Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in

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, ...

and the regional capital of

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland (, ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ('','' ) of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regional capital and most populous city is Tu ...

. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

municipality 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' ...

in Finland, and the third most populous

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

in the country after

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 ...

and

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

. Turku is Finland's oldest city. It is not known when Turku was granted

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

. Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...

first mentioned the town of ''Aboa'' in his ''Bulla'' in 1229, and this year is now used as the founding year of the city. Turku was the most important city in the eastern part of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area ...

(today's Finland). After the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) 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 Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1809, and Turku became the capital of the Grand Duchy. However, Turku lost its status as capital only three years later in 1812, when

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", 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 in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

decided to move the capital to

. It was only after the last great fire in 1827 that most government institutions were moved to Helsinki along with the Royal Academy of Turku, founded in 1640, which later became the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, thus consolidating Helsinki's position as the new capital. Turku was Finland's most populous city until the late 1840s and remains the regional capital, an important business and cultural centre, and a port. Due to its long

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, Turku has been the site of many important events and, as a former capital, has had a major influence on Finnish history. Together with

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, the capital of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, Turku was named

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

for 2011. In 1996, the city of Turku was declared the "Christmas City" of Finland. Turku has also been officially declared the Food Capital of Finland, as it is home to some of Finland's oldest and highest quality restaurants, as well as a historically famous

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

held twice a year. Turku's canteen and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

culture has often been compared to French food culture, which is why Turku is also known as the "Paris of Finland",Turun Vierasvenesatama – Kiss My Turku
(in Finnish) hence the Swedish saying: ''"Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo!"'' ("Why Paris, we have Turku!").Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo! – Paulig
(in Finnish) Turku is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers, and speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Due to its location, the Port of Turku is an important 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 Hamburg, Manc ...

, with over three million passengers travelling to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

each year.

Names and etymology

The Finnish name ''Turku'' is related to the word '' torg'', which is found in the Scandinavian and modern Russian languages and means "market". Although direct borrowing from Old Russian ''tŭrgŭ'' (търгъ) is often assumed, it is more likely that the word spread through

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, where still retains the meaning "market". Over time, the original meaning faded in Finnish, and by the Middle Ages, ''

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 ...

'' had become synonymous with the town's name. Today the word survives primarily in idiomatic expressions. For the Swedish name, the most widely accepted interpretation holds that ''Åbo'' is a simple combination of ''å'' ("river, creek, large stream") and ''bo'' ("dwelling, settlement"), referring to a settlement by the Aura River. Nevertheless, several alternative interpretations have been proposed. One suggests that the name derives from the personal name ''

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

'', possibly in a shortened form such as ''Abo''. Another theory considers ''Åbo'' a reinterpretation or translation of the Finnish name ''Turku''. A third possibility links the name to monastic naming traditions, particularly the Dominican monastery at

Åhus Åhus () is the second largest urban areas in Sweden, locality in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 9,840 inhabitants in 2015, but the number triples during the summer due to tourists who come seeking the beaches and nature o ...

in Skåne, which may have served as a model when the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

established a monastery in the area during the 13th century. Linguist Mikko Heikkilä has also proposed that Åbo developed from an earlier, unattested form ''Aborg'', which would have originally referred to the Vanhalinna hillfort in nearby

Lieto Lieto (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a populatio ...

. In Finnish, 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 ...

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 The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

History

Turku has a long history as

's largest city and occasionally as the administrative center of the country, but for the last two hundred years has been surpassed by

. 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" for the region).

Early history

Settlement in the Turku area is relatively recent, as the Southwestern Finland remained below sea level for an extended period due to the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Due to

tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the orogeny, geologic uplift of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While Isostasy, isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to ...

, the Turku region transformed from an outlying

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 ...

to a shoreline during 3000-2000 BCE. The area was densely populated during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

as it was the most important agricultural region in the region. Lahtinen (2015), pp. 9 Ancient cemeteries dating from 550 to 1150 have been discovered in the region. Some cemeteries were utilized during the initial migratory phase, while some were solely utilized during the Viking Age, and others were established in the 12th century. There are also remains of houses and villages and old forts from the late Iron Age. According to legend, the English bishop Henry baptised the first Finns into Christianity in 1150. However, the first Christian graves date from the 10th and 11th centuries, and the first archaeological evidence of a church dates from the 12th century. Lahtinen (2015), pp. 11 In the 11th century, the Turku region began to develop as a port. The oldest known road, Hämeen härkätie, connected to region and the Old Castle of Lieto 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)

Swedish era

According to the permission granted by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

on 23 January 1229, the episcopal seat was moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen, which is located near the current center of Turku. There is nothing to suggest that the actual city of Turku still existed at this point; however, the city was not founded on uninhabited land, but there were fields and probably also a peasant village. Since no reliable document has survived about the year of the city's founding, it has also been speculated that the city was founded in the 1280s or 1290s by the joint initiative of the king, the bishop, and the , which itself was founded in 1249.

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral (, ) 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 of the Lutheran Archbishop of Turku, Arch ...

was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in 1300. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Turku was the seat of the Bishop of Turku (a title later upgraded to Archbishop of Turku), 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, it was for a long time the most important city in Finland as part of the trade and shipping of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. In the 14th century, two-thirds of the city's burghers were German, but gradually the proportion of domestic burghers increased. In addition to the ecclesiastical authority, the only

lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', ) is a unique Scandinavian legal offic ...

s in Finland operated in Turku, and from the 15th century to the 16th century, the court exercising the country's highest judicial power, the , met in the city. At the beginning of the 16th century, in connection with the disputes of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

, the Danes destroyed the city twice, in 1509 under the leadership of Admiral Otte Rud and in 1522 under the leadership of Admiral Søren Norby, until Erik Fleming's troops expelled the Danes from Finland in 1523. After the beginning of peace,

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

, who had just become king, thoroughly got to know different parts of his kingdom, the center of the king's first visit to Finland being Turku Castle, where he lived during his visit. The new king also brought with him the religious

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, and the first to preach the new doctrine was Petrus Särkilahti. Särkilahti's student

Mikael Agricola Mikael Agricola (; c. 1510 – 9 April 1557) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden, including Finland, which was a Swedish territo ...

, who is known as the "father of Finnish literary language", continued the religious reform first as the headmaster of the cathedral school and later as the Bishop of Turku. Duke John (later John III), the son of Gustav Vasa, received the title of Duke of Finland and ruled his territory from Turku Castle before becoming next king of Sweden after his brother,

Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...

. In the aftermath of the

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund () was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund III Vasa, Sigismund, who was at the time the king of both Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Co ...

, the city was the site of the

Åbo Bloodbath The Åbo Bloodbath (; ) of 10 November 1599 was a public execution in the town of Turku (Åbo), Finland, then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the context of the war against Sigismund. Sweden was by then in the final phase of a civil war, wit ...

. After that, the 17th century began as more peaceful period for Turku, when the focus was mainly on emphasizing Turku's position as the center of a wide area by establishing numerous new administrative and school institutions. In 1640, the first university in Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku, was founded in Turku by order of Queen Christina. This project was also supported by Count Per Brahe, the Governor General of Finland, and Isaacus Rothovius, the Bishop of Turku. Turku was also the meeting place for the States of Finland in 1676.

Russian era

After the

, Sweden ceded Finland to

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

at the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...

in 1809. There was no resistance of any kind in Turku when the Russians marched into the city in October 1809 in connection with the Finnish War. Despite the occupation, life in Turku continued peacefully. The Court of Appeal of Turku continued its session when the Russians arrived, and later in the spring Jacob Tengström, the Archbishop of Turku and Finland, and the teaching staff of the Turku Academy swore an oath of loyalty to their new ruler. Turku became briefly the official capital, but soon lost the status to Helsinki, as Emperor

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

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 was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

. 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, which destroyed a large portion of the city in 1827. After the fire, a new and safer city plan was drawn up by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel, who had also designed the new capital, Helsinki. The new city plan, based on a regular

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

, was more spacious and fire-safe than before, and after the reconstruction, Turku was one of the most unified architecture in Europe. Turku remained the largest city in Finland for another twenty years. In the middle of the 19th century, Turku was, after Helsinki, the most important craft city in Finland, but the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

with

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

electric machine Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

s was experienced in Turku only around 1900. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

provided a boost to the city's industry, as the export difficulties affected the

wood industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry – when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry (economics), industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and woo ...

, which Turku didn't have much of, and it was easy to get much-needed raw materials from neutral Sweden.

After independence

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

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 European countries and cities, especially since the 1940s with

across the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...

. In the 1960s, Turku became the first Western city to sign a twinning agreement with

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 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, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in Russia, 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 has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, then Leningrad's deputy mayor. Market place turku

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 A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

was torn down to make way for a large, multistory apartment building in 1959. The building was significant both for its location and history: having stood on one of the most valuable lots in the city center since 1878, the building had, for example, served as the first main building of the University of Turku. Other buildings whose demolition was seen as scandalous, either already at the time of action or proved to be so in later years, include (subject of the very first photograph ever taken in Finland) and the building of Old Hotel Börs which was built in jugendstil in 1909 by .

Geography

Situated at the mouth of the Aura River in the south-western corner of Finland, Turku covers an area of on both banks of the river. The eastern side, where

is located, is the older and original centre. It is popularly known as ''täl pual jokke'' ("this side of the river"). The western side, where Turku Castle is located, is the newer part. It is called ''tois pual jokke'' ("the other side of the river"). In modern times, both banks of the Aura River are equally the centre of the city. 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 that transports pedestrians and bicycles across the river without payment, is a well known feature of the city.

Administrative subdivisions

The city is divided into 78 districts and nine wards. These do not operate as units of local government. However, some social programmes are district-based, especially in the eastern part of the city, where unemployment is high in some areas. The largest populated districts are Varissuo and Runosmäki. By area, Kakskerta and Paattinen are the largest districts. As many of the small neighbouring

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' ...

from the north and south of the city were annexed during the mid-20th century, Turku is today shaped like an elongated pear. 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 between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...

. Islands such as Ruissalo, Hirvensalo and Kakskerta, 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 suburbs.

Climate

Situated by the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and sheltered by the islands of 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 ...

, 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 cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb''). Like much of southern Finland, the city experiences warm summers, with temperatures ranging up to 30 °C (86 °F), and relatively cold winters with frequent snowfall. 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 around . 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 from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

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 air pressure or 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 , whi ...

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 atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...

is located at an altitude of at Turku Airport. 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

Population

The city of Turku has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The

Turku metropolitan area Turku metropolitan area or Turku region (, ) is the metropolitan area around the city of Turku in Finland. The joint municipal authority of the Turku city region (, ) consists of six municipalities: Turku, Kaarina, Lieto, Naantali, Raisio and Rus ...

has a population of , and the larger Turku sub-region has a population of . This is making it the third largest region in Finland after

and

. Turku is home to 4% of Finland's population. 17 per cent of the population has a foreign background, which is almost twice as high as the national average. However, it is lower than in the major Finnish cities of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

. 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.

Languages

The city of Turku is officially

, with both Finnish and Swedish as official languages. , the majority of the population, persons (), spoke Finnish as their first language. The number of Swedish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. More than a hundred different languages are spoken as mother tongues in Turku, and citizens from more than 130 countries live in the city. The people of Turku also represent all major religions. The most commonly spoken foreign languages are Russian (1.9%),

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(1.8%), Albanian (1.2%), Kurdish (1.2%), Ukrainian (0.9%) and Somali (0.9%).

Immigration

, there were 35,088 people with a foreign background living in Turku, or 17% of the population. There were 31,223 residents who were born abroad, or 15% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Turku was 21,665. The relative share of immigrants in Turku's population is well above the national average. Moreover, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years. Most foreign-born citizens came from the former

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Religion

In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 56.3% of the population of Turku. Other religious groups accounted for 3.3% of the population. 40.4% of the population had no religious affiliation.

Economy

The Turku region boasts 22,000 enterprises, two universities and four polytechnics. The city has also business branches with local expertise in the maritime,

life science Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, respon ...

s, information technology, entertainment,

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

, and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

industries. The city's economic hub revolves around the Port of Turku and other service-oriented sectors. The dockyard of Meyer Turku and the maritime business cluster reign as the leading industrial employer in the area. The city also boasts a high-tech centre in the Turku Science Park area, with a growing role in the information technology and biotechnology industries in recent decades. The Turku region hosts the business service centre ''Potkuri'' and the start-up community ''SparkUp''. In addition, the ''West Finland Film Commission'' works to promote favourable operating conditions for companies in the AV industry and for the production of films and TV series in the Turku region. ''Turku Future Technologies'' is a development centre and research and innovation network supported by eight Finnish universities. ''Smart Chemistry Park'' is a collaborative platform and network for the bio- and circular economy as well as the chemical industry in Raisio. Meanwhile, ''Blue Industry Park'' is a growing cluster for maritime and manufacturing industries. At least the following major Finnish companies have their corporate headquarters in Turku: HKScan and Hesburger. Other major companies which have operations in Turku include

Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

, Fläkt Woods,

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft (; ) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. It was founded in 1795, as a builder of small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since ...

, Orion Corporation and

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

Culture

Cultural venues in Turku include several museums, theatres, cinemas,

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 long ...

, and music. Turku offers a variety of cultural events. The most important one is the declaration of Christmas Peace on 24 December in the Old Great Square. The tradition is about 700 years old. Other notable events include the Medieval Market, the

Music Festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

, the

Book Fair A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

, the Film Day, the Animated Film Festival TAFF, the Jazz Festival, the Paavo Nurmi Games of athletics, the

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 internationa ...

rock festival, the Down by the Laituri music festival and the New Performance Turku Biennale. Turku was the

in 2011, and the city council has approved numerous projects to boost the city's image in preparation for that status.

Medieval buildings

According to archaeological evidence, Turku started to get built in the late 13th Century. However, only a few of its medieval buildings have survived to the present day. The primary factor was the Great Fire in 1827, which decimated three quarters of the city.

, constructed in the 13th century, is one of the oldest still-functioning buildings. It is also Finland's only medieval basilica church. Another surviving edifice from the medieval era is Turku Castle, which was established in the 1280s and underwent several expansions in the 15th century. Only the ruins remain of the bishop's church in Koroistenniemi, Koroinen, but the white cross serves as a reminder of the bishop's castle that existed centuries ago. Qwensel House, the oldest wooden house in Turku dating back to the 18th century, has been converted into a museum. No other medieval buildings have survived to the present day.

Museums

Most of Turku's museums are situated beside the Aura River. The Turku Art Museum is housed in a granite castle, with exhibits of both classical and contemporary art. Turku Cathedral and its museum, located on the banks of the Aura River, provide information about the history and artifacts of the church. Adjacent to the cathedral, Ett Hem, a 19th-century bourgeois residence, and the Sibelius Museum, which displays a collection of musical instruments, can be found. Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova presents a fusion of medieval ruins and modern art. On Vartiovuori, lies the Luostarinmäki Craftsman Museum, which represents a wooden housing locality dating back to the 18th century. The Pharmacy Museum and Qwensel House hold the distinction of being Turku's earliest wooden abode, offering a glimpse into the bourgeois life of the 18th century and a 19th-century drugstore. The contemporary art museum, WAM, is named after Turku's sculptor, Wäinö Aaltonen. Additionally, the Biological Museum serves as a diorama museum covering Finnish wildlife and fauna. Forum Marinum is a maritime museum of exhibits and museum vessels, including the frigate '' Suomen Joutsen'' and the last commercial steam ship in Scandinavia '' MS Bore''. Turku Castle is an attraction with over 700 years of history.

Theatres

There are half a dozen theatres situated in Turku, with the largest being the Turku City Theatre. Located in the city centre on the banks of the River Aura, it offers a varied programme of classical and contemporary drama. Other theatres in Turku include , Åbo Svenska Teater, TEHDAS and Turun Nuori Teatteri, in addition to smaller establishments such as the puppet theatre, Aura of Puppets, and the summer theatres, Samppalinna and Vartiovuori.

Music

Turku is a music hub that provides a variety of musical experiences. The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest ensemble in Finland, tracing its origins to the establishment of the ''Turun Soitannollinen Seura'' in 1790. The orchestra has a reputation for its classical repertoire and frequently conducts concerts throughout Finland. Turku boasts a selection of music festivals, catering to diverse tastes and moods. The longest running rock festival in Finland,

, is held on the island of Ruissalo. Aura Fest is a new city-based festival, set to debut in the summer of 2022. DBTL is another city festival, situated along the banks of the Aura River. Turku Jazz is an annual festival in July. August sees the

Turku Music Festival Turku Music Festival (, ) 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 orchestral concerts, chamber music concerts, recita ...

, dedicated to classical music.

Association and city rivalry

The Finnish people associate Turku with its "old and historic" charm. Established in 1957, ''Turkuseura-Åbosamfundet ry'' is a bilingual, politically neutral historical society with 2,200 members. Its main focus is to cherish Turku's culture and

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

, and to preserve local history and traditions. The society strives to promote and enhance Turku's positive image. Turku and

are two cities in Finland that exhibit a cordial rivalry through humorous banter. Humorous topics include Tampere's traditional dish, ''

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. is at its best when bought and eaten fresh at market stalls, to which i ...

'', Turku's Aura River, and distinct regional accents. Both cities boast excellent culinary scenes, which attract food lovers. Since 1997, students from Tampere have annually visited Turku to participate in the custom of leaping on the market square. This lively event is thought to nudge the city towards the Baltic Sea and counteract

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 an ...

Sports

Turku has two major football teams: FC Inter, playing in the top national league, ''

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

'', and TPS in ''

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

'', one level below. Both teams are based at Veritas Stadion in Kupittaa. The HC TPS is an ice hockey team that competes in the top level, '' SM-liiga'', and has secured 11 national championships. They play their games at Gatorade Center in Artukainen. The city also hosts the annual Paavo Nurmi Marathon, named after the legendary Turku-born runner

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finland, Finnish middle-distance running, middle-distance and long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" because he dominated distance running in th ...

. Turku is home to the Eagles Rugby Football Club, a division champion affiliated with Suomen Rugbyliitto, which trains and competes at Impivaara Jalkapallonhalli and Kuppitaanpuisto. Turku Titans is a

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

club with a rich history, having scored three silver and one gold medals in Finland's national lacrosse league. The Titans' women's team has also achieved success. Furthermore, the city hosted the FIL U19 2012

World Lacrosse Championships The World Lacrosse Men's Championship is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

. Finnish tennis 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 ...

, from the nearby county of

Masku Masku () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality, which is located about j ...

, is among the most accomplished players in Finland.

Government and politics

Being both a

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and provincial capital, Turku is an important administrative centre, hosting the seat of the Archbishop of Finland and a

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. Minna Arve 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, borough 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 Finnish parliamentary election, 2015 elections, ...

in Turku: *

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

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 Form ...

17.1% * Left Alliance 16.8% *

True Finns The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

15.7% *

Green League The Green League, ( , Vihr; ; ; ; ) shortened to the Greens, (; ) is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a reformist party and it supports femi ...

13.8% * Swedish People's Party 5.5% * Centre Party 4.7% * Movement Now 1.9% * Christian Democrats 1.6%

Transport

Electric locomotives at Turku railway station

For a city of its size, Turku has a moderate public transport network of bus routes, which is comparable to the bus network of similar-sized

. The bus network is managed and supervised by the ''Turku City Region's Public Transport Committee'' (FÖLI) (, ), 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 in Pohjola, and two smaller stations in Kupittaa and the Port of Turku. There is no local rail traffic at the moment, as the city's popular tram 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 Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system in the Turku region in the near future. According to the current estimate the tramway's construction will start in 2026 and finish in 2031. The first route will be constructed between Turku Port−City Centre−Varissuo residential area. Route's estimated length is 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) with 17 stops. The first outdoor inclined elevator, the Funicular, is located in Turku. The elevator offers unimpeded access to Kakolanmäki hill where is no other public transport. The Funicular has two stations and travelling time between the stations is approximately one minute. It is possible to hop on and off at both stations and travelling is free of charge. The elevator's rail is about 130 meters long and height difference between two stations about 30 meters. The State of Finland has announced plans to support

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

; Highway 10 leading to

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

; Highway 9 leading to

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

and

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

; Highway 8 leading to

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

; and the Turku Ring Road, which protrudes circumferentially from Turku. Turku Airport is located to the north of the city centre, partly in the neighbouring municipality of Rusko. The airport is served by six passenger airlines, including

airBaltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia. Its head office are located on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main airline hub, hub is Riga, and it o ...

and SAS Scandinavian, and one cargo airline. There are also daily ferry services from the Port of Turku to Sweden 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 ...

, operated by

Silja Line Silja Line is a Finnish shipping company and cruiseferry brand owned and operated by the Estonian shipping company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink S ...

and Viking Line. 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

boat traffic is handled by, among others, SS Ukkopekka, 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 (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, town in Southwest Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important centre of tourism in the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located west of Turku. The town h ...

-Turku. Turku is the only city in Finland to have three long-distance railway stations: Turku Central, Port of Turku, and Kupittaa.

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 ...

, was founded along with Turku Cathedral in the late 13th century. The first university in Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku (now

), was established in the city in 1640. In 1820, the first school in Finland conforming to the Bell-Lancaster method was founded in Turku with the aim of making primary education more inclusive to the lower classes. Turku is home to about 40 000 higher education students. There are two universities and several " polytechnics" in the town. The Finnish

is the fourth largest university in Finland (22,300 students in 2022), as measured by student enrollment, and one of the oldest as well, having been founded in 1920. Approximately 9% of all students are international students. Åbo Akademi, founded 1918 as the second university of Finland, is one of Finland's two Swedish-language universities. Turku School of Economics 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, is affiliated with the university and it is used as a teaching hospital. Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) is the second largest

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

in Finland (12,000 students in 2022) after Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. TUAS consists of six campus buildings in Turku and one separate campus in town of Salo. Bachelors of Business Administration, Social Services and Health Care Nursing study at Salo IoT Campus. TUAS offers Bachelor and Master studies in over 70 fields of education. Also

Novia University of Applied Sciences The Novia University of Applied Sciences () 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 Jakobstad Jakobsta ...

and

Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (, Diak) is a university of applied sciences (a polytechnic or higher vocational institute offering tertiary level education) in Finland. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It ...

have campuses in the town. Turku is one of only two cities in Finland to have an established international school (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

Turun normaalikoulu Turun normaalikoulu (or Norssi for short) is a school in Varissuo, an eastern Districts of Turku, suburb of Turku, Finland. It provides education from primary school (age 7) to upper secondary school (age 19). The school is authorized by the Inte ...

takes care of the teaching in the international school.

Media

The most widely read

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 poli ...

of Turku, and the area around it, is the daily regional morning newspaper ''

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''. History and profile ...

'', with a readership of over 70% of the population every day. '' Åbo Underrättelser'', a Swedish-language newspaper published in Turku, is the oldest newspaper in Finland, having been published since 1824. The free-of-charge ''Turkulainen'' newspaper was also among the most popular newspapers, together with the local edition of ''

Metro International Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the freesheet newspaper ''Metro''. The company was founded by Per Andersson, and started as a subsidiary of the Modern Times Group along with Viasat Broadcast ...

'' and the national evening tabloid ''

Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid-size evening newspapers and the largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is '' Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019, ''Ilta-Sanomat'' is also the bi ...

''. Turkulainen was founded in 1958 but the newspaper has been on publishing break since 2020. 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'', 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 operated a regional television station, called ''Turku-TV,'' but station stopped operating in 2012. The Finnish national broadcaster ''

Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

'' screens local news, daily from Monday to Friday, for the Southwest Finland (including the regions of

and

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

) residents. All Finnish national TV channels are viewable and national radio channels audible in the Turku area. In addition, a number of local radio stations, e.g. ''Auran Aallot'', ''Radio Sata'' and ''Radio Robin Hood'' are operational. Local

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

radio stations are ''Yle Turun Radio'' broadcasting in Finnish (the regional version of Yle Radio Suomi) and ''Yle Vega Åboland'' broadcasting in Swedish (the regional version of Yle Vega).

Notable people

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 comp ...

, rally driver * Fredrika Bremer (1801–1865), writer and feminist reformer, born at Tuorla Manor in Piikkiö Parish. * Teemu Brunila, 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 Touring Car Championship, ADAC TCR Germany Blancpain Endurance Series, Porsche Carrera Cup Ge ...

, racing driver * Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen, electronic music producer known as Darude, author of the hit song " Sandstorm" * Karl Ebb, athlete and racing driver * Alex Federley, political cartoonist and illustrator * Marcus Forss, football player, member of Finland's

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

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 * Kasper Hämäläinen, football player * Janne Henriksson, football goalkeeper * Utti Hietala, bodybuilder * Vera Hjelt, Member of Parliament and social reformer *

Lukáš Hrádecký Lukas Hradecky (; born 24 November 1989) is a Finnish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for and captain (association football), captains both Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverk ...

, football goalkeeper, member of Finland's

squad * Tuuli Hypén, cartoonist * Kaan Kairinen, football player * Kaapo Kakko, hockey player * Katja Kallio (born 1968), novelist, journalist, columnist and screenwriter * Joni Kauko, football player, member of Finland's

squad * Miikka Kiprusoff, 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. The ...

and

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

during his

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

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 and Mikko Koivu, 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 compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

as an alternate captain and captain * Christina Krook (1742–1806), educator * Matti Kuusimäki, lawyer * Joalin Loukamaa, a member of global pop group

Now United Now United (sometimes abbreviated as NU) is a global pop group formed in West Hollywood, California, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, USA, in 2017 by ''Idols (TV series), Idols'' creator Simon Fuller. Originally debuting with 14 members from ...

* Agnes Lundell (1878–1936), Finland's first female lawyer * Erik Johan Löfgren, portrait painter *

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

C. G. E. Mannerheim, military leader and statesman * Marjatta Metsovaara, textile artist *

Niklas Moisander Niklas Kristian Moisander (born 29 September 1985) is a Finnish former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Moisander was born in Turku, where he played for the local Turun Palloseura, TPS youth team before ...

, former captain of Finland national football team * Michael Monroe, rock musician, the vocalist of

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish Rock music, rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. By 1984, the band was considered to be on the verge of an international breakthrough when ...

, The

Flying Finn "The Flying Finn" (, ) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term was later extended to notable Finnish racing driver ...

, 9 time Olympic Champion in long-distance running * Joni Ortio, professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for HC Vityaz of the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

* Elli Pikkujämsä, defender for KIF Örebro DFF and the Finland women's national football team * Taru Rinne, motorcycle racer *

Rasmus Ristolainen Rasmus Ristolainen (born 27 October 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Playing ...

, hockey player currently with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

of the NHL *

Seppo Ruohonen Seppo Ruohonen (25 April 1946 — 1 March 2020) was a Finnish operatic tenor and voice pedagogue. Education Ruohonen trained initially under Lea Piltti, and later continued in Vienna at the Vienna State Opera school and the ''Hochschule für ...

(1946–2020), opera singer * Jarno Saarinen, 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion *

Matti Salminen Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure a ...

, bass singer * Henri Sigfridsson, classical pianist * Tabe Slioor, socialite, reporter and photojournalist * Darren Smith, a South African-born football player * 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

squad * Jonne Valtonen, composer

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Turku is twinned with: *

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Denmark (1946) *

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway (1946) *

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Slovakia (1976) *

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany (1967) *

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

, Romania (1958) *

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy (1992) *

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland (1958) *

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden (1946) *

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, Ukraine (2022) *

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, Germany (1958) *

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, Hungary (1971) *

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, Estonia (2008) * Varna, Bulgaria (1963) In March 2022, Turku suspended the agreement with

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia (twinning since 1953) due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Co-operation agreements

Turku has co-operation agreements with: *

, Estonia *

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, China

Gallery

Notes

References

Sources

*
Turku
at ''EuroWeather''.

External links

* * The website of the tourist organisation Turku TouRing a
Turkutouring.fi

Turku
– Finland's official Christmas City {{Authority control * Cities and towns in Finland Former capitals of Finland Grand Duchy of Finland Medieval Finnish towns Municipalities of Southwest Finland Populated places established in the 13th century Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea