Turku 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. The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 31 March 2021, the population of Turku was 194,244 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 281,108 inhabitants living in the Turku Central Locality, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Capital Region area and Tampere Central Locality. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian czar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku. In 1828, after the Great Fire of Turku, the institution was moved to Helsinki, in line with the relocation of the Grand Duchy's capital. It was finally renamed the University of Helsinki when Finland became a sovereign nation-state in 1917.
Åbo Akademi University is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland. It is located mainly in Turku but has also activities in Vaasa. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Åbo, which was founded in 1640, but moved to Helsinki after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the University of Helsinki.
Turku and Pori Province was a province of independent Finland from 1917 to 1997. The province was however founded as a county in 1634 when today's Finland was an integrated part of Sweden. It is named after the cities of Turku and Pori.
The University of Turku, located in Turku in southwestern Finland, is the third largest university in the country as measured by student enrollment, after the University of Helsinki and Tampere University. It is a multidisciplinary university with eight faculties. It was established in 1920 and also has facilities at Rauma, Pori, Kevo and Seili. The university is a member of the Coimbra Group and the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U).
Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel, was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental centre, the Senate Square and the buildings surrounding it. The buildings are Helsinki Cathedral, The Senate, the City of Helsinki Town Hall, and the library and the main building of Helsinki University.
Carl Fredrik Mennander was Bishop of Turku, Finland, from 1757–1775 and then Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden from 1775 to his death.
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 Finland, Tapio Luoma. It is also regarded as one of the major records of Finnish architectural history.
Katedralskolan i Åbo is the Swedish-language upper secondary school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square.
The Great Fire of Turku was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned once before, in 1681.
The architecture of Finland has a history spanning over 800 years, and while up until the modern era the architecture was strongly influenced by currents from Finland's two respective neighbouring ruling nations Sweden and Russia, from the early 19th century onwards influences came directly from further afield: first when itinerant foreign architects took up positions in the country and then when the Finnish architect profession became established.
The University of Helsinki Botanical Garden is an institution subordinate to the Finnish Museum of Natural History of the University of Helsinki, which maintains a collection of live plants for use in research and teaching. The Botanical Garden has two separate sites: one in Kaisaniemi and one in Kumpula.
Vartiovuori Observatory is a former observatory in Turku, Finland. The observatory, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, was originally built for the Royal Academy of Turku. The neoclassical building was completed in 1819. The observatory is situated atop the Vartiovuori hill, and it is clearly visible from different sides of the city centre.
Robert Wilhelm Ekman, a.k.a.R. W. Ekman, was a significant teacher and painter of the Finnish romantic portraits and early national romanticism.
Turku City Hall is a Neo-Renaissance building located on the bank of the Aura River in Turku, Finland. The City Council of Turku convenes at Turku City Hall. The Mayor used to work in an Art Nouveau building near to the City Hall, the Turku City Office until 2011.
The Old Great Square is a medieval market square located in the city centre of Turku, Finland. It is located in the II District in very close proximity to Turku Cathedral. The area was the administrative and commercial centre of Turku since the founding of the city in the 13th century up until the Great Fire of Turku.
Kankainen Manor is a late medieval manor in Masku, Finland, located along a small river about one kilometre south of Masku town centre. Kankainen Manor is considered to be the oldest surviving residential building in Finland, as its oldest parts may be from the end of the 15th century. In 2009, the Finnish Heritage Agency defined it as one of Finland's nationally significant built cultural environments.
The Sibelius Museum is a museum of music, named after the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The museum is located close to Turku Cathedral in the historical city centre of Turku on the southwest coast of Finland. It is the only museum devoted to music in Finland. The museum houses a wide collection of historical music instruments from around the world. The archives of the museum include documents The museum was first founded during the 1920s as a seminar for the Department of Musicology at Åbo Akademi University, and has later developed into its own department. The Museum is currently organised and funded by the Åbo Akademi Foundation. The current building was built and opened in 1968 and it was designed by architect Woldemar Baeckman.
Yliopistonkatu is a 1,5-kilometer-long street located in the city center of Turku, Finland, running parallel to the Aura River, starting at Kutomonkatu and ending at Koulukatu. Since 2001, the part of Yliopistonkatu between Aurakatu and Humalistonkatu, which is about four hundred meters long, has been a pedestrian street. The area of the current pedestrian street has been Turku's Christmas street since 1948. The Turku Market Square is also located along Yliopistonkatu.
Alexander II is a monumental statue located at the Senate Square in central Helsinki, Finland.
