Turku Romantics and the Problem of Finnish Romanticism

: Rantala, Heli

: Demson Michael, Halmari Helena

Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

: 2026

: Finnish Romanticism: Language, Nationalism, and the Fine Arts of Finland's Long Nineteenth Century

: Palgrave Studies in the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Cultures of Print

: 978-3-031-98932-2

: 978-3-031-98933-9

: 2634-6516

: 2634-6524

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98933-9_2

: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98933-9_2

This chapter examines the first decades of the nineteenth century in Finnish intellectual life after the separation of Finland from Sweden in 1809. In the 1810s and 1820s, a group called the Turku Romantics initiated a public discussion about the Finnish nation and its future. The activities of the Turku Romantics can be considered as the earliest manifestation of Romanticism in Finland. This chapter contextualizes the activities of the Finnish Romantics and examines the changing notions of Romanticism in Finnish scholarship. I also discuss the connection between Nationalism and Romanticism and re-evaluate the legacy of the Turku Romantics for the later national project in Finland.