Turku, in Swedish Åbo (pronounced [ˈturku], ['o:bu]) is a city and the original capital of Finland on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura river(60°16′N 22°10′E / 60.27, 22.16Coordinates: 60°16′N 22°10′E / 60.27, 22.16). Turku is part of the Finland Proper region in the Province of Western Finland. It is believed that the city was settled in the late 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. Until the 1840s it was also the largest city in Finland.[citation needed]
Turku is the main city in its region as well as the cultural and economic centre of Western Finland. Turku is the capital of both the Finland Proper region and the Province of Western Finland. Of the central governmental bodies that used to operate in Turku at the time when Finland was under the rule of Sweden, only the seat of the Archbishop of Finland remains in the city today. Turku has been designated by the European Capital of Culture for the year 2011, together with Tallinn, Estonia.
As of 31 August 2008 Turku’s population was 175 279, which makes it the fifth largest city in Finland by population. There were 303 492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, which makes it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify as speaking Swedish as a mother-tongue. Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport city with around 3.7 million passengers travelling through its seaport each year.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
Did you find it useful?
Do you have pictures or stories to share about Turku? Send them to
Hoteles Turku
Member of the 4K.com™ network. Authoritative sites about hotels around the world.
Alberghi Turku
Hotell Åbo
Hotel Turku
Hotel Turku
Hôtels Turku
Hotéis Turku
Turku酒店
Turkuホテル
Отели Турку
Ξενοδοχεία Turku