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.

Transportation

For a city of its size, Turku has a good public transportation network of bus routes. It is managed and supervised by the City of Turku Public Transport Office, and is operated mainly by private companies. All the major districts are served by buses every ten to fifteen minutes during the day, some even more frequently.

Related Topics:
Public transportation - Bus

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Regional buses are operated by private companies, most importantly TLO, with very frequent services especially to the neighbouring cities of Naantali, Raisio, and Kaarina. TLO has been accused, however, of abusing its near-monopoly status by setting high fares.

Related Topics:
TLO - Monopoly

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Rail traffic to and from Turku is handled by the Finnish national carrier, VR. As with most other Finnish cities, railways were an important method of transportation in the first half of the 20th century, but have since seen a sharp fall in popularity. As a result, the number of services has fallen and only the railways towards Tampere and Helsinki are now in use. The railway stations currently used for passenger traffic are the Turku Central railway station in the city's VII District, and two smaller stations in Kupittaa and the Port of Turku.

Related Topics:
VR - Turku Central railway station - VII District - Kupittaa

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There is no local rail traffic at the moment, as the city's tram services were discontinued in 1972, and the various local railway lines to neighbouring towns and municipalities were all abolished during the late 20th century. However, there are plans for a light rail line in the Turku region in the near future. This system would more ably serve the major suburbs of the city, namely Varissuo and Runosmäki, as well as the neighbouring cities.

Related Topics:
Tram - 1972 - Light rail

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Turku Airport is located eight kilometres to the north of the city centre, partly in the neighbouring municipality of Rusko.

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There are also daily ferry services from the Port of Turku to Sweden and Åland, operated by Silja Line, Viking Line and SeaWind Line. These are somewhat of a Finnish cultural tradition (see ruotsinlaiva), and people often travel long distances across Finland to Turku just to take a cruise across the Gulf of Bothnia.

Related Topics:
Åland - Silja Line - Viking Line - SeaWind Line - Ruotsinlaiva - Cruise

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