Savo

Historical landscapes of Finland, Savo in yellow (modern borders in red)

Savo [ ˈsɑvɔ ] (Swedish Savolax , Latin Savonia ) is one of the historical landscapes of Finland . The boundaries of today's landscapes, North Savo (Pohjois-Savo, Norra Savolax) and South Savo (Etelä-Savo, Södra Savolax) largely coincide with the boundaries of the historical landscape.

Savo forms an integral part of the greater region, which is commonly known as Lake Finland. The fourth largest lake in Europe, Saimaa with approx. 4,400 km², is located in this region. The region is also very wooded. Much that is typically associated with Finland today can be found in Savo.

Historically, Savo is a border region between East and West where Sweden and Russia met. Since the peace treaties of Nöteborg (1323) and Teusina (1595), the eastern border of Savos also formed the eastern border between Sweden and Russia. With the Peace of Stolbowo (1617) this border shifted to the east. Nevertheless, there were and still are Eastern influences, for example through the Orthodox Church. The emergence of Finnish national consciousness received strong impulses in the middle of the 19th century from cultural personalities from Savo, such as Minna Canth , Juhani Aho , the artist family Edelfelt, who all lived in the city of Kuopio. It was there that the future statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman published one of the first Finnish-language newspapers. Today's regional newspapers are Savon Sanomat ( Kuopio ), Itä-Savo ( Savonlinna ) and Länsi-Savo ( Mikkeli ).

Savo is a common denomination of origin within Finland, just as Franconia or Rhineland denote origin in Germany , although there are no corresponding federal states. The residents of Savo speak a very distinctive dialect, which linguistically belongs to a larger group of Savo dialects . A Savo dish known throughout Finland is kalakukko (fish baked in a loaf of bread).