TURKU
Turku, founded in the 13th century, is the oldest and
fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of
174,825 (as of 2004). Located at the mouth of the Aura
river in the southwest of the country, it is the capital
city of both the region of Finland Proper and the
province of Western Finland, as well as being the centre
of the country's third largest urban area, with around
300,000 inhabitants. Turku has one of the largest
Finland-Swedish population in the country. The Finnish
word for the inhabitants of Turku is turkulaiset
(singular: turkulainen). Due to its location, the Port
of Turku is one of the busiest seaports in Finland.
Turku has a cultural identity as Finland's historical
centre, as it was the largest city in the country and
served as its capital from its foundation in the 13th
century to 1812. It also hosted the country's first
university, the Academy of Åbo. The loss of all these
titles to Helsinki in the early 19th century caused a
long-standing rivalry between the two cities. Nowadays,
Turku is considered Finland's 'second city' by some,
while others assign the title to Tampere. |