Turku

Turku ({{IPA2|ˈturku}}, Swedish: {{Audio|sv-Åbo.ogg|Åbo}}), founded in the 13th century, is the oldest and fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of 174,824 (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 considered one of the most important seaports in Finland.

References

• The city's official website at http://www.turku.fi/.
• The website of the tourist organisation Turku TouRing at http://www.turkutouring.fi/.
• Turku from the Finnish-language Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 August 2005.
• Turun kaupungin viestintäkeskus (2005). Kunnalliskertomus 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2005.
• Turun kaupunki (2005). Turun kaupungin tilastollinen vuosikirja. Retrieved 11 August 2005.
• Turun kaupunginvaltuusto (2004). Talousarvio 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2005.
• Turun Sanomat (2004). Tutkimus: lehtien lukijapeitot. Retrieved 21 August 2005.
• Anttonen, Martti (ed) (1992). Täällä Suomen synnyinmuistot. Jyväskylä: Varsinais-Suomen maakuntaliitto.
• Knuuti, Heikki et al (1986). Kotikaupunkini Suomen Turku. Keuruu: Otava Publishing.
• Virmavirta, Jarmo (2004). Finland's City of Turku. Keuruu: Otava Publishing.