Runeberg's most famous work is "Fänrik Ståls sägner" (The Tales of Ensign Stål, "Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat" in Finnish). He wrote it between 1848 and 1860. The book consists of 36 poems. The tales are about Finnish War of 1808–09. In the war Russia got Finland from Sweden. In the tales Runeberg tries to tell us that deep down inside people are similar on both sides of the war. In that book, small people from Finland become heroes in their own life. The first poem "Vårt land" ("Our Land", "Maamme" in Finnish) became the Finnish National anthem.