inventor. During his career he directed, wrote, produced or acted in about 50 movies and participated in numerous TV p ...

* Joonas Rask *

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston Bruins in 2006, where he played ...

* Timo Rautiainen * Olli Rehn * Rasmus Rissanen * Antti Ruuskanen * Eero Saarinen *

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen. Lif ...

* Arja Saijonmaa *

Heikki Silvennoinen Heikki Johannes Silvennoinen (born 27 April 1954) is a Finnish musician and an actor. He was a guitarist and a songwriter in several notable Finnish bands in the 1970s and 1980s, and has also recorded solo albums. He is best known in Finland ...

* Kari Tapio * Ilpo Tiihonen *

Jussi Timonen Jussi Timonen (born June 29, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He is the younger broth ...

Kimmo Timonen Kimmo Samuel Timonen (born 18 March 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks. Timonen had ...

* Erkki Toivanen * Marko Tuomainen * Allu Tuppurainen * Kari Ukkonen *

Jenni Vartiainen Jenni is a feminine given name, sometimes a modern diminutive or short form of Jennifer. The etymology is actually that of a diminutive of Jane, however. A separate name, with the same spelling, serves as a Finnish language diminutive of Johanna ...

* Iiro Viinanen * Jukka Voutilainen * Ismo Leikola

References

Ethnic groups in Finland Savonia (historical province) {{Ethno-stub