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Turku

Turku
TurkuÅbo
City
Turun kaupunki
Åbo stad
City of Turku
Top row: Aerial view of Turku from atop Turku Cathedral2nd row: Statue of Per Brahe, Turku Castle, Turku Cathedral  3rd row: Turku Medieval Market, The Christmas Peace Balcony of Turku, Twilight on the Aura River  Bottom row: Summer along the Aura River, view of Yliopistonkatu pedestrian area
Top row: Aerial view of Turku from atop Turku Cathedral
2nd row: Statue of Per Brahe, Turku Castle, Turku Cathedral
3rd row: Turku Medieval Market, The Christmas Peace Balcony of Turku, Twilight on the Aura River
Bottom row: Summer along the Aura River, view of Yliopistonkatu pedestrian area
Flag of Turku
Flag
Coat of arms of Turku
Coat of arms
Turku.sijainti.suomi.2008.svg
Coordinates: 60°27′N 022°16′E / 60.450°N 22.267°E / 60.450; 22.267Coordinates: 60°27′N 022°16′E / 60.450°N 22.267°E / 60.450; 22.267
Country  Finland
Region Varsinais-Suomen.vaakuna.svg Southwest Finland
Sub-region Turku sub-region
Government
 • Mayor Aleksi Randell
Area (2016-01-01)
 • City 245.67 km2 (94.85 sq mi)
 • Land 245.67 km2 (94.85 sq mi)
 • Water 60.7 km2 (23.4 sq mi)
 • Urban 252.65 km2 (97.55 sq mi)
 • Metro 2,331.1 km2 (900.0 sq mi)
Area rank 247th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)
 • City 186,030
 • Rank 6th largest in Finland
 • Density 757.24/km2 (1,961.2/sq mi)
 • Urban 252,468
 • Urban density 999,3/km2 (25,880/sq mi)
 • Metro 315 751
Population by native language
 • Finnish 88.1% (official)
 • Swedish 5.2% (official)
 • Others 6.7%
Population by age
 • 0 to 14 13.1%
 • 15 to 64 69.5%
 • 65 or older 17.4%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 20000–20960
Municipal tax rate 18.75%
Website www.turku.fi

Turku (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈturku]; Swedish: Åbo [ˈoːbʊ]) is a city on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland. Turku, as a town, was settled during the 13th century and founded most likely at the end of the 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. It quickly became the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years. After Finland became part of the Russian Empire (1809) and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was moved to Helsinki (1812), Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains a regional capital and an important business and cultural center.

Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced Finnish history. Along with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland.

Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to and Mariehamn.

As of 30 September 2014, the population of Turku was 183,811, making it the sixth largest city in Finland. As of 31 August 2008, there were 303,492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as 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 Swedish as a mother-tongue.


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