Åboland () is a

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

in the archipelago of the Southwest Finland region in south-western

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Åboland and Turunmaa are also informal names of the region, but in this context Särkisalo () is normally included and in the Finnish name Turunmaa also the northern Finnish-speaking part of the archipelago. Whether e.g.

Kaarina Kaarina (; , i.e. "Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Catherine's") is a town in Finland, located in the region of Southwest Finland. It lies south of the regional capital, Turku. The population of Kaarina is approximately , while the Turku sub-regi ...

should be included is unclear. Historically also the inland was included. The sub-region consists of the majority

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

former

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Dragsfjärd, Houtskär, Iniö, Kimito, Korpo,

Nagu Nagu (; ) is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality and parish of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Pargas (former municipality), Pargas to form the new town of Väståbol ...

, Pargas, and Västanfjärd, all of which are located in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

around the city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

(), in the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea (, ) 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 List of archipelagos by number of islands, larges ...

. The sub-region has a population of 22,774 (2004), of which 63.6% are Swedish-speakers. It is one of the major concentrations of Swedish-speakers in the country, together with coastal Ostrobothnia, southern

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

, and

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

. The only city in the sub-region was Pargas, which accounts for more than a half of its population. There are over 20,000 islands in the area, mostly sparsely inhabited, and many people from around Turku and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

have summer residences there. Politically the sub-region, like other areas in Finland with a Swedish-speaking majority, is largely ruled by the Swedish People's Party (SFP) which received 57 per cent of the vote in the last municipal elections in 2004. The archipelago municipalities were merged to form the two new municipalities Väståboland and Kimitoön on January 1, 2009. The Archipelago Ring Road (, ) connects the municipalities by

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s and

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s journalist Tristan Parker wrote on July 29, 2021 an article praising about the Turku Archipelago, mentioning that "nowhere has the gentle magic of the smaller islands – or their wildlife."

Municipalities

References

External links

Region Åboland – Turunmaan seutu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboland Finnish islands in the Baltic Sub-regions of Finland Archipelagoes of Finland Archipelagoes of the Baltic Sea Landforms of Southwest Finland