The move of the capital of Finland from Turku to Helsinki was one of the first central actions of the Grand Duchy of Finland (1809 - 1917). The move was first suggested in 1810, and Helsinki was proclaimed the new capital in April 1812.
The new status of Helsinki as the capital of Finland was emphasised by first moving the Senate of Finland and its offices to Helsinki in the 1810s and later also moving the Imperial Alexander University, previously known as the Royal Academy of Turku, to Helsinki in the 1820s. The capital status was also evident in the architecture: Helsinki was made prominent with new stone buildings, rectangular city blocks and wide streets. The city construction was made more unified, and wooden building areas were clearly separated from the stone-built centre. The old Swedish-era buildings disappeared almost completely, and Helsinki drew impression especially from St. Petersburg.
Officially the construction was led by the reconstruction committee of Helsinki, which was founded in late 1810 in order to rebuild the city after the destructive fire of November 1808. The architectural needs increased when Helsinki was made into the new capital. For the most part, the architectural style of Helsinki with its Empire style buildings was born from the cooperation of committee members Johan Albrecht Ehrenström and Carl Ludvig Engel.Pohjanpalo, Olli: Päivälleen 200 vuotta sitten 1794 Johan Albrecht Ehrenström tuomittiin kuolemaan | Kahdeksantoista vuotta myöhemmin 1812 hän kaavoitti Helsingin ydinkeskustan, Helsingin Sanomat 30 July 1994. Accessed on 15 February 2026.
Background As a consequence of the Finnish War from 1808 to 1809 Finland had become a part of the Russian Empire, and the era of Swedish rule in Finland had ended.Lindqvist, Mikko: Empire: kiven ja valon Helsinki. Helsinki: Parvs, 2025. In the treaty of Fredrikshamn, Sweden ceded the entire area of Finland to Russia. In 1809 Turku was made into the location of the central government of the Grand Duchy of Finland, the first capital city of autonomous Finland primarily because it was the centre of trade and sea travel in Finland, and it was the location of the Royal Academy of Turku and the district court.Klinge, Matti: Pääkaupunki. Helsinki ja Suomen valtio 1808-1863. Helsinki: Otava, 2012. .
Turku's status as capital of Finland Although Turku only had time to be the official capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1812, its status as the de facto capital of Finland had been seen as undisputed during the era of Swedish rule.Tuominen, Jorma: Eikö Turku ollutkaan Suomen pääkaupunki?, Yle 10 April 2012. Accessed on 1 July 2025. It had never been officially proclaimed as the capital of the eastern part of Sweden at the time, and in practice the capital was located in Stockholm, but in any case Turku had been the administrative centre of Finland since Mediaeval times.Meinander, Henrik: Helsinki: erään kaupungin historia. Helsinki: Siltala, 2025. . In the 17th century Turku also got a district court and a university, and it was the first, and up to the 19th century the only university city in Finland.
Founded in the late 13th century, Turku is the oldest city in Finland, whereas Helsinki was only founded in 1550. In the early 19th century the civilian population of Turku was over three times that of Helsinki: Helsinki had a population of 3200, while Turku had a population of 11000. Turku was an active trade and port city with an industry already forming.Ramel, Stig: Kustaa Mauri Armfelt, 1757-1814: Ruotsissa kuolemaantuomittu kuninkaan suosikki, Suomessa kunnioitettu valtion perustaja. Translated into Finnish by Ilkka Pastinen. Helsinki: Otava, 1998. . When Helsinki had been founded, its purpose had primarily been military.Aalto, Seppo: Sotakaupunki: Helsingin Vanhankaupungin historia, p. 32. Helsinki: Otava, 2012. .Kaupungin taantuminen ja siirto Vironniemelle, City of Helsinki 14 January 2022. Accessed on 1 July 2025.
Move Rationale From the Russian viewpoint, Turku was located too near Finland's former host country of Sweden and its capital Stockholm. This proximity was evident in both geographic and historical ties: the Russians especially saw the student body of the Royal Academy of Turku as too Swedish-minded.Halonen, Marko; Hilska, Minna: 1912 - pääkaupunki, City of Helsinki 29 October 2021. Accessed on 1 July 2025. A search for a new capital for Finland started, in order to write a new beginning for the newly founded Grand Duchy of Finland.Savolainen, Panu: Arkkitehtuurimme vuosituhannet: Suomen arkkitehtuurin historia alusta loppuun, p. 155. Turku: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Sammakko, 2024. . Promising options included Helsinki as well as Hämeenlinna, Loviisa, Porvoo, Vaasa and Vyborg.
The first proposal of Helsinki as the new capital was made by Gustaf Fredrik Stjernvall, who had been appointed as the new governor of the Nyland and Tavastehus County in spring 1810: in October 1810 he made a document for the secretary of state Mikhail Speransky,Blomstedt, Yrjö: Johan Albrecht Ehrenström, kustavilainen ja kaupunginrakentaja, City of Helsinki 1963. in which he pointed out the extensive reconstruction of Helsinki and also proposed that it should be made the new capital. According to Stjernvall, the city should be rebuilt as bigger than before and have more stone buildings, which required outside funding and guidance. He emphasised the excellent location of Helsinki and the protection provided by the Sveaborg fortress on the sea in front of it; the fortress would also provide protection for the city of St. Petersburg, the capital of the entire empire. Stjernvall also emphasised that the city could already support a large Russian garrison. A further advantage for Helsinki was that it was now possible to rebuild it freely in a way suited for a new capital, because the accidental fire in November 1808 had destroyed a large part of the city. The Russians also saw the port of Helsinki as excellent: during the Swedish rule up to the early 19th century it had developed into the fourth most important import port in the Swedish realm after Stockholm, Gävle and Gothenburg.Pulkkinen, Antti: Helsingin lobbarit onnistuivat viemään pääkaupungin Turusta, Kuntalehti 5 April 2012. Accessed on 2 August 2025. The state of mind of the Helsinkians, particularly the bourgeoisie, was described as accepting of the changes.
Reconstruction committee
The imperial officials did not comment on the issue of moving the capital for the moment, but in order to plan for the reconstruction the emperor set up a committee on 12 November 1810. Its mission was to make a zoning plan, deal out lots for the inhabitants and make an estimate about the construction costs. The committee consisted of the Governor-General of Finland, officials of the central administration and the bourgeoisie in Helsinki, in order to represent a wide selection of the community. The Russian general Fabian Steinheil, who had been appointed as Governor-General of Finland, was appointed as the director of the committee, and the committee also included Stjernvall and two members of the bourgeoisie, the judicial mayor Johan Adolf Strömberg and the merchant Carl Magnus Lindholm. Steinheil and Stjernvall were appointed to oversee the general benefit, while Strömberg and Lindholm pointed out points of view of the city's inhabitants.
The committee first met at Steinheil's home in Turku in December 1810. As the committee was not prepared for anything but a superficial discussion about the zoning plan, the task of making a proposal for a zoning plan was given to the lieutenant Anders Kocke who was seen as an expert. The proposal was completed during December,Putkonen, Lauri: Katajanokka, pp. 63, 66. Helsinki: Play Off, 2010. . and during the start of the next year it was renewed twice. It was delivered to emperor Alexander I in late January 1811. Because of financial reasons, the proposal was quite modest; for example the old street network in the city centre with its irregular and different-sized blocks was mostly left as it was.Björkman, Sten: Kauppatorin alue: Rakennushistoriallinen selvitys, Bureau of urban planning in Helsinki, 1986. . The city centre was mostly located in the area of Kruununhaka on the Vironniemi peninsula.
The emperor approved Kocke's plan on 23 February 1811, and at the same time the committee was reorganised: Stjernvall was appointed as the new director and mayor Strömberg became the deputy director. Lieutenant Kocke became the architect of the committee, and Carl Lindholm and the merchant Henrik Jakob Govinius were selected as representatives of the city. The committee's new mission was to inspect the proposed building drawings and to oversee the construction and that the budgeted money would only be spent on the intended purpose. In addition, the committee had to acquire the necessary supplies for construction, so it had a duty to found brick factories and limestone mines if need would arise. The committee was overseen by the governor-general Steinheil, whom the committee had to deliver an annual activity report to. The committee had no connections to the government of Finland as such: there was fear that the government in Turku would oppose the move of the capital, and so the committee members were satisfied with handling matters with the emperor through the governor and the governor-general. After Stjernvall's death in 1815 the office of the governor was separated from the committee, placing the committee as a direct subject of the governor-general.
The committee members did not receive a salary for their work, but their work was appreciated; the merchant Lindholm was awarded the title of commercial councillor, and both Strömberg and Kocke got a pumice ring. The reconstruction work was delayed by the acquisition of supplies as well as the 1811 discussion about moving the capital: the committee did not know whether Helsinki would become the new capital. The insufficient funds appointed for the project also delayed the work; for example, there were no funds appointed for the street reorganisation work including explosions. As well as this, the proposed zoning plan which had already been approved by the emperor remained incomplete, it was renewed during summer and autumn 1811.
Armfelt and Ehrenström
In April 1811 Stjernvall met Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt who had just arrived in Finland and reassured him with his ideas of Helsinki as the capital. Armfelt, who was a member of the high-ranking nobility, had served in numerous duties under the king of Sweden Gustaf III and his son Gustaf IV Adolf but had later decided to move permanently to Finland mainly because he could not accept the French marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte as the new king as a result of the coup of 1809.Ramel, Stig: Yrjö Maunu Sprengtporten: maanpetturi ja patriootti, p. 39. (Original Swedish title: Göran Magnus Sprengtporten: Förrädaren och patrioten, 2003). Translated to Finnish by Iiro Kuuranne. Helsinki: Otava, 2005. . By June 1811 Armfelt negotiated with emperor Alexander I about moving the capital and the Senate of Finland to Helsinki. At first, the emperor was doubtful about moving the senate to Helsinki. Armfelt felt sure that the matter would be settled by September 1812 when the Diet of Finland should assemble.