In 1855 the Russian senate was commissioned to advance the educational system in Finland after Tsar Alexander II ascended to the throne. The senate collected proposals from different sources. Uno Cygnaeus also sent a proposal which gained the senate's support and Cygnaeus was appointed to develop a folk school system. He travelled via Sweden and Denmark to the German States and to Switzerland to collect information about different educational systems. He was most influenced by the kindergartens in Hamburg and the Swiss school system. Cygnaeus drew up a plan on the basis of notes, which he took during his journeys and the senate approved his plan in 1861.