In connection with Tsar Nicholas I’s visit to Helsinki in March, 1854, Zacharias Topelius was appointed professor extraordinary of Finnish history. The appointment was both surprising in that Topelius had not applied for the post, and exceptional in that it seemed tailor-made for him.

The specifics behind the appointment process are that an earlier attempt was made for the post and that there was help from Topelius’s friend Fredrik Cygnaeus. In the latter half of 1851, Topelius was appointed to a history lecturer position at the Vasa gymnasium. The process was not easy because of appeals from other applicants and the Vaasa Fire. Topelius was not completely satisfied with the appointment either and he compared the travel with going to ‘Van Diemen’s Land’ (now Tasmania). Nor were his friends particularly pleased; both Johan Ludvig Runeberg and Cygnaeus criticised the sending of young talent to remote areas. The Vaasa Fire and a granted leave of absence gave Topelius some respite.

In the spring of 1854, Topelius was at a rented apartment in Pietarsaari, where the high school was moved to after the fire, and from where he would start the approaching fall semester. The newly appointed professor Fredrik Cygnaeus was in close contact with the highest political circles and among those was Minister State Secretary Alexander Armfelt. Topelius said in his autobiography Självbiografiska anteckningar that Cygnaeus had asked him which post he wanted in the university. Topelius had half-jokingly replied that he wanted the Swedish lecturer post. Armfelt, however, did not consider this a promotion for Topelius since he was already a lecturer. So instead Armfelt proposed to the chancellor of the university and heir to the throne, the future Alexander II, that Topelius should be professor extraordinary of Finnish history.

The appointment was a delight not only to Topelius, who could stay in Helsinki, but also to broader groups interested in the Finnish nationalistic enterprise. These groups saw the appointment as a step forward in the development of the Finnish nation. The exceptional procedure of the appointment, along with Topelius’s loyalist political orientation and patriotic poetry which defended Russian affairs, however, led to him being viewed in some circles as a hired mouthpiece for Russian propaganda. A discussion in the newspapers contributed to the increasing view of Topelius as a Russian appeaser, which deeply hurt him. On the other hand, the appointment started a long career in the university which was crowned by a term as rector from 1875–1878 and the title of Councillor of State at the end of his career.

Sources and selected literature

• Nyberg, Paul. 1949. Zachris Topelius. En biografisk skildring (‘A biographical depiction’). Helsinki: Söderströms.
• Topelius, Zacharias. 1922. Självbiografiska anteckningar (‘Autobiographical notes’), ed. by Paul Nyberg. Helsinki: Schiildts.
• Topelius, Zacharias. 2010. Ljungblommor (‘Heather flowers’), ed. by Carola Herberts in collaboration with Clas Zilliacus. Zacharias Topelias Skifter I, SSLS 742. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2011. Finland framställdt i teckningar (‘Finnish Scenery in Drawings’), ed. by Jens Grandell and Rainer Knapas. Zacharias Topelias Skifter XII, SSLS 747. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2012. Novellar (‘Short stories’), ed. by Pia Forssell. Zacharias Topelias Skifter IV, SSLS 740. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Topelias, Zacharias. 2013. Hertiginnan af Finland och andra historiska noveller (‘The Duchess of Finland and other stories’), ed. by Pia Forssell. Zacharias Topelias Skifter V, SSLS 782. Helsinki: Society for Swedish Literature in Finland.
• Vasenius, Valfrid. Zacharias Topelius. Hans lif och skaldegärning I–VI (‘His life and poetry I–VI’). Helsinki: Edlunds  I–III (1912–1918), Schildts IV–VI (1924–30) and Stockholm: Bonniers I–V (1913–1927)