Records and their use

The Provincial Archives of Turku holds the records of government agencies and departments operating, or which have operated, in the areas of the Regional Council of Southwest Finland and the Regional Council of Satakunta (the former Province of Turku and Pori). In addition, several parishes, organisations, societies, associations, companies and private individuals operating in the area have delivered their archives to the Provincial Archives.

The oldest document stored in the Provincial Archives is a document drawn up on parchment in 1510 concerning the establishment of the boundaries in Huittinen. The oldest continuous series of records date from the 17th century. A considerable proportion of the archives of the authorities acting in Turku were destroyed in the fire of Turku in 1827.

More detailed information on the records held in the Provincial Archives can be found using the Vakka Archival Database and the manual archive inventories and card indexes of the Provincial Archives. Information on maps is for the time being only available in manual inventories.

The Provincial Archives also has a large number of records available on microfilm. More detailed information on these is available in the manual inventories of the Provincial Archives and given by the officer on duty in the research room.