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.

Sports

As in most other Finnish cities, the most popular sport is ice hockey. The local club TPS plays in the sport's top level in Finland, the SM-liiga. It is based at Elysée Arena to the southwest of the city centre. TPS has won the Finnish ice hockey championship ten times. The city's other major ice hockey team is TuTo, which play at the country's second level.

Related Topics:
Ice hockey - TPS - SM-liiga - Elysée Arena - TuTo

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Football is also an important sport, and the city has two teams in the Veikkausliiga: FC Inter and TPS (which is part of the same organisation as the ice hockey team). Both teams play their home matches at the modern Veritas Stadion in the district of Kupittaa.

Related Topics:
Football - Veikkausliiga - FC Inter - TPS - Veritas Stadion - Kupittaa

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The Paavo Nurmi Marathon is an annual sporting event in Turku, named after the world-famous runner who was born and raised in the city.

Related Topics:
Paavo Nurmi - Marathon

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