Turku

Turku (/ˈtʊərkuː/ TOOR-koo; Finnish: [ˈturku] ^ⓘ; Swedish: Åbo, Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu] ^ⓘ) is a city and former capital on the southwestern coast of Finland at the mouth of the River Aura, in the region of Southwest Finland (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province (Turun ja Porin lääni; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name of the whole country. The population of Turku is 201,889, making it the sixth largest city in Finland. The Turku region has a population of 346,662, making it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Helsinki and Tampere regions. The city is officially bilingual, with 5.5 per cent of the population having Swedish as their mother tongue.

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 Turku. Turku is the oldest city in Finland and 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 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 (Turun Akatemia) founded in 1640, which then became the University of Helsinki, 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, 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 was named European Capital of Culture 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 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 the "Paris of Finland", hence the Swedish saying: "Varför Paris, vi har ju Åbo!" ("Why Paris, we have Turku!").

Due to its location, the Port of Turku is an important commercial and passenger seaport, with over three million passengers travelling to Stockholm and Mariehamn each year.