Turku

Turku is a city in Finland. It is the oldest city in the country.

The Aura River flows through Turku to the sea.

Turku lies at the mouth of the Aura River, west of Helsinki. Universalis calls it the oldest city in Finland, and it was the country's capital until 1812. It is a bilingual city, where both Finnish and Swedish are spoken; its Swedish name is Åbo.

At the end of 2025 about 209,633 people lived in Turku, according to Statistics Finland. That makes it the sixth-largest city in Finland.

Universalis: the oldest town in Finland, at the mouth of the Aura, west of Helsinki; capital of Finland until 1812, under Swedish and then Russian rule; a bilingual town; 175,354 inhabitants (2007 estimate).

Statistics Finland (via City Population), city of Turku (Åbo): 163,680 (end of 1980), 159,180 (1990), 172,561 (2000), 177,326 (2010), 194,391 (2020) and 209,633 (estimate, 31 December 2025), rank 6 after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu; Southwest Finland region 497,800 (2025).

Look at the tall red tower with its green, pointed top! Trees with yellow leaves stand in the park by the river.

This photo shows the Aura River, the Cathedral Park and the tower of Turku Cathedral on 18 October 2020. The river runs between stone walls in front. On the far bank, paths wind across a lawn covered with fallen leaves, under trees turning yellow and orange.

On the right rises the cathedral's tall tower, red below and green on top, with a pointed spire. Yellow buildings stand on the left.

Commons: Flickr photo by Ninara, 18 October 2020, CC BY 2.0 (FlickreviewR passed), uploaded in 2022 by another user whose caption reads: 'Turku Cathderal [sic] and the Aura River with the Cathedral Park in between.'

In the picture: the brown water of the Aura and a stone embankment; a lawn with fallen leaves, paths, benches, lamps and a few walkers; trees in autumn colors; the red-walled cathedral tower with a clock and a green upper stage and spire; yellow and cream buildings at left; a cloudy sky. Wikidata gives the cathedral a height of 101.9 m.

In Turku, people build big ships and make things like sugar, steel and cloth. Students come to its universities.

Turku is still an important center of industry and culture, Universalis says. Besides its shipyards, it has sugar refining, pottery, and the making of steel, electronics, timber, flour and textiles.

Because it is a bilingual city, Turku has a university for Swedish speakers, since 1918, and one for Finnish speakers, since 1920. It also has art galleries, libraries, museums and the Swedish Theatre, from 1838.

Universalis: still an important industrial and cultural center; several large shipyards; local industries include sugar refining, pottery and the production of steel, electronic equipment, timber, flour and textiles. A bilingual town, it hosts universities for Swedish speakers (since 1918) and Finnish speakers (1920), specialized higher-education institutions, art galleries, libraries and museums.

Wikidata: Åbo Akademi University (Q917874), 1918, 0.69 km ENE; University of Turku (Q501841), 1920, 1.01 km ENE of the city point.