The Market Square ( fi, Kauppatori, sv, Salutorget) is a

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

in the city of

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''; ...

, in

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 ...

. It is located in the city's VI District, and is generally considered the city's central square. It hosts a lively

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

on weekdays, and there are several cafés and restaurants on the square. The buildings around the Market Square are also part of the city's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. They include, for instance, the

Hansa Hansa may refer to: Places *Hanseatic League, a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities *Hansa (shopping centre), in Turku, Finland *Hansa-Park, a German attraction park *480 Hansa, a main-belt asteroid, a minor planet orbiting th ...

and

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

s, the Wiklund

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

, an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

church, a private medical

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

, and several instances of media such as an office of Finland's major newspaper ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'', locally most significant 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 ...

'' and ''

Yle 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 ...

''.

Centre for local buses

Two of the four streets around the rectangular square, ''Aurakatu/Auragatan'' (to the west) and ''Eerikinkatu/Eriksgatan'' (to the south), are barred from all traffic other than the city's

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 ...

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 ...

es and

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

s. The square is somewhat of a public transport hub: there are 14

bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

s around the square and the majority of local and regional buses in Turku stop there. There is also a

taxi rank A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

on the north side of the square, on '' Yliopistonkatu/Universitetsgatan'', which is also reserved for taxis only between midnight and 06:00.

Future plans

Turku's city council is currently discussing plans to build a two-storey

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

under the square, with spaces for 600 cars in order to help with perceived parking problems in the city centre, which are not confirmed to be existing in any research or numbers. The construction scheme would possibly include turning ''Yliopistonkatu/Universitetsgatan'' and ''Aurakatu/Auragatan'' into

pedestrian street Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

s and moving the bus stops to ''Kauppiaskatu/Köpmansgatan'' on the east side of the square, which would be restricted for public transport only. Critics have argued that the planned parking complex would increase

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

in the city centre and create disturbance in the lengthy construction stage. Many people also see it as unnecessary, since there are already many such complexes in the city centre. In the 2008, names of 13,000 citizens of Turku was collected in street survey for having a referendum.

Photo gallery

File:Hansakortteli.JPG, Part of the market square and the

shopping centre. File:Turku Market Square Yliopistonkatu.jpg, The Orthodox church and some market stands File:Kauppatori aamulla.JPG, Market square in the morning

External links

* {{Coord, 60, 27, 06, N, 022, 16, 01, E, type:landmark_region:FI-19, display=title

Buildings and structures in Turku Squares in Turku