Maaria (''S:t Marie'' in
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
) is a former
municipality
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 ...
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 ...
in what is now the northern part of 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''; ...
. The area has been inhabited since 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 mostl ...
, and it became an important village in the 15th century with the construction of a church dedicated to the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
(hence the district's name). Also
Koroinen
Koroinen (Finnish; ''Korois'' in Swedish) is a district in the Koroinen ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the north of the city centre, across the river Aura from the Turku Student Village.
Koroinen is mostly non-built-u ...
, with the former residence of the
Bishop of Finland
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 ...
is in the area. The municipality of Maaria was founded in 1868, and it included the northern parts of modern Turku south of
Paattinen, some
enclaves to the north of Paattinen, and the island of
Hirvensalo to the south of Turku.
In 1944, Hirvensalo,
Raunistula
Raunistula is a district of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the north of the city centre, on the west bank of the river Aura. Raunistula consists mostly of low-density residential area, and the remains of the industrial area ther ...
and some other parts of the municipality were annexed into Turku, and the rest of the municipality followed suit in 1967. Since then, it has seen considerable growth. The Maaria Reservoir, which serves as an alternative source of tap water for Turku, was constructed in the area in 1982.
The area that used to be central Maaria is currently divided into the districts of
Jäkärlä,
Saramäki,
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 ...
and
Yli-Maaria
Yli-Maaria (Finnish; ''Övre S:t Marie'' in Swedish) is a district in the Maaria-Paattinen ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the north of the city, and is a very sparsely populated area. The district was previously part of ...
. The former municipality's name is preserved in administrative units such as the parish of Maaria, the district of Yli-Maaria and the ward of
Maaria-Paattinen, which includes the five northern
districts of Turku The city of Turku, Finland is divided into nine wards (''see Wards of Turku''), which in turn are divided into 78 non-governmental districts ( in Finnish, in Swedish). These are composed of individual suburbs, and in the very centre of the city, ...
.
Former municipalities of Finland
History of Turku
{{WesternFinland-geo-stub