|
|
|
Message boards Post comment
|
Turku
Turku, or Åbo in Swedish, is a city in Finland, founded in the thirteenth century. The exact year of foundation is not commonly agreed. It is located in the south-west of the country at the mouth of the Aura river and due to its history and location, over 5% of its inhabitants are Swedish speakers. It belongs to the historical province of Finland Proper and the current administrative province of Western Finland. Turku with its population of about 172,000 is the fifth biggest city of Finland.
History
Until 1812, Turku was the capital of Finland - then part of the kingdom of Sweden. When the territory fell to Russia, the Russians moved the capital to Helsinki (more convenient for the new rulers) where it has been ever since.
Today Turku remains the seat of the Archbishop of Finland. The 14th century cathedral there is one of only 3 remaining brick buildings of that date. Turku Castle was founded in the 13th century, built on an island to guard the entrance to the river. As the Finnish land mass has been gradually rising ever since the end of the last ice-age, the island was assimilated into the mainland and the castle now stands some distance from the river.
Education
Turku was the site of the Academy of Åbo from 1640 until 1850 when, after a disastrous fire, it was moved to the new capital, Helsinki. Today there are three institutions of higher education in the city.
Culture
- The Aboa Vetus museum, built over the site of archaeological excavations of 14th century remains
- Moomin World in nearby Naantali
External links
Referenced By
1229 | Alvar Aalto | Anna-Leena Härkönen | Archipelago | Capital of Finland | Cities of Finland | Continuation War | Digital television | Digital television broadcasting | Elias Lonnrot | Elias Lönnrot | Estonia disaster | Estonia ship | European route | European routes | Finland/Transportation | Finnish Navy | Finnish music | Fredrika Bremer | Helsingfors | Helsinki | Helsinki, Finland | Ice Hockey World Championship | Ilmarinen (ship) | International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship | International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships | Kuressaare | Latin Names of German Cities | Latin names of European cities | List of Cathedrals | List of European cities with alternate names | List of European cities with alternative names | List of Finnish municipalities | List of Finnish municipalities by area | List of Finnish municipalities by population | List of Finnish newspapers | List of capitals of subnational entities | List of cities in Finland | List of museum ships | List of towns in Finland | Långnäs | MS Estonia | Marathon world best progression | Mauno Koivisto | May 2003 | Microsoft Tetris | Mikael Agricola | Municipalities of Western Finland | Music of Finland | Paavo Nurmi | Pehr Evind Svinhufvud | Pehr Eyvind Svinhufvud | Pehr Kalm | Per Evind Svinhufuvd | Provincial capital | Rauma, Finland | Regional capital | Savonlinja | Silja Line | Silja Lines | Soder Airlines | State capital | Stockmann | Svinhufvud | Sweatmaster | Söder Airlines | Tetris | Tetris (video game) | Tetris Worlds | Tourism in Finland | Transportation in Finland | VR OY | Varna | Varna Region | Viking Line | Västra Finlands län | Western Finland | World Hockey Championship | Yrjo Vaisala | Yrjö Väisälä | Åbo Akademi University
|
|
