Following Sweden's defeat to Russia in the Finnish War of 1808–1809, her eastern lands formed the Russian-controlled Grand Duchy of Finland.

The original text was published in Swedish in 1860 by the Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg in his epic poem The Tales of Ensign Stål, although Zachris Topelius had also given it his own words in 1858.

Björneborgarnas marsch today serves as the honorary march of the Finnish Defence Forces and is played (only rarely sung) for the Commander-in-Chief, i.e. the President of Finland.

[3] The President has, however, the right to delegate this position to another Finnish citizen; the only time this has occurred was during the World War II, when Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim acted as Commander-in-Chief instead of then-President Risto Ryti.

[8][9][10] Since 1948, the Finnish national broadcast company Yleisradio has played Björneborgarnas marsch played on radio or television every time a Finnish athlete wins a gold medal in the Olympic games – the traditional phrase to initiate this was "Pasila, Porilaisten Marssi" (radio) and "Helsinki, Porilaisten Marssi" (television).