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Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and former
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
on the southwest coast of
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of
Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...
(''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former
Turku and Pori Province Turku and Pori Province (, , ) was a province of independent Finland from 1917 to 1997. The province was however founded as a county in 1634 when today's Finland was an integrated part of Sweden. It is named after the cities of Turku () and Por ...
(''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 31 March 2021, the population of Turku was 194,244 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
,
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
,
Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
and
Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
. There were 281,108 inhabitants living in the Turku Central Locality, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the
Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
area and Tampere Central Locality. The city is officially
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
as percent of its population identify Swedish as a
mother-tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
. It is unknown when Turku gained
city right Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
s. The
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
first mentioned the town ''Aboa'' in his ''Bulla'' in 1229 and the year is now used as the foundation year of Turku. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and served as the most important city of the eastern part of the
Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
(modern-day Finland). After the
Finnish war The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...
, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
in 1809, and Turku was made the capital of the grand duchy. However, Turku lost its status as capital only after three years in 1812, when
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...
decided to move the capital to
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. It was only after the last great fire in 1827 that most governmental institutions were moved to Helsinki along with the
Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
(''Turun Akatemia'') founded in 1640, which then became the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
, thus consolidating Helsinki's position as the new capital. Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains the regional capital and an important business and cultural center and port. Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced
Finnish history The history of Finland begins around 9,000 BC during the end of the last glacial period. Stone Age cultures were Kunda, Comb Ceramic, Corded Ware, Kiukainen, and . The Finnish Bronze Age started in approximately 1,500 BC and the Iron Age star ...
as the former capital city. Along with
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
, the capital city of
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the "Christmas City" of Finland. Also, Turku has been officially declared the Food Capital of Finland, because it holds a number of Finland's oldest, highest quality restaurants alongside a historically famous
fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet mar ...
, held twice a year. Turku's
canteen {{Primary sources, date=February 2007 Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...
and
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
culture has often been compared to French food culture, which is why Turku has also been perceived as "
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
of Finland";Turun Vierasvenesatama – Kiss My Turku
(in Finnish)
this is also the reason for the Swedish saying: ''"Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo!"'' ("Why Paris, we have Turku!")Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo! – Paulig
(in Finnish)
Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
with over three million passengers traveling through the
Port of Turku The Port of Turku ( fi, Turun satama, sv, Åbo hamn) is a port located in the south-west of Finland, where the mainland meets the beginning of the Turku archipelago. Sited within Finland's sixth largest city, the port principally handles traffi ...
each year to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
.


Names and etymology

The Finnish name ''Turku'' originates from an
Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
word, '' tǔrgǔ'', meaning "
market place A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...
". The word ''
turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
'' still means "market place" in some Finnish dialects. The Swedish name ''Åbo'' may be a simple combination of ''å'' ("river; creek; large stream") and ''bo'' ("dwelling"). There is however an old legal term called "" (meaning roughly "right to live at"), which gave citizens (called "åbo") the inheritable right to live at land owned by the crown (''å'' meant ''at'' or ''on'' in old Swedish, now ''på''). In
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, the
genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
of ''Turku'' is ''Turun'', meaning "of Turku". The Finnish names of organizations and institutes of Turku often begin with this word, as in ''Turun yliopisto'' for the
University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...
.


History

Turku has a long history as
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's largest city and occasionally as the administrative center of the country, but for the last two hundred years has been surpassed by
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. The city's identity stems from its status as the oldest city in Finland and the country's first capital. Originally, the word "Finland" referred only to the area around Turku (hence the title, "
Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...
" for the region). Archaeological findings in the area date back to the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
and the area was densely populated in the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. The oldest known road,
Hämeen härkätie Hämeen Härkätie (Oxen Road of Tavastia) is an ancient road in Finland, connecting Turku in Finland Proper to Hämeenlinna in Tavastia Proper. The 162 kilometers long road has been in use at the latest in the 9th century and in many parts it has ...
, connected to region and the
Old Castle of Lieto Old Castle of Lieto ( fi, Liedon Vanhalinna) is a site of a hillfort in Lieto, Finland. It rises 55 meters above the sea level. The original name of the castle is not known. According to excavations, the castle has been in use three times during ...
to Tavastia in the 9th Century at the latest. Early literary sources such as Al-Idrisi's world map from 1154 mentions Turku.Suomen historian merkkipaaluja: Ensimmäisenä Turussa
(in Finnish)
Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...
was
consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
in 1300. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, Turku was the seat of the
Bishop of Turku The Archdiocese of Turku ( fi, Turun arkkihiippakunta, sv, Åbo ärkestift), historically known as '' Archdiocese of Åbo'', is the seat of the Archbishop of Turku. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and its see city is ...
(a title later upgraded to
Archbishop of Turku The Archdiocese of Turku ( fi, Turun arkkihiippakunta, sv, Åbo ärkestift), historically known as '' Archdiocese of Åbo'', is the seat of the Archbishop of Turku. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and its see city is ...
), covering then the eastern half of the Kingdom of Sweden (most of the present-day Finland) until the 17th century. Even if Turku had no official capital status, both the short-lived institutions of
Dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
and Governors-General of Finland usually had their Finnish residences there. In the aftermath of the
War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund ( sv, Kriget mot Sigismund) was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund, who was at the time the King of both Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (that is, the K ...
, the town was the site of the
Åbo Bloodbath The Åbo Bloodbath ( sv, Åbo blodbad; fi, Turun verilöyly) of 10 November 1599 was a public execution in the Finland, Finnish town of Turku (Åbo), then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the context of the War against Sigismund and the Club War. ...
. In 1640, the first
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in Finland, the
Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
, was founded in Turku. Turku was also the meeting place for the
States of Finland State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
in 1676. After the
Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...
, which ended when Sweden ceded Finland to
Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
at the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn ( sv, Freden i Fredrikshamn; russian: Фридрихсгамский мирный договор), or the Treaty of Hamina ( fi, Haminan rauha), was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 ...
in 1809, Turku became briefly the official capital, but soon lost the status to Helsinki, as
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
felt that Turku was too far from Russia and too aligned with Sweden to serve as the capital of the
Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
. The change officially took place in 1812. The government offices that remained in Turku were finally moved to the new capital after the
Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...
, which destroyed a large portion of the city in 1827. After the fire, a new and safer city plan was drawn up by
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Carl Ludvig Engel Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel (3 July 1778 – 14 May 1840), was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental ...
, who had also designed the new capital, Helsinki. Turku remained the largest city in Finland for another twenty years. In 1918, a new university, the Åbo Akademi – the only Swedish-language university in Finland – was founded in Turku. Two years later, the
Finnish-language Finnish (endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish). ...
University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...
was founded alongside it. These two universities are the second and third to be founded in Finland, both by private donations. In the 20th century, Turku was called "Finland's gateway to the West" by historians such as . The city enjoyed good connections with other
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
an countries and cities, especially since the 1940s with
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
across the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
. In the 1960s, Turku became the first Western city to sign a twinning agreement with
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, leading to greater inter-cultural exchange and providing a new meaning to the city's 'gateway' function. After the
fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, many prominent Soviets came to Turku to study Western business practices, among them
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, then Leningrad's deputy
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. As for architecture in the city, both the body of architectural styles as well as the prevalent way of living have experienced significant changes in the 20th century. While having survived relatively intact throughout the years of war 1939–1945, the city faced increasing changes in the 1950s and 1960s due to rising demands for apartments, the eagerness to rebuild, and most of all the new development of infrastructure (especially increased automobile traffic). The wooden one- to two-story houses that were the dominant mode of building in the city were mostly demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to both enable more efficient building and to ease vehicle traffic. This resulted in the destruction of buildings that were, in later decades, seen as beautiful and worth saving. Some individual buildings remain controversial to this day when it comes to their demolition in the decades after the war. For example, the building of that stood on corner of the
Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Old Hotel Börs which was built in jugendstil in 1909 by .


Geography

Located at the mouth of the Aura river in the southwestern corner of Finland, Turku covers an area of of land, spread over both banks of the river. The eastern side, where the Turku Cathedral is located, is popularly referred to as ''täl pual jokke'' ("this side of the river"), while the western side is referred to as ''tois pual jokke'' ("the other side of the river"). The city center is located close to the river mouth, on both sides of the river, though development has recently been expanding westward. There are ten bridges over the Aura river in Turku. The oldest of the current bridges is , which was constructed in 1904. The newest bridge is ('library bridge'), a pedestrian-only bridge built in 2013. The '' Föri'', a small
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
that transports pedestrians and
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
s across the river without payment, is a well known feature of the city. With a population of approximately 200,000, the Turku Region (
LAU Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...
 1) is the third largest urban region in Finland, after
Greater Helsinki Greater Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin seutu, Suur-Helsinki, Swedish: ''Helsingforsregionen'', ''Storhelsingfors'') is the metropolitan area surrounding Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It includes the smaller Capital Region (''Pääkaupunkiseutu' ...
and the area around
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
. The region includes, in addition to the city itself the following municipalities:
Askainen Askainen (; sv, Villnäs) is a former municipality of Finland. Together with Lemu, it was consolidated with Masku on January 1, 2009. It is located in southwestern part of the country in the Varsinais-Suomi region. The municipality had a po ...
,
Kaarina Kaarina (; sv, S:t Karins, i.e. " Saint Catherine's") is a small town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region and is a neighbouring town of Turku, which is the capital of Southwest Finland, therefore Kaarina ...
,
Lemu Lemu may refer to: People * Ahmed Lemu (1929–2020), Nigerian scholar * Aisha Lemu (died 2019), Nigerian scholar * Hassan Lemu, Nigerian politician * Massa Lemu, Malawi artist Places * Lemu, Finland Lemu (; sv, Lemo) is a former municipality ...
,
Lieto Lieto (; sv, Lundo) is a a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...
,
Masku Masku () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality, which is located about just north of Turku, has a population of () and covers an area of of w ...
,
Merimasku Merimasku () is a former municipality of Finland. It was, together with Rymättylä and Velkua, consolidated with the town of Naantali on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland r ...
,
Mynämäki Mynämäki (; sv, Virmo) is a municipality of Finland located in the Southwest Finland region. Neighbouring municipalities are Aura, Eura, Laitila, Masku, Nousiainen, Pöytyä, Rusko, Taivassalo, Turku and Vehmaa. The municipality has a popul ...
,
Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...
,
Nousiainen Nousiainen (; sv, Nousis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, from Turku along Highway 8 ( E8). The Finnish-speaking municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The po ...
,
Paimio Paimio (; sv, Pemar) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...
, Piikkiö,
Raisio Raisio (; sv, Reso) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in south-western Finland and an important junction of major roads. The town has a population of () and is located in the region of So ...
,
Rusko Rusko () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipali ...
,
Rymättylä Rymättylä (; sv, Rimito) is a former municipality of Finland. It was, together with Merimasku and Velkua, consolidated with the town of Naantali on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest ...
,
Sauvo Sauvo (; sv, Sagu) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Like many waterside areas near major p ...
,
Vahto Vahto () is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Rusko on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of 1,876 (2004-12-31 ...
, and
Velkua Velkua () is a former municipality of Finland. It was, together with Merimasku and Rymättylä, consolidated with the town of Naantali on January 1, 2009. It is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of 245 (2005 ...
. A more exclusive definition for the urban area is the city region of Turku with a population around 235,000 consisting of four major municipalities Kaarina, Raisio, Naantali, and Turku.


Administrative subdivisions

The city is divided into 78 districts and nine
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
that do not function as local government units. There are, however, some projects that are based on the district divisions, particularly in the eastern part of the city, where unemployment is high in certain areas. The largest populated districts are Varissuo and Runosmäki. By area, however,
Kakskerta Kakskerta is an island in the Archipelago Sea, south of the city of Turku, Finland. It is a former municipality and a current district of Turku. Like other islands in the Archipelago Sea, it has many summer residences. ''Lake Kakskerta'' is locat ...
and
Paattinen Paattinen () is a village in south-west Finland and a district of the city of Turku. It is located to the north of the city, and is the largest of the city's districts by area. It borders the neighbouring municipalities of Vahto, Nousiainen, Myn ...
, formed from former municipalities that were annexed to the city proper in the mid-20th century, constitute the largest districts. As many of the small neighbouring
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
from the north and south of the city were annexed during the mid-20th century, Turku is today shaped like an elongated
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...
. The city centre and most of the suburban areas lie in the middle, separated from the less densely populated northern rural areas by the Turku bypass, that forms part of
European route E18 European route E18 runs from Craigavon in Northern Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the possibility of a through jour ...
. Islands such as
Ruissalo Ruissalo (; sv, Runsala) is an island in the Archipelago Sea and a district of the city of Turku, Finland. The island is located to the south-west of the city, between Hirvensalo and Pansio in the mainland. It is rather sparsely populated, hav ...
,
Hirvensalo Hirvensalo is an island in the Archipelago Sea, belonging to the city of Turku, Finland. It is divided into 14 districts, the largest ones being Moikoinen, Kukola and Haarla. Most of the island's economic activity is concentrated on the suburb of ...
and
Kakskerta Kakskerta is an island in the Archipelago Sea, south of the city of Turku, Finland. It is a former municipality and a current district of Turku. Like other islands in the Archipelago Sea, it has many summer residences. ''Lake Kakskerta'' is locat ...
, forming the southern part of the city, are also sparsely populated and mostly contain summer residences, with the exception of some districts in Hirvensalo which are currently growing into
upper-middle-class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s.


Climate

Situated by the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
and sheltered by the islands of the
Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea ( fi, Saaristomeri, sv, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest ar ...
, Turku has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dfb''). Like much of southern Finland, the city experiences warm summers, with
temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
s ranging up to 30 °C (86 °F), and relatively cold winters with frequent
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
fall. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average temperature of , whereas the coldest month is February. The average year-round temperature is . Winter usually starts in early December, and spring in late March.
Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
in Turku averages a year. The rainiest month of the year is August, when the city receives on average of rainfall. In April, the driest month of the year, the figure is only . The average
air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equival ...
at sea level is , with little variance throughout the year. Operational since 1955, the city's
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
is located at an altitude of at
Turku Airport Turku Airport , is located in Turku, Finland, north of the center, in ''Lentokenttä'' ( Finnish for 'airfield'; sv, Flygfältet) district in the Maaria-Paattinen ward of Turku. It serves approximately 450,000 passengers per year, being the fou ...
. The weather in the city itself is affected by the proximity of the sea, so the wintertime temperatures are often milder than those measured at the airport. The moderating impact of the sea helps oak maple and ash trees, which are quite rare elsewhere in Finland, to thrive by the areas along the shoreline and in the archipelago.


Demographics

At the end of 2021, the Turku region (including the economic districts of Turku and Åboland) had a population of 337,588, out of which 195,137 people lived in the city of Turku. This makes the Turku region Finland's third largest, after Helsinki and Tampere, being home to 6% of Finland's population. The city's population density is 794.4 inhabitants per square kilometre. The median age in the city is 42.1, lower than the national average of 43.6. 13.2% of Turku's population has a foreign-background. The largest groups are from Russia, Iraq and former Yugoslavia.


Economy

The business district in the city's economy is centred on the
Port of Turku The Port of Turku ( fi, Turun satama, sv, Åbo hamn) is a port located in the south-west of Finland, where the mainland meets the beginning of the Turku archipelago. Sited within Finland's sixth largest city, the port principally handles traffi ...
and other service-oriented industries. The city is also a renowned
high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
centre – the
Turku Science Park Turku Science Park is a community of businesses and educational establishments in the city of Turku, Finland. It focuses on development of the biotechnology and IT industries in southwestern Finland through cooperation of the different factors i ...
area in Kupittaa hosts over 300 companies from the fields of
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
and
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
, as well as several institutions of higher learning that work closely with the business sector. This cooperative element is seen as a particularly important factor with regards to the city's expected future economic development, as outlined in the ''Turku Strategy'' that is published annually by the city council. At least the following major Finnish companies have their corporate headquarters in Turku:
HKScan HKScan Oyj () is a Finnish manufacturer of meat foods and products, but nowadays its product range also includes ready meals and pet foods. It is based in Turku. In the 1990s and 2000s the company – by then known as HK Ruokatalo Oy – targete ...
and
Hesburger Hesburger (colloquially known in Finland as ''Hese'' and in Estonia as ''Hess'') is a fast food chain based in Turku, Finland. Today, it is the largest hamburger restaurant chain in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a market share ...
. Other major companies which have operations in Turku include
Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...
, Fläkt Woods,
Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...
,
Orion Corporation Orion Corporation ( fi, Orion Oyj), founded in 1917 and headquartered at Espoo, Finland, is a globally operating Finnish company which develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients ...
and
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...
. , over 280,000 people were registered as being without employment in Finland. This put June's numbers at 10.0 percent of the population, 0.8 percentage points higher than June 2014. Men's unemployment rate was 10.5 percent and women's 9.4 percent.


Culture

Cultural venues in Turku include several
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
s,
cinemas A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
, and
art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, and a city philharmonic orchestra. The city's cultural centre organises a number of regular events, most notably the Medieval Market in July each year. Turku is also the official
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
city of Finland, and 'Christmas Peace' in Finland is declared on every 24 December from the Brinkkala Hall balcony. The
Turku music festival Turku Music Festival ( fi, Turun musiikkijuhlat, sv, Åbo musikfestspel) is the oldest continuously operating music festival in Finland. The festival was founded in 1960 by the Musical Society in Turku. The city festival offers audiences' big orch ...
and the
rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...
Ruisrock Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland. Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second oldest rock festival in Europe (after Pinkpop) and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted international ar ...
(held on the island of
Ruissalo Ruissalo (; sv, Runsala) is an island in the Archipelago Sea and a district of the city of Turku, Finland. The island is located to the south-west of the city, between Hirvensalo and Pansio in the mainland. It is rather sparsely populated, hav ...
) are among the oldest of its kind in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. The city also hosts another rock festival, Down by the Laituri, and one of the largest electronic music festivals in Northern Europe, UMF (Uuden Musiikin Festivaali, "New Music Festival"), in addition to a vibrant nightlife, centred on the Market Square. There are also numerous
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
s, such as the and the
Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art ( fi, Wäinö Aaltosen museo, sv, Wäinö Aaltonens museum) or WAM for short, is an art museum in central Turku, Finland dedicated especially to modern art. The museum is located on the east bank of the Aura Rive ...
. The Åbo Akademi University maintains the Sibelius Museum, which is the only museum in Finland specialising in the field of music. Apart from these, there are also several historical museums that display the city's medieval period, such as the
Turku Castle Turku Castle ( fi, Turun linna, sv, Åbo slott) is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. ...
, which has been a functional historical museum since 1881, and the ''
Aboa Vetus Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova is a museum in central Turku, Finland. The museum is housed in a building known as the Rettig palace, originally built in 1928. Aboa Vetus displays portions of the city dating back to medieval times, while Ars Nova is a mu ...
'' museum, built in the late 1990s over the 14th century
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
site; countless
excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
have been carried out in the city each year in order to gain more clarity on the city's birth history. The ''
Luostarinmäki Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum ( fi, Luostarinmäen käsityöläismuseo, sv, Hantverksmuseet på Klosterbacken; ''Cloister Hill Handicrafts Museum'') is an open-air museum in Turku ( sv, Åbo), Finland. Cloister Hill This area of Cloister ...
''
handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
s museum, converted from residential buildings that survived the
Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...
in 1827, was the first
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n venue to receive the "Golden Apple" tourism award. Considered to be the most important religious building in Finland, the
Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...
has borne witness to many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols with the Turku Castle. The cathedral is situated in the heart of Turku next to the Old Great Square, by the Aura River. Its presence extends beyond the local precinct by having the sound of its bells chiming at noon broadcast on national radio. It is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations. It is also known as resting place for many remarkable
bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and captains of war as well as one
Queen of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...
, Catherine Månsdotter. Turku was the European Capital of Culture in 2011, and the city council has approved numerous projects to boost the city's image in preparation for that status. The Declaration of Christmas Peace has been a tradition in Finland from the Middle Ages every year, except in 1939 due to the
Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
. The declaration takes place on the Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official 'Christmas City', at noon on Christmas Eve. The declaration ceremony begins with the hymn ''Jumala ompi linnamme'' (
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
's ''
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (originally written in the German language with the title ) is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformers, Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed ...
'') and continues with the Declaration of Christmas Peace read from a
parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
roll in Finnish and Swedish.


City rivalry with Tampere

Turku ostensibly has a long-standing mutual feud with the city of
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
,Two Cities and the One
– Observing Finland
the capital of
Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme and Sou ...
and the third largest city of Finland, and they tend to compete for the title of being the "second grand city of Finland" after
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. This hostility is largely expressed in jokes in one city about the other; prominent targets are the traditional Tampere food, ''
mustamakkara Mustamakkara () is a type of Finnish blood sausage traditionally eaten with lingonberry jam. It is available in many stores across Finland, but is considered a specialty of Tampere, Pirkanmaa. Mustamakkara is at its best when bought and eaten ...
'', the state of the Aura River in Turku, and the regional accents. Like Turku, Tampere is well known as a food destination because of its food culture. Since 1997, students at Tampere have made annual excursions to Turku to jump on the market square, doing their part to undo the
post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...
and push the city back into the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
.Finnish Town Rivalries
/ref>


Sports

The city has two football teams playing at the top national level, the ''
Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...
'': FC Inter and TPS. TPS is one of the oldest football clubs in Finland. Both teams play their home matches at
Veritas Stadion Veritas Stadion is an association football stadium in Turku, Finland. It is situated in the district of Kupittaa, in an area dedicated to sporting venues. The stadium serves as the home venue for FC Inter Turku and Turun Palloseura playing in Finl ...
in the district of
Kupittaa Kupittaa ( sv, Kuppis) is a district in Turku, Finland. It is located on the eastern side of the city's centre, around the Kupittaa Park, the first landscaped park in a Finnish city. The district serves as a centre for recreation and business. ...
.
HC TPS TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 10-time champion of SM-liiga and 1-time champion of SM-sarja. They play in Turku, Finland, at Gatorade Center. In terms of championships, TPS is the second all-time most successful team in SM-L ...
of Turku is one of the most successful teams in Finnish ice hockey history. It plays in the Finnish top league,
SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
. HC TPS has won the national championship 11 times, the latest being from season 2009–2010. Gatorade Center, formerly named ''HK Arena'', located in the Artukainen district, is used as the venue for HC TPS games. The '' Paavo Nurmi Marathon'' is an annual sporting event in Turku, named after the world-famous runner
Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...
, who was born and raised in the city. Finland's most successful
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player,
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his caree ...
, was born and lives in the neighbouring county of
Masku Masku () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality, which is located about just north of Turku, has a population of () and covers an area of of w ...
Turku is also home to the Eagles Rugby Football Club (turkurugby.fi) who are part of the championship division of Suomen Rugbyliitto (SRL). They play games and train at Impivaara Jalkapallonhalli and Kuppitaanpuisto. Turku Titans is a lacrosse club based in Turku with a relevantly successful history with three silver medals and one gold medal in the national lacrosse league in Finland. The Titans women's team has also had a successful history. The FIL U19 2012 World Lacrosse Championships were also held in the city.


Government and politics

Being both a
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
and
provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
capital, Turku is an important administrative centre, hosting the seat of the Archbishop of Finland and a
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
.
Minna Arve Minna Arve (born 1974) is a Finnish politician who serves as the mayor of Turku. Since August 2021 the post of the mayor became an elected office instead of a hired position. She represents the National Coalition Party. Education Arve first st ...
has been the mayor of Turku since 2017. Since August 2021 her role as the mayor has been an elected office instead of a hired position. The
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
of Turku has 67 seats. Following the 2021 municipal election, the council seats are allocated in the following way: National Coalition Party 16 seats, Social Democrats 13, Left Alliance 11, Green League 10, True Finns 9, Centre Party 3, Swedish People's Party 3, Movement Now 1, and Christian Democrats 1. The current chair of the city board is Sini Ruohonen from National Coalition Party. Results of the
2019 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 14 April 2019. For the first time, no party received more than 20% of the vote. The Centre Party, which had been the largest party following the 2015 elections, dropped to fourth place, losing 18 seat ...
in Turku: *
National Coalition Party sv, Samlingspartiet , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Petteri Orpo , leader2_title = Deputy chairs , leader2_name = Antti Häkkänen Elina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen , merger = Finnish Party, Young Finnis ...
20.5% *
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
17.1% * Left Alliance 16.8% *
True Finns The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...
15.7% *
Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...
13.8% *
Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...
5.5% * Centre Party 4.7% *
Movement Now Movement Now ( fi, Liike Nyt , sv, Rörelse nu) is an economically liberal political party in Finland. It was founded by then-National Coalition Party (NCP) member of parliament (MP) Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo and seven other people as a politi ...
1.9% *
Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
1.6%


Transport

For a city of its size, Turku has a moderate
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
network of
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
routes, which is comparable to the bus network of similar-sized
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
. The bus network is managed and supervised by the ''Turku City Region's Public Transport Committee'' (FÖLI) ( fi, Turun kaupunkiseudun joukkoliikennelautakunta, sv, kollektivtrafiknämnden för Åbo stadsregion), and is operated mainly by private companies. Bus traffic to and in the neighbouring municipalities of Kaarina, Lieto, Naantali, Raisio and Rusko are also handled by FÖLI. The bus rates are the same when traveling within these municipalities. Rail traffic to and from Turku is handled by the Finnish national carrier, VR. The number of services has fallen and only the railways towards Tampere and Helsinki are now in use. The railway stations currently used for passenger traffic are the
Turku Central railway station Turku Central Station (, ) is a railway station in the VII District of Turku, Finland. It has VR services to Helsinki and towards Joensuu (most terminate in Tampere or Pieksämäki). The station serves approximately a million passengers annually ...
in
Pohjola Pohjola (; from 'base, bottom', but used in derived forms like ''pohjois-'' to mean 'north' + ''-'' 'place'), sometimes just Pohja (), is a mythical place, location in Finnish mythology. It is one of the two main polarities in the Finnish nationa ...
, and two smaller stations in
Kupittaa Kupittaa ( sv, Kuppis) is a district in Turku, Finland. It is located on the eastern side of the city's centre, around the Kupittaa Park, the first landscaped park in a Finnish city. The district serves as a centre for recreation and business. ...
and the
Port of Turku The Port of Turku ( fi, Turun satama, sv, Åbo hamn) is a port located in the south-west of Finland, where the mainland meets the beginning of the Turku archipelago. Sited within Finland's sixth largest city, the port principally handles traffi ...
. There is no local rail traffic at the moment, as the city's popular
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
services were discontinued in 1972, and the various local railway lines to neighbouring towns and municipalities were all abolished during the late 20th century. However, there are plans for a light rail system in the Turku region in the near future. This system would more ably serve major suburbs of the city such as Varissuo and Runosmäki, as well as the neighbouring cities. The State of Finland has announced plans to support
Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
with 30% of full expenses on a new metro rail, the Regional Council of Southwest Finland is going to use this as a test case for a new light rail network in Turku. The Turku Bus Station and the Turku Central railway station are currently located in different places. The City of Turku is planning to combine these two in a new greater station complex in the near future. This new travel center will consist of a hotel and several shopping estates. This center will connect all public transportation from commuter trains to long-distance buses. Turku's most significant highways for traffic are Highway 1 leading to
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
; Highway 10 leading to
Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...
; Highway 9 leading to
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
,
Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
,
Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...
and
Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...
; Highway 8 leading to
Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...
,
Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),
and
Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
; and the Turku Ring Road, which protrudes circumferentially from Turku.
Turku Airport Turku Airport , is located in Turku, Finland, north of the center, in ''Lentokenttä'' ( Finnish for 'airfield'; sv, Flygfältet) district in the Maaria-Paattinen ward of Turku. It serves approximately 450,000 passengers per year, being the fou ...
is located to the north of the city centre, partly in the neighbouring municipality of
Rusko Rusko () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipali ...
. The airport is served by six passenger airlines, including
airBaltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in T ...
and SAS Scandinavian, and one cargo airline. There are also daily ferry services from the
Port of Turku The Port of Turku ( fi, Turun satama, sv, Åbo hamn) is a port located in the south-west of Finland, where the mainland meets the beginning of the Turku archipelago. Sited within Finland's sixth largest city, the port principally handles traffi ...
to Sweden and
Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...
, operated by
Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...
and
Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from ...
. These are something of a Finnish cultural tradition (see ruotsinlaiva), and people often travel long distances across Finland to Turku just to take a cruise across the Gulf of Bothnia. The
Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea ( fi, Saaristomeri, sv, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest ar ...
boat traffic is handled by, among others,
SS Ukkopekka SS ''Ukkopekka'' is a Finnish steamship in service as a tourist and heritage attraction. History The ship was built at Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 1938 and was at the time a modern, icebreaking inspection vessel. The v ...
, an old
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
that cruises on the route Turku-
Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...
-Turku. Turku is the only city in Finland to have three long-distance railway stations: Turku Central,
Port of Turku The Port of Turku ( fi, Turun satama, sv, Åbo hamn) is a port located in the south-west of Finland, where the mainland meets the beginning of the Turku archipelago. Sited within Finland's sixth largest city, the port principally handles traffi ...
, and
Kupittaa Kupittaa ( sv, Kuppis) is a district in Turku, Finland. It is located on the eastern side of the city's centre, around the Kupittaa Park, the first landscaped park in a Finnish city. The district serves as a centre for recreation and business. ...
.


Education

Turku has a longer educational history than any other Finnish city – the first school in the city, the
Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these e ...
, was founded along with Turku Cathedral in the late 13th century. The first
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in Finland, the
Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
(now
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
), was established in the city in 1640. In 1820, the first school in Finland conforming to the
Bell-Lancaster method The Monitorial System, also known as Madras System or Lancasterian System, was an education method that took hold during the early 19th century, because of Spanish, French, and English colonial education that was imposed into the areas of expansion. ...
was founded in Turku with the aim of making primary education more inclusive to the lower classes. Turku is home to about 35,000 higher education students. There are two universities and several " polytechnics" in the town. The Finnish
University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...
is the second largest university in Finland (18,000 students), as measured by student enrollment, and one of the oldest as well, having been founded in 1920. Åbo Akademi, founded 1918 as the second university of Finland, is one of Finland's two Swedish-language universities.
Turku School of Economics Turku School of Economics (Finnish ''Turun kauppakorkeakoulu'') is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 19 ...
merged with The University of Turku in 2010, and Åbo handelshögskola, its Swedish counterpart, with Åbo Akademi 1980. The central hospital of Turku,
Turku University Hospital Turku University Hospital ( fi, Turun yliopistollinen keskussairaala, TYKS, sv, Åbo universitetscentralsjukhus, ÅUCS) is a hospital in Turku, Finland. General information The hospital serves as the central hospital for southwestern Finland. I ...
, is affiliated with the University and it is used as a teaching hospital.
Turku University of Applied Sciences Turku University of Applied Sciences (abbr. ''TUAS'', Finnish ''Turun ammattikorkeakoulu'') is a multidisciplinary higher education institution, located in the city of Turku and Salo ithe Southwest Finland The institute began operations as a tem ...
is the second largest
polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...
in Finland after Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Also
Novia University of Applied Sciences The Novia University of Applied Sciences ( sv, Yrkeshögskolan Novia) is an institution of higher professional education (vocational university) in Finland. It offers Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in Swedish in Vaasa, Turku, Raseborg ...
and
Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Diaconia University of Applied Sciences ( fi, Diakonia-ammattikorkeakoulu, Diak) is a university of applied sciences (a polytechnic) in Finland. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Its campuses are located in Helsinki ...
have campuses in the town. Turku is one of only two cities in Finland to have an established
international school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...
(the other city being Helsinki). Turku International School, located in the eastern district of Varissuo, has been operating since 2003. By an agreement signed between the city of Turku and the
University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...
, Turun normaalikoulu takes care of the teaching in the international school.


Media

The most widely read
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
of Turku, and the area around it, is the daily regional morning newspaper ''
Turun Sanomat ''Turun Sanomat'' is the leading regional newspaper of the region of Southwest Finland. It is published in the region's capital, Turku and the third most widely read morning newspaper in Finland after '' Helsingin Sanomat'' and ''Aamulehti''. Hi ...
'', with a readership of over 70% of the population every day. ''
Åbo Underrättelser ''Åbo Underrättelser'' is a Swedish language newspaper published in Turku ( sv, Åbo), Finland. History and profile ''Åbo Underrättelser'' is the oldest newspaper still in print in Finland, founded by Christian Ludvig Hjelt in 1823. The fir ...
'', a Swedish language newspaper published in Turku, is the oldest newspaper in Finland, having been published since 1824. The free-of-charge ''Turkulainen'' newspaper is also among the most popular newspapers, together with the local edition of ''
Metro International Metro International is a Swedish global media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the ''Metro'' newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent since launch of the first news ...
'' and the national evening tabloid ''
Ilta-Sanomat ''Ilta-Sanomat'' () is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening newspaper and the second largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is ''Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019 ''Ilta- ...
''. There are also a number of local newspapers such as ''Kulmakunta'' (for the eastern suburbs of Turku, including Varissuo and Lauste), and ''Rannikkoseutu'' (for the area around the neighbouring cities of Raisio and Naantali). The first Finnish newspaper ''
Tidningar Utgifne Af et Sällskap i Åbo ''Tidningar Utgifne Af et Sällskap i Åbo'' was a newspaper that was first published in Finland in 1771, the first newspaper to be published in Finland. Finland was under Swedish rule at that time, and the newspaper was published in the Swedish l ...
'', in Swedish, was started in Turku in 1771, as well as the first Finnish-language newspaper ''Suomenkieliset Tieto-Sanomat'' which was started in 1775. The newspaper ''Turun Sanomat'' also operates a regional
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
station, called ''Turku TV''. The Finnish national broadcaster ''
Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...
'' screens local news, daily from Monday to Friday, for the Southwest Finland (including the regions of
Southwest Finland Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...
and
Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...
) residents. All Finnish national TV channels are viewable and national radio channels audible in the Turku area. In addition, a number of local
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
stations, e.g. ''Auran Aallot'', ''Radio Sata'' and ''Radio Robin Hood'' are operational. Local
public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
radio stations are ''Yle Turun Radio'' in Finnish language (the regional version of
Yle Radio Suomi Yle Radio Suomi is a radio channel owned and operated by Finland's national public service broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle). The station's main focus is on music and sport, but it carries a variety of other programmes, including news and phone-ins, as ...
) and ''Yle Vega Åboland'' in Swedish language (the regional version of
Yle Vega Yle Vega (prior to 1 September 2016 – Yle Radio Vega) is a Finnish radio channel broadcasting in the Swedish language. It is operated by Finland's national public service broadcaster Yle (known in Swedish as Rundradion), which has its headquart ...
).


Notable people

* Agnes Lundell (1878 –1936), Finland's first female lawyer. *
Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen compet ...
, rally driver *
Teemu Brunila Teemu William Brunila (born 24 November 1976, in Turku) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Brunila became known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group The Crash. During their career, the band released four stud ...
, singer, songwriter, musician and producer *
Antti Buri Antti Buri (born 2 December 1988) is a Finnish racing driver currently TCR Italian Series champion. Having previously competed in the ADAC TCR Germany Blancpain Endurance Series, Porsche Carrera Cup Germany & International GTSprint Series amo ...
, racing driver *
Darude Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 1995 ...
, dance musician, artist of the hit song
Sandstorm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transporte ...
*
Alex Federley Alexander (Alex) Thiodolf Federley (12 July 1864, in Turku – 17 November 1932, in Helsinki) was a Swedish-Finnish graphic artist who created political cartoons, posters, book illustrations and postcards. His works are generally signed AFley. B ...
, political cartoonist and illustrator *
Marcus Forss Marcus Forss (born 18 June 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Middlesbrough and the Finland national team. Forss is a graduate of the West Bromwich Albion academy and after transferring to Brentford B ...
, football player, member of Finland's
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
squad *
Johan Gadolin Johan Gadolin (5 June 176015 August 1852) was a Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist. Gadolin discovered a " new earth" containing the first rare-earth compound yttrium, which was later determined to be a chemical element. He is also con ...
, chemist, physicist and mineralogist *
Utti Hietala Utti "Hulkki" Hietala (born January 13, 1983) is a Finnish bodybuilder competing in Classic Bodybuilding (CBB), which is the Finnish bodybuilding association for naturals. His bodybuilding-related blog is Finland's most popular bodybuilding bl ...
, bodybuilder * Vera Hjelt, Member of Parliament and social reformer * Lukáš Hrádecký, football goalkeeper, member of Finland's
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
squad *
Kaapo Kakko Kaapo Kakko (; born 13 February 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kakko was selected second overall by the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Kakko plays right win ...
, hockey player *
Katja Kallio Katja Elina Kallio (born 17 September 1968) is a Finnish novelist, screenwriter, and columnist. She is the author of seven novels and three short prose collections. Early life Katja Kallio was born on 17 September 1968, in Turku. Career Kallio h ...
(born 1968), novelist, journalist, columnist and screenwriter * Joni Kauko, football player, member of Finland's
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
squad *
Miikka Kiprusoff Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (; born October 26, 1976), nicknamed "Kipper", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. He was selected in ...
, former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
and
San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
during his
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
career *
Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (; 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 19 ...
, 9th President of Finland *
Saku Saku may refer to: Places *Saku, Nagano, a city in Japan *Saku, Nagano (Minamisaku), a town in Japan *Saku Parish, a rural municipality in Harju County, Estonia **Saku, Estonia, a small borough in Saku Parish, Harju County, Estonia *Saku Constituen ...
and
Mikko Koivu Mikko-Sakari Koivu (born 12 March 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Koivu was drafted sixth overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild. After four seasons with HC TPS, TPS in the Liiga, SM-liiga, Koivu joine ...
, ice hockey playing brothers playing respectively in Montréal and Anaheim Ducks and
Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
as an alternate captain and captain *
Christina Krook Christina Krook (1742 – 1806) was a Finnish educator. She was the principal of a Finishing school for girls in Åbo, regarded as the most successful in Finland at the time. Life Christina Krook was the daughter of the official Gustav Krook (1704- ...
(1742–1806), educator * Joalin Loukamaa, a member of global pop group
Now United Now United (sometimes abbreviated as NU) is a global pop group, formed in Los Angeles in 2017 by '' Idols'' creator Simon Fuller. Originally, the group was consisted of 14 members from 14 countries; but as of 2022, the group consist of 19 members ...
* Erik Johan Löfgren, portrait painter *
Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
C. G. E. Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finland, Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the White Guard (Finland), Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as List of reg ...
, military leader and statesman *Niklas Moisander, former captain of Finnish national football team *Michael Monroe, rock musician, the vocalist of Hanoi Rocks *
Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...
, The Flying Finn, 9 time Olympic Champion in long-distance running *Joni Ortio, professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for HC Vityaz of the KHL *Elli Pikkujämsä, defender for KIF Örebro DFF and the Finland women's national football team *Rasmus Ristolainen, hockey player currently with the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL *Seppo Ruohonen (1946-2020), opera singer *Jiri "Linkzr" Masalin, Professional Overwatch (video game), Overwatch player for the team Houston Outlaws and two time player for
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
in the Overwatch World Cup *Joona "Fragi" Laine, Former professional Overwatch (video game), Overwatch player for the Philadelphia Fusion, and briefly for the Guangzhou Charge *Aleksi "Zuppeh" Kunti, former professional Overwatch (video game), Overwatch player for the Florida Mayhem and team Gigantti *Joonas "Zappis" Alakurti, retired professional Overwatch (video game), Overwatch player for the Florida Mayhem and team Gigantti *Jarno Saarinen, 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions by year, world champion *Matti Salminen, bass singer *Henri Sigfridsson, classical pianist *Tabe Slioor, socialite, reporter and photojournalist *Herman Spöring Jr., explorer and botanist *Niilo Sevänen, vocalist and bass guitarist of Insomnium *Elsa Sylvestersson, ballet dancer and choreographer *Jere Uronen, football player, member of Finland's
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
squad *Jonne Valtonen, composer *Tony Vidgren, ice hockey player *Johannes Rojola, developer of My Summer Car


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Turku is Sister city, twinned with: * Aarhus Municipality, Aarhus, Denmark (1946) * Bergen, Norway (1946) * Bratislava, Slovakia (1976) * Cologne, Germany (1967) * Constanța, Romania (1958) * Florence, Italy (1992) * Gdańsk, Poland (1958) * Gothenburg Municipality, Gothenburg, Sweden (1946) * Kharkiv, Ukraine (2022) * Rostock, Germany (1958) * Szeged, Hungary (1971) * Tartu, Estonia (2008) * Varna, Bulgaria, Varna, Bulgaria (1963) In March 2022, Turku suspended the agreement with Saint Petersburg, Russia (twinning since 1953) due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian invasion of Ukraine.


Co-operation agreements

Turku has co-operation agreements with: *
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
, Estonia * Tianjin, China


Gallery


See also

*
Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea ( fi, Saaristomeri, sv, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest ar ...
* Bishop Henry * Christmas Peace *
Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...
* King's Road (Finland), King's Road * Medieval Market of Turku *
Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...
* Posankka *
Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
* ''The Tomten in Åbo Castle'' * Turku Cemetery * Turku sub-region


Other medieval cities and towns of Finland

*
Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...
* Porvoo * Rauma, Finland, Rauma * Ulvila * Vyborg (now in Russia)


References


Sources


Turku
at ''EuroWeather''.


Bibliography

* Anttonen, Martti (ed) (1992). ''Täällä Suomen synnyinmuistot''. Jyväskylä: Varsinais-Suomen maakuntaliitto. * Knuuti, Heikki et al. (1986). ''Kotikaupunkini Suomen Turku''. Keuruu: Otava Publishing. * Virmavirta, Jarmo (2004). ''Finland's City of Turku''. Keuruu: Otava Publishing. * Turun kaupunki (2007)
Muutoksen suunnat 3/2007
Retrieved 27 September 2007.


Notes


External links

* The city's official website at http://www.turku.fi/. * The website of the tourist organisation Turku TouRing at https://web.archive.org/web/20060202002518/http://www.turkutouring.fi/.
Turku
– Finland's official Christmas City * {{Authority control Turku, Cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Former capitals of Finland Populated places established in the 13th century Medieval Finnish towns