Turku 1000
Stop 42 of 50
1960s

The great move to Sweden

In the 1960s Finland lost hundreds of thousands of people, not to war but to Swedish factories. From Turku, Stockholm was only one night away by ship.

Mid-century · Republic
The big story

The great move to Sweden

In the 1960s a young Finn looking for work had a choice: a town in Finland, or a factory in Sweden. Hundreds of thousands chose Sweden. It was one of the largest migrations in Finnish history, and it tied the two countries together for good.

Why Sweden?

  • An open border. Thanks to the Nordic Passport Union, Finns could move to Sweden easily. Migration became considerable in the 1950s and 1960s Well documented.
  • Rich and close. Sweden had not fought in the war, it was richer than Finland, and it was near. Those were the main reasons people gave for going Well documented.
  • Jobs. Swedish factories were growing and needed workers. In Finland, machines were replacing farm workers, and the towns could not give everyone a job Likely.
  • Young people. Most of those who left were young. At one point every eighth Finnish child was born in Sweden Well documented.
  • Old ties. Many war children (stop 39) moved back to Sweden as adults, to the families who had taken care of them during the war Well documented.

The great wave

  • Tens of thousands a year. The move started slowly. Then tens of thousands of Finns left every year in the 1960s, and again in the late 1970s Well documented.
  • 1970. In the peak year about 41,000 Finns settled in Sweden, and Finland’s population actually fell Well documented.
  • Finnish towns in Sweden. Industrial towns such as Eskilstuna got large Finnish communities from the 1950s to the 1970s Well documented.
  • For good. In all, an estimated 250,000–300,000 Finns settled permanently in Sweden after the war Well documented.

Turku and the move

  • What we do not know. We did not find how many people from Turku moved to Sweden, or how many migrants travelled through the port of Turku Well documented.
  • One night away. From Turku, Sweden was close. Ships like the Bore sailed overnight from Turku via Mariehamn to Stockholm Well documented.
  • Fewer Swedish speakers. The Swedish-speaking minority in Finland shrank from about 350,000 in 1950 to about 300,000 in 1980, partly because so many moved to Sweden. That mattered in bilingual Turku Well documented.

Coming back

  • The tide turns. A strong Finnish economy ended the mass migration. By the 1980s several thousand more Finns returned from Sweden each year than left Well documented.
  • Today. In 2015, 156,045 people living in Sweden had been born in Finland. In 2017 about 720,000 people in Sweden had a Finnish background Well documented.
  • A minority. Today Sweden Finns are an official national minority in Sweden, and Finnish is one of Sweden’s minority languages Likely.
How do we know?

Both countries registered people moving in and out, so the big totals are fairly reliable. Our main sources are a country study of Finland made for the US Library of Congress in 1988 and an encyclopedia article on Sweden Finns. We did not find any numbers for Turku, which would need Finnish statistics or city records.

SWEDENFINLANDStockholmEskilstunaTurku

Each dot is a stream of people, not a number.

The move to Sweden, decade by decade: watch the stream of people grow, peak and turn back.A schematic map. The figures are for the whole of Finland.
Why it matters

Almost every Finnish family has relatives in Sweden. The move emptied villages and took young workers away from Finland, but it also gave Sweden a large Finnish minority and gave both countries a lasting bond across the sea. Maybe you have cousins on the other side.

On the lighter side

Life on the Sweden ferries

For people in Turku, Stockholm has long been only a night away. In the 1960s the ships across the Åland Sea changed: old steamers made way for ferries that could take cars, and two rival companies began a fight for passengers that lasted for decades.

From steamers to car ferries

  • A long history. Cooperation on passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden began in 1904 between the Finland Steamship Company and the Bore company. The Swedish company Svea joined in 1918 Well documented.
  • Old ships. Their joint company Silja started in 1957 with old second-hand ships that were badly suited to cars. The steamship Silja had been built in 1915 Well documented.
  • Room for cars. The first purpose-built car and passenger ferry on the northern Baltic was MS Skandia in 1961. Nordia, Fennia, Botnia and Floria followed between 1962 and 1970 Well documented.

The Bore

  • The last steamer. The steamship Bore was built in Oskarshamn, Sweden, in 1960. She was the last passenger steamship built in Scandinavia Well documented.
  • Every night. Until 1976 she made overnight crossings from Turku via Mariehamn to Stockholm: 2,473 round trips with more than 1.5 million passengers in sixteen years Well documented.
  • Back home. After decades under other names she was towed back to Turku in 2010. Today she lies in the Aura river as part of the Forum Marinum maritime museum, and you can even sleep on board in her hotel Well documented.

Viking against Silja

  • Viking Line. In 1959 businessmen from Åland bought an old British car ferry, named her Viking and started a route from Korpo in the Turku archipelago to Sweden Well documented.
  • Two brands. Viking Line became a joint marketing company for several shipping firms in 1966 or 1967; our sources disagree. In 1970 Silja Line became the shared name of the three older companies Debated.
  • Same route. In 1973 Viking Line started sailing from Turku to Stockholm too. From then on the two companies competed on the same route Well documented.
  • Made in Turku. The ferry Rosella was built at the Wärtsilä yard in Turku in 1979–80 and sailed for Viking Line, for a time between Turku and Stockholm, until January 2023 Well documented.

Life on board

  • Ask someone. What it was like on board in the 1960s, the food, the music and the cabins, we did not find described in reliable sources. Ask an older relative who travelled then Well documented.
ÅlandTurkuNaantaliKorpoMariehamnStockholmKapellskärGräddö
Ferries from the Turku region to Sweden: pick a ship to see its route.A schematic map, not to scale.
How do we know?

Ships are well documented: every vessel is registered, and companies and ship enthusiasts have recorded their names, routes and years. Our facts come from encyclopedia articles on the ships and the companies. Passenger numbers for the 1960s and memories of life on board would need company archives and interviews.

Why it matters

The ferries made Turku Finland’s gateway to Sweden, and many of them were built in Turku itself. They carried migrants, tourists, students and trucks, and they still leave from the harbour every day. The cruise ferries and tax-free shopping of the 1980s are the story of stop 45.

Sources and further reading

  1. Sweden Finns — the Nordic Passport Union, Finnish towns in Sweden such as Eskilstuna, and the number of people with Finnish roots in Sweden today.
  2. Finland: external migration (based on the 1988 Library of Congress country study) — the peak year 1970, the reasons for leaving and the return migration of the 1980s.
  3. Turku — daily ferries from the Port of Turku to Åland and Stockholm.
  4. Silja Line — the companies behind it, the first car ferries and the rivalry with Viking Line.
  5. SS Bore — the steamship on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route 1960–1976, now a museum ship in Turku.
  6. Viking Line — the first ship Viking in 1959 and the start of the Turku route in 1973.
  7. MS Rosella — built at the Wärtsilä Turku yard 1979–80, in Viking Line service until 2023.

Spotted a mistake? Know more?

This site is open and free. Corrections and additions are welcome — every page lists its sources so you can check them.