125-655: The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Finnish: Turun Filharmoninen Orkesteri ) is a Finnish orchestra based in Turku , Finland . The oldest orchestra in Finland, the Turku Philharmonic is resident at the Turku Concert Hall , the first purpose-built concert hall in Finland, completed in 1952. The orchestra was founded in 1790 under the name Turun Soitannollinen Seura (Musical Society of Turku). In 1927,
250-414: A mixed economy . Since its post–World War II economic boom in the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita has been among the world's highest. The expanded welfare state of Finland from 1970 and 1990 increased the public sector employees and spending and the tax burden imposed on the citizens. In 1992, Finland simultaneously faced economic overheating and depressed Western, Russian, and local markets. Finland joined
375-623: A European great power was forfeited, and Russia was now the leading power in the North. The absolute monarchy ended in Sweden. During this Age of Liberty , the Parliament ruled the country, and the two parties of the Hats and Caps struggled for control leaving the lesser Court party, i.e. parliamentarians with close connections to the royal court, with little to no influence. The Caps wanted to have
500-566: A Russian siege; according to a contemporary legend, it was saved by a miracle . In 1521 the Kalmar Union collapsed and Gustav Vasa became the King of Sweden. During his rule, the Swedish church was reformed . The state administration underwent extensive reforms and development too, giving it a much stronger grip on the life of local communities—and ability to collect higher taxes. Following
625-525: A belief system the Lutheran church had imported from Germany. The Empire had a colony in the New World in the modern-day Delaware-Pennsylvania area between 1638 and 1655. At least half of the immigrants were of Finnish origin. The 17th century was an era of very strict Lutheran orthodoxy. In 1608, the law of Moses was declared the law of the land, in addition to secular legislation. Every subject of
750-607: 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 Linnateatteri [ fi ] , Åbo Svenska Teater , TEHDAS and Turun Nuori Teatteri , in addition to smaller establishments such as the puppet theatre, Aura of Puppets , and
875-496: 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 ,
1000-548: 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
1125-581: A lackluster response from the Swedish government saw about one-third of the population die. Soon afterwards, another war determining Finland's fate began (the Great Northern War of 1700–21). The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was devastating, as Sweden and Russia fought for control of the Baltic. Harsh conditions—worsening poverty and repeated crop failures—among peasants undermined support for
1250-648: A man and a horse; these were concentrated in the southern part of Finland. The strong fortress of Viborg (Finnish: Viipuri , Russian: Vyborg ) guarded the eastern border of Finland. Sweden and Novgorod signed the Treaty of Nöteborg ( Pähkinäsaari in Finnish) in 1323, but that did not last long. In 1348 the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson staged a failed crusade against Orthodox " heretics ", managing only to alienate his supporters and ultimately lose his crown. The bones of contention between Sweden and Novgorod were
1375-421: A migrant background living in Turku, or 15.6% of the population. There were 28,002 residents who were born abroad, or 13.9% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Turku was 19,062. 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
SECTION 10
#17327944310511500-706: A part of the Nordic Bronze Culture, whereas in the inland regions the influences came from the bronze-using cultures of northern and eastern Russia. The Iron Age in Finland is considered to have lasted from c. 500 BC until c. 1300 AD. Written records of Finland become more common due to the Northern Crusades led by the Catholic Church in the 12th and 13th centuries. As the Finnish Iron Age lasted almost two millennia, it
1625-724: A selection of music festivals, catering to diverse tastes and moods. The longest running rock festival in Finland, Ruisrock , 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 , dedicated to classical music. History of Finland Chronological history The history of Finland begins around 9,000 BC during
1750-402: A separate people. Thus, the northern part of the border between Catholic and Orthodox Christendom came to lie at the eastern border of what would become Finland with the Treaty of Nöteborg with Novgorod in 1323. During the 13th century, Finland was integrated into medieval European civilization. The Dominican order arrived in Finland around 1249 and came to exercise great influence there. In
1875-637: A strong cultural influence from south of the Gulf of Finland settled in southwestern Finland. This culture was a part of the European Battle Axe cultures , which have often been associated with the movement of the Indo-European speakers. The Battle Axe, or Cord Ceramic, culture seems to have practiced agriculture and animal husbandry outside of Finland, but the earliest confirmed traces of agriculture in Finland date later, approximately to
2000-972: 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 , the Book Fair , the Film Day , the Animated Film Festival TAFF, the Jazz Festival , the Paavo Nurmi Games of athletics, the Ruisrock rock festival,
2125-614: Is Finland's oldest city. It is not known when Turku was granted city status . Pope Gregory IX 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 (today's Finland). After the Finnish War , Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire in 1809, and Turku became
2250-824: 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 , Fläkt Woods , Meyer Werft , Orion Corporation and Wärtsilä . Cultural venues in Turku include several museums, theatres, cinemas, art galleries , and music. Turku offers
2375-516: Is an important commercial and passenger seaport , with over three million passengers travelling to Stockholm and Mariehamn each year. The Finnish name Turku originates from Swedish and Russian. The first information about the word tori dates back to the 16th century and was borrowed from Sweden (cf. Swedish : torg , "market"). In Sweden, the word is not original, but borrowed from an Old East Slavic word, tǔrgǔ , which in modern Russian means market place , haggling or trading. However,
2500-423: 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 from
2625-512: Is from the area of Ristola in Lahti and from Orimattila , from c. 8900 BC. Finland has been continuously inhabited at least since the end of the last ice age up to the present. The earliest post-glacial inhabitants of the present-day area of Finland were probably mainly seasonal hunter-gatherers . Among finds is the net of Antrea , the oldest fishing net known ever to have been excavated (calibrated carbon dating: ca. 8300 BC). By 5300 BC, pottery
SECTION 20
#17327944310512750-454: Is further divided into six sub-periods: Very few written records of Finland or its people remain in any language of the era. Written sources are of foreign origin and include Tacitus 's description of Fenni in his work Germania , runestones, the sagas written down by Snorri Sturluson , as well as the 12th- and 13th-century ecclesiastical letters by the Pope. Numerous other sources from
2875-418: Is in runestone Gs 13 from the 11th century. The original Swedish term for the realm's eastern part was Österlands ('Eastern Lands'), a plural, meaning the area of Finland Proper, Tavastia, and Karelia. This was later replaced by the singular form Österland , which was in use between 1350 and 1470. In the 15th century Finland began to be used synonymously with Österland. The concept of a Finnish country in
3000-524: 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 . In the aftermath of the War against Sigismund ,
3125-405: 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
3250-423: Is making it the third largest region in Finland after Helsinki and Tampere . Turku is home to 4% of Finland's population. 15.6 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 Helsinki , Espoo or Vantaa . The city's population density is 794.4 inhabitants per square kilometre. The median age in
3375-543: 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. There are half
3500-485: Is not uncommon. 15.3% of the population of Turku have a mother tongue other than Finnish or Swedish. 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 (1.8%), Arabic (1.7%), Albanian (1.2%), Kurdish (1.2%) and Somali (0.9%). As of 2023 , there were 31,589 people with
3625-523: Is possible evidence of Viking settlement in the Finnish mainland. The Åland Islands probably had Swedish settlement during the Viking Period. However, some scholars claim that the archipelago was deserted during the 11th century. According to the archaeological finds, Christianity gained a foothold in Finland during the 11th century. According to the very few written documents that have survived,
3750-590: 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
3875-477: The Cudgel War of 1596–1597, a desperate peasant rebellion, which was suppressed brutally and bloodily. A peace treaty (the Treaty of Teusina ) with Russia in 1595 moved the border of Finland further to the east and north, very roughly where the modern border lies. An important part of the 16th-century history of Finland was growth of the area settled by the farming population. The crown encouraged farmers from
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-661: The Down by the Laituri music festival and the New Performance Turku Biennale . Turku was the European Capital of Culture in 2011, and the city council has approved numerous projects to boost the city's image in preparation for that status. 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
4125-803: The European Union in 1995, and replaced the Finnish markka with the euro in 2002. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, public opinion shifted in favour of joining NATO , and Finland eventually joined the alliance on 4 April 2023. If confirmed, the oldest archeological site in Finland would be the Wolf Cave in Kristinestad , in Ostrobothnia . The site would be the only pre-glacial ( Neanderthal ) site so far discovered in
4250-540: The Finnish-language University of Turku 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 Jarmo Virmavirta [ fi ] . The city enjoyed good connections with other Western European countries and cities, especially since
4375-404: The Gulf of Bothnia had sparse farming settlements, organized as parishes and castellanies. In the other parts of the country a small population of Sami hunters, fishermen, and small-scale farmers lived. These were exploited by the Finnish and Karelian tax collectors. During the 12th and 13th centuries, great numbers of Swedish settlers moved to the southern and northwestern coasts of Finland, to
4500-548: The Ice Age . Due to tectonic uplift , the Turku region transformed from an outlying archipelago to a shoreline during 3000-2000 BCE. The area was densely populated during the Iron Age as it was the most important agricultural region in the region. 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
4625-543: The Nordic countries , and it is approximately 125,000 years old. The last ice age in the area of the modern-day Finland ended c. 9000 BC. Starting about that time, people migrated to the area of Finland from the south and southeast. Their culture represented a mixture of Kunda , Butovo , and Veretje cultures [ fi ] . At the same time, northern Finland was inhabited via the coast of Norway. The oldest confirmed evidence of post-glacial human settlements in Finland
4750-559: The Ostrobothnia region. The purpose of the enclosures is unknown. In recent years, a dig at the Kierikki site north of Oulu on the River Ii has changed the image of Finnish neolithic Stone Age culture. The site had been inhabited year-round and its inhabitants traded extensively. Kierikki culture is also seen as a subtype of Comb Ceramic culture . More of the site is excavated annually. From 3200 BC onwards, either immigrants or
4875-637: The Republic of Novgorod in northwestern Russia, and probably the German crusading orders as well. Finns had their own chiefs, but most probably no central authority. At the time there can be seen three cultural areas or tribes in Finland: Finns , Tavastians and Karelians . Russian chronicles indicate there were several conflicts between Novgorod and the Finnic tribes from the 11th or 12th century to
5000-747: The Valdai Hills , amber from Scandinavia and the Baltic region , and slate from Scandinavia and Lake Onega found their way into Finnish archaeological sites, while asbestos and soap stone from Finland (e.g. the area of Saimaa ) were found in other regions. Rock paintings—apparently related to shamanistic and totemistic belief systems—have been found, especially in Eastern Finland, e.g. Astuvansalmi . Between 3500 and 2000 BC, monumental stone enclosures, colloquially known as Giant's Churches ( Finnish : Jätinkirkko ), were constructed in
5125-542: The maritime , life sciences , information technology, entertainment, biotechnology , and sustainable development 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
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-407: The "Paris of Finland", hence the Swedish saying: "Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo!" ("Why Paris, we have Turku!"). Turku is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 79% Finnish speakers, 5% Swedish speakers, and 15% speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Due to its location, the Port of Turku
5375-492: 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. According to the permission granted by Pope Gregory IX on 23 January 1229, the episcopal seat was moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen , which
5500-602: The 12th century onwards when the Catholic Church started to gain a foothold in Southwest Finland . Due to the Northern Crusades and Swedish colonisation of some Finnish coastal areas, most of the region became a part of the Kingdom of Sweden and the realm of the Catholic Church from the 13th century onwards. After the Finnish War in 1809, Finland was ceded to the Russian Empire , making this area
5625-606: The 1380s, a civil war in the Scandinavian part of Sweden brought unrest to Finland as well. The victor of this struggle was Queen Margaret I of Denmark , who brought the three Scandinavian kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark and, Norway under her rule (the Kalmar Union ) in 1389. One of the phenomena that appeared in those days with the unrest, was the notorious pirates , known as the Victual Brothers , who operated in
5750-654: The 13th and 14th centuries, when it also affected the Eastern Uusimaa and Ostrobothnia . The oldest Swedish place names in Finland are from this period as well as the Swedish-speaking population of Finland . Contact between Sweden and what is now Finland was considerable even during pre-Christian times; the Vikings were known to the Finns due to their participation in both commerce and plundering. There
5875-429: The 15th century seems to have been a relatively prosperous time , characterized by population growth and economic development. However, towards the end of the 15th century, the situation on the eastern border became more tense. The Grand Principality of Moscow conquered Novgorod, preparing the way for a unified Russia, and from 1495 to 1497 a war was fought between Sweden and Russia . The fortress-town of Viborg withstood
6000-554: The 15th century to the 16th century, the court exercising the country's highest judicial power, the Land Court of Turku [ sv ] , met in the city. At the beginning of the 16th century, in connection with the disputes of the Kalmar Union , 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
6125-475: 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. Most of Turku's museums are situated beside
6250-485: 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 . 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 lawspeakers in Finland operated in Turku, and from
6375-483: The 1940s with Stockholm across the Gulf of Bothnia . In the 1960s, Turku became the first Western city to sign a twinning agreement with Leningrad in the Soviet Union , leading to greater inter-cultural exchange and providing a new meaning to the city's 'gateway' function. After the fall of communism in Russia, many prominent Soviets came to Turku to study Western business practices, among them Vladimir Putin , then Leningrad's deputy mayor. As for architecture in
SECTION 50
#17327944310516500-424: The 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract through the spring of 2028. Past resident composers of the orchestra have included Mikko Heiniö . The orchestra's current composer-in-residence is Sebastian Fagerlund , since autumn 2022. The orchestra released its first commercial recording in 1979. It has since recorded commercially for such labels as Ondine, Finlandia, and Naxos Records . With Leif Segerstam ,
6625-422: The 2nd millennium BC. Further inland, societies retained their hunting-gathering lifestyles for the time being. The Battle Axe and Comb Ceramic cultures eventually merged, giving rise to the Kiukainen culture that existed between 2300 BC and 1500 BC, and was fundamentally a comb ceramic tradition with cord ceramic characteristics. The Bronze Age began some time after 1500 BC. The coastal regions of Finland were
6750-399: The Aura river in Turku. The oldest of the current bridges is Auransilta [ fi ] , which was constructed in 1904. The newest bridge is Kirjastosilta [ fi ] ('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. The city
6875-444: The Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages to terrorize the coastal areas of Finland, and among other things, Korsholm Castle in Ostrobothnia , Turku Castle in the Finland Proper and also the Turku's Archipelago Sea were the most significant domains for the pirates. The next 130 years or so were characterized by attempts of different Swedish factions to break out of the Union. Finland was sometimes involved in these struggles, but in general
7000-437: The Balts and the Scandinavians, as well as with the peoples along the traditional eastern trade routes. The existence of richly furnished burials, usually with weapons, suggests that there was a chiefly elite in the southern and western parts of the country. Hillforts spread over most of southern Finland at the end of the Iron and early Medieval Ages. There is no commonly accepted evidence of early state formations in Finland, and
7125-435: The Danes from Finland in 1523. After the beginning of peace, Gustav Vasa , 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 , and the first to preach the new doctrine was Petrus Särkilahti . Särkilahti's student Mikael Agricola , who
7250-534: The Empire. During this period the (proto) Finnish culture stabilized on the coastal regions and larger graveyards become commonplace. The prosperity of the Finns rose to the level that the vast majority of gold treasures found within Finland date back to this period. The Migration period saw the expansion of land cultivation inland, especially in Southern Bothnia , and the growing influence of Germanic cultures, both in artifacts like swords and other weapons and in burial customs. However most iron as well as its forging
7375-415: The Finnic and Saami languages arrived there in the early Bronze Age, possibly connected to the Seima-Turbino phenomenon . This would also imply that Finno-Ugric languages in Finland were preceded by a Northwestern Indo-European language, at least to the extent the latter can be associated with the Cord Ceramic culture, as well as by hitherto unknown Paleo-European languages . The center of expansion for
7500-451: 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 felt that Turku
7625-403: The Imperial era of Sweden rather gloomy times for Finnish peasants. In 1655–1660, the Northern Wars were fought, taking Finnish soldiers to the battle-fields of Livonia , Poland and Denmark. In 1676, the political system of Sweden was transformed into an absolute monarchy . In Middle and Eastern Finland, great amounts of tar were produced for export. European nations needed this material for
SECTION 60
#17327944310517750-445: The Proto-Finnic language is posited to have been located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish language is thought to have started to differentiate during the Iron Age starting from the earliest centuries of the Common Era. Cultural influences from a variety of places are visible in the Finnish archaeological finds from the very first settlements onwards. For example, archaeological finds from Finnish Lapland suggest
7875-412: The Roman period onwards contain brief mentions of ancient Finnish kings and place names, as such defining Finland as a kingdom and noting the culture of its people. The oldest surviving mention of the word Suomi (Finland in Finnish ) is in the annals of the Frankish Empire written between 741 and 829. At 811, annals mention a person named Suomi in connection with a peace agreement. The name Suomi as
8000-463: The Soviet Union. During World War II , Finland fought twice against the Soviet Union, first defending its independence in the Winter War and then invading the Soviet Union in the Continuation War . In the peace settlement Finland ended up ceding a large part of Karelia and some other areas to the Soviet Union . However, Finland remained an independent democracy in Northern Europe. In the latter half of its independent history, Finland has maintained
8125-435: The Swedish crown took the city of Tallinn in Estonia under its protection in 1561. This action contributed to the early stages of the Livonian War which was a warlike era which lasted for 160 years. In the first phase, Sweden fought for the lordship of Estonia and Latvia against Denmark, Poland and Russia. The common people of Finland suffered because of drafts, high taxes, and abuse by military personnel. This resulted in
8250-409: 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. In
8375-416: The adjacent areas during the Comb Ceramic period, around 4000 BC at the latest. During the 2nd millennium BC these evolved—possibly under an Indo-European (most likely Baltic) influence—into proto-Sami (inland) and Proto-Finnic (coastland). In contrast, A. Aikio and J. Häkkinen propose that the Finno-Ugric languages arrived in the Gulf of Finland area during the Late Bronze Age. Valter Lang has proposed that
8500-477: The administrative center of the country, but for the last two hundred years has been surpassed by Helsinki . 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). Settlement in the Turku area is relatively recent, as the Southwestern Finland remained below sea level for an extended period due to
8625-420: 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. The city of Turku has 205,949 inhabitants, making it the 6th most populous municipality in Finland. The Turku metropolitan area has a population of 315,227, and the larger Turku sub-region has a population of 351,200. This
8750-443: The autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland . The Lutheran religion dominated. Finnish nationalism emerged in the 19th century. It focused on Finnish cultural traditions , folklore, and mythology , including music and—especially—the highly distinctive language and lyrics associated with it. One product of this era was the Kalevala , one of the most significant works of Finnish literature . The catastrophic Finnish famine of 1866–1868
8875-431: The average height of a man was originally thought to be just 158 cm and that of a woman 147 cm, but recent research has corrected these numbers upwards and has confirmed that the people buried in Leväluhta were of average height for that era in Europe. Recent findings suggest that Finnish trade connections became more active during the 8th century, bringing an influx of silver onto Finnish markets. The opening of
9000-563: The building of Hotel Phoenix [ fi ] that stood on corner of the Market Square 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
9125-619: The capital of the Grand Duchy. However, Turku lost its status as capital only three years later in 1812, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia decided to move the capital to Helsinki . 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 , thus consolidating Helsinki's position as
9250-423: The church in Finland was still in its early development in the 12th century. Later medieval legends from late 13th century describe Swedish attempts to conquer and Christianize Finland sometime in the mid-1150s. In the early 13th century, Bishop Thomas became the first known bishop of Finland . There were several secular powers who aimed to bring the Finnish tribes under their rule. These were Sweden, Denmark,
9375-517: The city is 42.1, lower than the national average of 43.6. Population by mother tongue (2023) The city of Turku is officially bilingual , with both Finnish and Swedish as official languages. As of 2023 , the majority of the population - 160,008 people or 79.3% - spoke Finnish as their first language. There are 10,981 Swedish speakers in Turku, or 5.4% of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies
9500-461: 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 held twice a year. Turku's canteen and café culture has often been compared to French food culture , which is why Turku is also known as
9625-412: The city was the site of the Åbo Bloodbath . 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
9750-710: 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. Situated by the Baltic Sea and sheltered by the islands of the Archipelago Sea , Turku has a humid continental climate ( Köppen 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
9875-488: 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
10000-598: The coming years. Most foreign-born citizens came from the former Soviet Union , Iraq , Estonia , Sweden, and the former Yugoslavia . 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. The Turku region boasts 22,000 enterprises, two universities and four polytechnics. The city has also business branches with local expertise in
10125-415: The commanders of castles were more often Scandinavian or German noblemen. In 1362, representatives from Finland were called to participate in the elections for the king of Sweden. As such, that year is often considered when Finland was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sweden. As in the Scandinavian part of the kingdom, the gentry or (lower) nobility consisted of magnates and yeomen who could afford armament for
10250-606: The country. The Pre-Roman period of the Finnish Iron Age is scarcest in findings, but the known ones suggest that cultural connections to other Baltic cultures were already established. The archeological findings of Pernå and Savukoski provides proof of this argument. Many of the era's dwelling sites are the same as those of the Neolithic . Most of the iron of the era was produced on site. The Roman period brought along an influx of imported iron (and other) artifacts like Roman wine glasses and dippers as well as various coins of
10375-402: 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,
10500-464: The driest month of the year, the figure is only 32 mm (1.3 in). The average air pressure at sea level is 101.2 kilopascals (29.9 inHg), with little variance throughout the year. Operational since 1955, the city's weather station is located at an altitude of 47 metres (154 feet) 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
10625-634: The early 13th century. It was the Swedish regent, Birger Jarl , who allegedly established Swedish rule in Finland through the Second Swedish Crusade , most often dated to 1249. Erik's Chronicle , the only source narrating the crusade, describes that it was aimed at Tavastians . A papal letter from 1237 states that the Tavastians had reverted from Christianity to their old ethnic faith. Novgorod gained control in Karelia in 1278,
10750-462: The early 14th century, the first records of Finnish students at the Sorbonne appear. In the southwestern part of the country, an urban settlement evolved in Turku . Turku was one of the biggest towns in the Kingdom of Sweden, and its population included German merchants and craftsmen. Otherwise the degree of urbanization was very low in medieval Finland. Southern Finland and the long coastal zone of
10875-460: The eastern route to Constantinople via Finland's southern coastline archipelago brought Arabic and Byzantine artifacts into the excavation findings of the era. The earliest findings of imported iron blades and local iron working appear in 500 BC. From about 50 AD, there are indications of a more intense long-distance exchange of goods in coastal Finland. Inhabitants exchanged their products, presumably mostly furs, for weapons and ornaments with
11000-456: The end of the last glacial period . Stone Age cultures were Kunda , Comb Ceramic , Corded Ware , Kiukainen , and Pöljä cultures [ fi ] . The Finnish Bronze Age started in approximately 1,500 BC and the Iron Age started in 500 BC and lasted until 1,300 AD. Finnish Iron Age cultures can be separated into Finnish proper , Tavastian and Karelian cultures. The earliest written sources mentioning Finland start to appear from
11125-527: The first attempts at wide-scale education. The church required from each person a degree of literacy sufficient to read the basic texts of the Lutheran faith. Although the requirements could be fulfilled by learning the texts by heart, also the skill of reading became known among the population. In 1696–1699, a famine caused by climate decimated Finland. A combination of an early frost, the freezing temperatures preventing grain from reaching Finnish ports, and
11250-916: The great struggle between Protestant and Catholic forces in Germany, known as the Thirty Years' War . The Finnish light cavalry was known as the Hakkapeliitat . After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the Swedish Empire was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. During the war, several important reforms had been made in Finland: However, the high taxation, continuing wars and the cold climate (the Little Ice Age ) made
11375-493: The historical Medieval period of Europe suggests, the primary source of information of the era in Finland is based on archaeological findings and modern applications of natural scientific methods like those of DNA analysis or computer linguistics . Production of iron during the Finnish Iron Age was adopted from the neighboring cultures in the east, west and south about the same time as the first imported iron artifacts appear. This happened almost simultaneously in various parts of
11500-451: The inheritable right to live at land owned by the crown ( å meant at or on in old Swedish, now på ). In Finnish , the genitive 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 . Turku has a long history as Finland 's largest city and occasionally as
11625-589: The joint initiative of the king, the bishop, and the Dominican Convent of Saint Olaf [ sv ] , which itself was founded in 1249. Turku Cathedral was consecrated in 1300. During the Middle Ages , 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
11750-402: The maintenance of their fleets. According to some theories, the spirit of early capitalism in the tar-producing province of Ostrobothnia may have been the reason for the witch-hunt wave that happened in this region during the late 17th century. The people were developing more expectations and plans for the future, and when these were not realized, they were quick to blame witches—according to
11875-408: The modern sense developed slowly from the 15th to 18th centuries. During the 13th century, the bishopric of Turku was established. Turku Cathedral was the center of the cult of Saint Henry of Uppsala , and naturally the cultural center of the bishopric. The bishop had ecclesiastical authority over much of today's Finland, and was usually the most powerful man there. Bishops were often Finns, whereas
12000-413: The municipality of Turku took ownership of the ensemble, with Tauno Hannikainen as the orchestra's first chief conductor under municipal management. The orchestra roster currently numbers 74 musicians. The orchestra's most recent chief conductor was Olli Mustonen , from 2021 to 2023. In January 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of John Storgårds as its next chief conductor, effective with
12125-474: The name of Finland is nowadays used in Finnic languages , Sámi , Latvian , Lithuanian and Scottish Gaelic . Currently the oldest known Scandinavian documents mentioning Finland are two runestones : Söderby , Sweden, with the inscription finlont ( U 582 ), and Gotland with the inscription finlandi ( G 319 ) dating from the 11th century. However, as the long continuum of the Finnish Iron Age into
12250-528: The new capital, Helsinki. The new city plan, based on a regular grid plan , 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 with steam and electric machines
12375-438: 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 , 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 , the capital of Estonia , Turku has been named European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996,
12500-399: 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 . Islands such as Ruissalo , Hirvensalo and Kakskerta , forming the southern part of
12625-490: The northern coastline of the Gulf of Bothnia and the wilderness regions of Savo in Eastern Finland. Novgorod considered these as hunting and fishing grounds of its Karelian subjects, and protested against the slow infiltration of Catholic settlers from the West. Occasional raids and clashes between Swedes and Novgorodians occurred during the late 14th and 15th centuries, but for most of the time an uneasy peace prevailed. During
12750-546: The old Russian word also passed directly into the Finnish language and took the form turku . Today the word is only used in idioms , but already in the Middle Ages the word gradually came to mean the town name Turku. The Swedish name Åbo may be a simple combination of å ("river; creek; large stream") and bo ("dwelling"). There is however an old legal term called " åborätt [ sv ] " (meaning roughly "right to live at"), which gave citizens (called "åbo")
12875-510: The orchestra has released a series of albums for Naxos of the music of Jean Sibelius . The orchestra began to release monthly streaming videos of selected concerts in September 2016. Turku Turku ( / ˈ t ʊər k uː / TOOR -koo ; Finnish: [ˈturku] ; Swedish : Åbo , Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu] ) is a city in Finland and
13000-577: The policies of the Reformation, in 1551 Mikael Agricola , bishop of Turku, published his translation of the New Testament into the Finnish language . In 1550 Helsinki was founded by Gustav Vasa under the name of Helsingfors, but remained little more than a fishing village for more than two centuries. King Gustav Vasa died in 1560 and his crown was passed to his three sons in separate turns. King Erik XIV started an era of expansion when
13125-661: The presence of the Komsa culture from Norway. The Sujala finds, which are equal in age with the earliest Komsa artifacts, may also suggest a connection to the Swiderian culture . Southwestern Finland belonged to the Nordic Bronze Age , which may be associated with Indo-European languages, and according to Finnish Germanist Jorma Koivulehto speakers of Proto-Germanic language in particular. Artifacts found in Kalanti and
13250-461: The present day. The primary factor was the Great Fire in 1827, which decimated three quarters of the city. Turku Cathedral , 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
13375-451: The presumably Iron Age origins of urbanization are contested. The question of the timelines for the evolution and the spreading of the current Finnic languages is controversial, and new theories challenging older ones have been introduced continuously. It was for a long time widely believed that Finno-Ugric (the western branch of the Uralic ) languages were first spoken in Finland and
13500-461: The province of Satakunta , which have long been monolingually Finnish, and their place names have made several scholars argue for an existence of a proto-Germanic speaking population component a little later, during the Early and Middle Iron Age. The Swedish colonisation of the Åland Islands , Turku archipelago and Uusimaa could possibly have started in the 12th century but reached its height in
13625-479: The province of Savonia to settle the vast wilderness regions in Middle Finland. This often forced the original Sami population to leave. Some of the wilderness settled was traditional hunting and fishing territory of Karelian hunters. During the 1580s, this resulted in a bloody guerrilla warfare between the Finnish settlers and Karelians in some regions, especially in Ostrobothnia . In 1611–1632 Sweden
13750-432: The realm was required to confess the Lutheran faith and church attendance was mandatory. Ecclesiastical penalties were widely used. The rigorous requirements of orthodoxy were revealed in the dismissal of the Bishop of Turku, Johan Terserus, who wrote a catechism which was decreed heretical in 1664 by the theologians of the academy of Åbo. On the other hand, the Lutheran requirement of the individual study of Bible prompted
13875-502: The region inhabited by speakers of Eastern Finnish dialects. Sweden however gained the control of Western Karelia with the Third Swedish Crusade in 1293. Western Karelians were from then on viewed as part of the western cultural sphere, while eastern Karelians turned culturally to Russia and Orthodoxy . While eastern Karelians remain linguistically and ethnically closely related to the Finns, they are generally considered
14000-465: The regional capital of Southwest Finland . It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura . The population of Turku is approximately 206,000, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 315,000. It is the 6th most populous municipality in Finland, and the third most populous urban area in the country after Helsinki and Tampere . Turku
14125-417: The river. The eastern side, where Turku Cathedral 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
14250-485: The summer theatres, Samppalinna and Vartiovuori. 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
14375-511: The war, leading to Sweden's defeat. Finland was a battleground as both armies ravaged the countryside, leading to famine, epidemics, social disruption and the loss of nearly half the population. By 1721 only 250,000 remained. Landowners had to pay higher wages to keep their peasants. Russia was the winner, annexing the south-eastern part , including the town of Viborg , after the Treaty of Nystad . The border with Russia came to lie roughly where it returned to after World War II. Sweden's status as
14500-447: The year is July, with an average temperature of 17.5 °C (64 °F), whereas the coldest month is February. The average year-round temperature is around 6.0 °C (43 °F). Winter usually starts in early December, and spring in late March. Precipitation in Turku averages 720 mm (28.3 in) a year. The rainiest month of the year is August, when the city receives on average 80 mm (3.1 in) of rainfall. In April,
14625-411: The Åland Islands, and to the archipelago between Turku and the Åland Islands. In these regions, the Swedish language is widely spoken even today. Swedish came to be the language of the upper class in many other parts of Finland as well. The name Finland originally signified only the southwestern province, which has been known as Finland Proper since the 18th century. The first known mention of Finland
14750-652: 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. After the Finnish War , Sweden ceded Finland to Imperial Russia at the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809. There was no resistance of any kind in Turku when the Russians marched into the city in October 1809 in connection with
14875-407: Was experienced in Turku only around 1900. The First World War provided a boost to the city's industry, as the export difficulties affected the wood industry , which Turku didn't have much of, and it was easy to get much-needed raw materials from neutral Sweden. In 1918, a new university, the Åbo Akademi – the only Swedish-language university in Finland – was founded in Turku. Two years later,
15000-650: Was followed by eased economic regulations and extensive emigration. In 1917, Finland declared independence. A civil war between the Finnish Red Guards and the White Guard ensued a few months later, with the Whites gaining the upper hand during the springtime of 1918. After the internal affairs stabilized, the still mainly agrarian economy grew relatively quickly. Relations with the West, especially Sweden and Britain, were strong but tensions remained with
15125-470: Was of domestic origin, probably from bog iron . The Merovingian period in Finland gave rise to a distinctive fine crafts culture of its own, visible in the original decorations of domestically produced weapons and jewelry. The finest luxury weapons, however, were imported from Western Europe. The very first Christian burials are from the latter part of this era as well. In the Leväluhta burial findings,
15250-467: Was present in Finland. The earliest samples belong to the Comb Ceramic cultures , known for their distinctive decorating patterns. This marks the beginning of the neolithic period for Finland, although subsistence was still based on hunting and fishing. Extensive networks of exchange existed across Finland and northeastern Europe during the 5th millennium BC. For example, flint from Scandinavia and
15375-424: Was ruled by King Gustavus Adolphus , whose military reforms transformed the Swedish army from a peasant militia into an efficient fighting machine, possibly the best in Europe. The conquest of Livonia was now completed, and some territories were taken from internally divided Russia in the Treaty of Stolbovo . In 1630, the Swedish (and Finnish) armies marched into Central Europe, as Sweden had decided to take part in
15500-549: Was seen as scandalous, either already at the time of action or proved to be so in later years, include The Nobel House [ fi ] (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 Frithiof Strandell [ fi ] . Situated at the mouth of the Aura River in the south-western corner of Finland, Turku covers an area of 245 square kilometres (95 sq mi) on both banks of
15625-500: Was too far from Russia and too aligned with Sweden to serve as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland . 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
#50949