On this day, our group traveled by bus to visit the Lotta Home Museum located at Tuusula, outside of Helsinki. The Lotta Svard Organization was formed in the early 1900s as Finland was pursuing its independence. Prior to this, various independent women's organizations were doing voluntary work to support the country's emerging army. The Lotta Svard organization was formed to bring these individual efforts into one nationwide group.
The Lottas performed medical work, ran canteens, communications, supply distribution and many other tasks. Lotta Svard was a fictional character in a poem written by the famous national poet, J. Runeberg. In the poem, Lotta was a volunteer who assisted the in the Russo-Finnish war of 1808-09.
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