Who were the forest finns? - Conversation with the ethnologist Antti Metsänkylä
"Forest Finnish sounds strange to our Finnish ears"
We have heard that there are family ties to the forest fins even at the Swedish royal court today. Is that correct? Briefly explain the connections.
Yes, the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria is married to Daniel Westling and he comes from a Forest Finns clan. His father Olle Westling researched the history of its origins and found forest Finnish ancestors. So we can say that even a quarter of the family inheritance of the descendants of Victoria and Daniel - Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar - is forest Finnish.
Olle Westling has actively participated in the activities of a number of Finnish forest organizations. That's why I got the idea to contact him when I was preparing the exhibition on Forest Finns at the National Museum of Finland.
I asked him if he wanted to officially open the exhibition. I heard him speak once, a few years earlier, and I knew he was a good speaker. He immediately replied in the affirmative.
We had the opening of the exhibition in November 2014. He took the task very seriously, he wanted to familiarize himself with the materials of the exhibition at an early stage, and in the end his speech was a thorough lecture about Forest Finns. Really a successful opening of the exhibition!
Wer waren die Waldfinnen_ _ NORDISCH.info