The Diet of Porvoo, convened in March 1809, was the assembly at which the four Estates of Finland swore allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, effectively transferring Finland from Swedish to Russian rule after five centuries under the Swedish crown. Alexander in turn confirmed Finnish laws and privileges, a political arrangement that gave Finland the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy rather than an absorbed province. The coin marks the bicentennial of that assembly.
Porvoo was chosen as the meeting site partly because of its distance from the contested Swedish border — a deliberate signal of stability.
The Diet of Porvoo, convened in March 1809, was the assembly at which the four Estates of Finland swore allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, effectively transferring Finland from Swedish to Russian rule after five centuries under the Swedish crown. Alexander in turn confirmed Finnish laws and privileges, a political arrangement that gave Finland the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy rather than an absorbed province. The coin marks the bicentennial of that assembly.
Porvoo was chosen as the meeting site partly because of its distance from the contested Swedish border — a deliberate signal of stability.