The Maiden of Finland ( , ) is the
national personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...
of
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
.
Personification
She is a barefoot young woman in her mid-twenties with blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue and white
national costume
Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing of an ethnic group, nation or region, and expresses cultural, religious or national identity. An ethnic group's clothing may also be called ethnic clothing or ethnic ...
or a white dress. She was originally called Aura after the
Aura River in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
.
As a symbol, the Finnish Maiden has been used since the 19th century when she was pictured as a woman wearing a
turreted crown, and then developing as Finland gained a national consciousness and independence. She was depicted in poetry and fine arts.
Zachris Topelius and
Walter Runeberg were important in establishing the Finnish Maiden as a symbol. Like the
Mother Svea
Mother Svea or ''Mother Swea'' ( Swedish: ''Moder Svea'') is the female personification of Sweden and a patriotic emblem of the Swedish nation.
Background
Mother Svea is normally depicted as a powerful female warrior, valkyrie or shieldmaid ...
of neighbouring
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, the Finnish maiden was, at first, a mature woman, but gradually became younger.
Edvard Isto
Edvard Isto, or Eetu Isto (28 November 1865 – 14 October 1905) was a Finnish artist, best known for his patriotic painting ''The Attack (painting), The Attack'' which depicts the perceived Russification of Finland by the Russian Empire. The wo ...
, the Finnish Maiden is being attacked by the Russian eagle, which is tearing away the law book from her hands. It was painted when the Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland (; ; ) was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness in 18 ...
started in 1899.
File:VartLandStatue.JPG, Finnish Maiden carrying the lyrics of '' Vårt land'' in front of the Statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg.
See also
*
Suomen Neito
References
External links
473 - A Map of One Arm Waving: Suomi-NeitoStrange Maps bigthink.com
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius- thisisFINLAND
National personifications
National symbols of Finland
Fictional Finnish people
{{Europe-culture-stub