Although the school ship was left out from the Finnish Naval Act of 1927, the Finnish Navy decided to keep looking for a suitable vessel and purchase it separately from the major fleet renewal program.
Over the years, opinions both in favor and against a school ship had been presented, but it was generally agreed that such vessel would be in many ways beneficial for the Finnish Navy.
Initially there was also disagreement about the type of the ship — some were in favor of a modern steam ship that could be used in the local waters while the others preferred a traditional sailing ship that would teach the cadets traditional seaman skills and bring them closer to merchant mariners.
The latter was also recommended by foreign naval officials, and finally the Finnish Navy agreed on a sailing ship.
This was further helped by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that had brought the prices down, and the fact that windjammers had been largely replaced by steam ships.

In April 1930, the Parliament of Finland allotted 4,000,000 Finnish markkas for procuring a second-hand full-rigged ship and refitting it as a school ship for the Finnish Navy.
During the summer of 1930, the Finnish officials inspected a number of Finnish and foreign ships that were offered for sale.
These included Gustav Erikson's four-masted barques Pommern and Herzogin Cecilie, and several other ships, but all were deemed either too large or too dilapidated.
In the end, the most suitable candidate came from Germany where Oldenburg, a 28-year-old former school ship of the German merchant navy, was offered for sale.
After inspecting the ship in Bremen, the Finnish officials purchased her in August 1930 and the German crew sailed the ship to Helsinki.

After having been handed over to the Finnish Navy, Oldenburg was towed to Uusikaupunki for refitting.
The work, which began in late 1930 and continued until November 1931, included replacing part of the bottom plating, building an additional tweendeck, refurbishing the rigging, painting the whole ship and rebuilding her cargo holds to accommodate up to 180 men.
The shipyard was responsible for the structural alterations while 62 future crew members and cadets of the Finnish Navy were responsible for the other tasks, including carrying 1,200 tons of stones to the ship as sailing ballast.

On 1 November 1931, after a number of delays, Oldenburg was renamed Suomen Joutsen (Swan of Finland) after Finska Svan, a Swedish 16th century warship that took part in the naval action of 7 July 1565 between Sweden and Denmark.
After launching, Suomen Joutsen broke her moorings in the strong breeze and damaged two ships, gunboat Karjala and Osmo, a laid-up full rigged ship built in 1869, before she was brought under control.
On 4 November 1931, she left the shipyard for Helsinki, under tow and escorted by minelayer M-1.
Although the school ship was left out from the Finnish Naval Act of 1927, the Finnish Navy decided to keep looking for a suitable vessel and purchase it separately from the major fleet renewal program. Over the years, opinions both in favor and against a school ship had been presented, but it was generally agreed that such vessel would be in many ways beneficial for the Finnish Navy. Initially there was also disagreement about the type of the ship — some were in favor of a modern steam ship that could be used in the local waters while the others preferred a traditional sailing ship that would teach the cadets traditional seaman skills and bring them closer to merchant mariners. The latter was also recommended by foreign naval officials, and finally the Finnish Navy agreed on a sailing ship. This was further helped by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that had brought the prices down, and the fact that windjammers had been largely replaced by steam ships.
In April 1930, the Parliament of Finland allotted 4,000,000 Finnish markkas for procuring a second-hand full-rigged ship and refitting it as a school ship for the Finnish Navy. During the summer of 1930, the Finnish officials inspected a number of Finnish and foreign ships that were offered for sale. These included Gustav Erikson's four-masted barques Pommern and Herzogin Cecilie, and several other ships, but all were deemed either too large or too dilapidated. In the end, the most suitable candidate came from Germany where Oldenburg, a 28-year-old former school ship of the German merchant navy, was offered for sale. After inspecting the ship in Bremen, the Finnish officials purchased her in August 1930 and the German crew sailed the ship to Helsinki.
After having been handed over to the Finnish Navy, Oldenburg was towed to Uusikaupunki for refitting. The work, which began in late 1930 and continued until November 1931, included replacing part of the bottom plating, building an additional tweendeck, refurbishing the rigging, painting the whole ship and rebuilding her cargo holds to accommodate up to 180 men. The shipyard was responsible for the structural alterations while 62 future crew members and cadets of the Finnish Navy were responsible for the other tasks, including carrying 1,200 tons of stones to the ship as sailing ballast.
On 1 November 1931, after a number of delays, Oldenburg was renamed Suomen Joutsen (Swan of Finland) after Finska Svan, a Swedish 16th century warship that took part in the naval action of 7 July 1565 between Sweden and Denmark. After launching, Suomen Joutsen broke her moorings in the strong breeze and damaged two ships, gunboat Karjala and Osmo, a laid-up full rigged ship built in 1869, before she was brought under control. On 4 November 1931, she left the shipyard for Helsinki, under tow and escorted by minelayer M-1.
Suomen Joutsen