Turku (Swedish: Åbo) is Finland's oldest city, having been founded in 1229. The city has a history with Sweden and Russia, and now it is an important city of an independent Finland. Turku played a pivotal role during the Middle Ages as part of the Kingdom of Sweden. In the 16th century, it was the second most important city in the kingdom, after Stockholm. Turku served as the administrative, academic and religious centre of the eastern part of the Swedish kingdom, known today as Finland.
In 1809, Finland came under Russian rule with Turku serving as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1812, the Russians relocated the capital to Helsinki. The Great Fire of Turku in 1827 was a significant milestone in the history of the city due to its almost complete destruction. Nevertheless, Turku retained its status as the largest Finnish city until the 1840s.
Today, Turku is the primary city and population centre in Southwestern Finland. The city's population has been growing steadily as a result of the baby boom, migration from rural areas and, more recently, immigration. During the late 20th century and early 21st century, Turku has flourished as a bustling hub of commerce, academia, and tourism. The Turku region is the third largest metropolitan area in Finland.
Prehistory
Human settlement in the Turku region is relatively recent, as the southwestern part of Finland remained submerged below the sea for an extended duration due to the Ice Age. As a result of the tectonic uplift during 3000–2000 BCE, the Turku region transformed from an outlying archipelago to a shoreline. During the Iron Age, the area was densely populated as it was the most crucial agricultural part of the region. Moreover, the rivers of and Aurajoki provided excellent harbor locations. In the 11th century, the Turku region began developing as a seaport, with Hämeen Härkätie serving as the first ancient road linking to inland areas.Lahtinen (2015), pp. 9–10
The entire coast of south-west Finland was settled by the 12th century. Legend has it that in 1150, the English bishop Henry baptised the first Finns into Christianity. However, the initial burials of Christians can be dated back to the 10th and 11th centuries, although they do not necessarily indicate the presence of a Christian population in the area. In some instances, crosses were used purely as decoration. The first archeological indication of a church dates back to the 12th century.Lahtinen (2015), p. 11
Turku and the territory of present-day Finland gradually became part of Sweden during the 12th and 13th centuries. The area around Turku was densely populated, with new people arriving from the west across the Baltic Sea. Two main commodities were dried fish and furs, which were exported to Central Europe.Lahtinen (2015), p. 12
Medieval city (1229–1499)
On 23 January 1229, Pope Gregory IX granted permission to move the episcopal seat from Nousiainen to Koroinen, which is presently located near the centre of Turku. The ecclesiastical centre of the diocese of Finland was situated in Nousiainen until the early 13th century with a degree of historical certainty. The written source refers to the bishop of Finland (Finlandensis episcopus). The current city of Turku regards this as the founding year.Lahtinen (2015), pp. 12–13 In a letter (Episcopus Aboensis) dated 24 February 1259, Pope Alexander IV first mentioned the name of Åbo () and the bishop of Turku.Lahtinen (2015), p. 15 No document has survived, but it is likely that Turku received its town charter at the joint initiative of the King of Sweden and the (founded in 1249) at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.Laaksonen (2018), p. 11Hiekkanen (2003)
The first town seal dates from 1309, and the town council and mayor are first mentioned in documents dating from 1323 and 1324.Laaksonen (2018), p. 13 According to an outdated theory, there was already a settlement in Turku in the 13th century formed by German merchants, which was granted city rights at the end of the century.Pihlman (2010), pp. 10–11 This settlement also included the wooden church on the Unikankare hill, which was replaced by the Cathedral. According to the old idea, the settlement also first arose around Unikankare, from where it spread to the Great Square area in the 14th century.Pihlman (2010), p. 11
During the 12th and 13th centuries, Sweden, Denmark and various German entities all had a presence in Finland. Over time, Catholic Sweden gradually strengthened its position, leading to conflicts with the Orthodox Novgorod Republic. The expansion finally came to an end with the conclusion of peace in 1323. The Treaty of Nöteborg partitioned Finland into Western Catholicism and the far-eastern parts into Orthodoxy.Lahtinen (2015), p. 17 Sweden centralized the administration of the eastern regions, i.e. present-day Finland, under Turku Castle. This resulted in Finland becoming part of Western cultural influence. Swedish law was predominant in the country, while the coastal regions were shaped by the urban culture of Germany. However, the cities situated in Finland refrained from joining the Hanseatic League, and Turku did not attain the status of a Hanseatic City.
In the 14th century, the population of the city—which at that time consisted only of single-story wooden houses—was approximately 800–900 inhabitants; two-thirds of the city's burghers were Germans, but gradually the proportion of native burghers increased. Also in the 14th century, the city of Turku declared the first annual Christmas Peace. The tradition has persisted up to the present day. In 1397, Sweden, Denmark and Norway decided to form the Kalmar Union. The alliance was controversial, however, as Denmark sought supremacy over the others. At the end of the 15th century, the Danes plundered the coasts of Finland and occupied the castles for some time. The union finally ended in 1523 when Gustav Vasa was proclaimed king of Sweden.
In the 15th century, the population of Turku increased to 2,000–3,000 inhabitants. This century witnessed a period of economic prosperity in Turku as the city engaged in profitable trade with German counterparts, including Danzig. The archdiocese of Turku had a vast administrative area, stretching east to Lake Ladoga and north to the wilds of Lapland. Until the mid-16th century, the Turku diocese was the only one in the country and the bishop had complete control over Finland's ecclesiastical administration at that time. Turku Cathedral was enlarged through the addition of extra chapels and Pennisilta ("Penny Bridge"), the first bridge over the Aura River, was built in 1414. Despite its small population, Turku emerged as one of the most significant cities in Sweden. In addition to ecclesiastical authority, Turku was also home to the only lagmans in Finland, and as early as the 15th century, the highest court in the country, the , convened in the city.Vilho Niitemaa (1984): Myöhäiskeskiajan Turku: Turun seitsemän vuosisataa (editor Eero Kuparinen). pp. 36–52. Turun historiallinen yhdistys. (in Finnish)
There is little information about everyday life in medieval Turku and, for example, social problems. Like most medieval cities, Turku must have been a fairly violent place.Heikki Ylikangas: Väkivallasta sanan valtaan. Suomalaista menneisyyttä keskiajalta nykypäiviin. Juva; WSOY 1999. (in Finnish) Death sentences were carried out much less frequently than is commonly thought, as this punishment only became common in Turku in the 17th century.Hannele Klemettilä: "Keskiajan pyövelit." p. 67. Atena kustannus, Jyväskylä 2004. (in Finnish) Even then, death sentences were carried out in Turku at most about three times a year. The poor, the elderly and the sick could seek help from the church-run asylums. Lepers had their own , which is thought to have been located somewhere around , outside the medieval city area.Turku. Keskiajan kaupungit 3. Turun maakuntamuseo 1986. (in Finnish) In those days, there were very few people over the age of 50; infectious diseases such as measles and smallpox could be fatal, and those who survived the dangers of childhood until their twenties could live another 20–30 years.
Modern era (1500–1808)
Turku flourished as the second most important city in Sweden in the 16th century. At times it even found itself at the centre of the struggle for power in the Nordic countries. King Gustav Vasa unified the Swedish kingdom and established Stockholm as its capital. During the Reformation, the king abolished Catholicism and adopted Protestant Lutheranism as the state religion. This resulted in the reinforcement of the central government and the decline of the influence of the church.Lahtinen (2015), p. 31
Duke John, the offspring of Gustav Vasa, was assigned the position of the Grand Duke of Finland. He governed Finland from Turku Castle and introduced the advances of the Renaissance. After seven years, John was imprisoned by his half-brother, Eric XIV, and transferred to the Gripsholm Castle. The tables turned six years later when Eric XIV was imprisoned in Turku Castle and compelled to step down. Duke John ascended to the throne as King John III. Apart from this, the period of rule in Turku was peaceful.
However, the conflict with Tsarist Russia continued in the east. In 1594, Sigismund III, the son of John III, ascended to the Swedish throne. His profession of the Catholic faith was regarded as a threat by the Swedish elite and the Protestant Church, leading to the emergence of Duke Charles as a dissident. This led to Duke Charles' mutiny against him. The Finnish nobility, however, remained loyal to Sigismund, which led to the siege of Turku Castle in 1597 and 1599. Finally, the Åbo bloodbath marked the end of the conflict. The Duke ascended to the throne as Charles IX.
During the 17th century, Sweden emerged as a European Great Power, asserting control over the entire Baltic Sea region. Concurrently, Turku experienced significant economic growth, attracting merchants from Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland due to the kingdom's allowance of only Protestants to settle. In 1623 Turku was granted its own court of appeals (), further enhancing its prosperity. To improve the administration of the Finnish region, the Governor-general was established. In 1637, Count Per Brahe was appointed as the governor-general. He established new cities in Finland and initiated the functioning of the postal service. His most significant achievement was the founding of the Turku Academy in 1640. Simultaneously, the country's first printing press started operating in Turku, which printed the initial Finnish Bible in 1642.Lahtinen (2015), p. 45 During the 17th century, there were significant population disasters resulting in one-third of the Finnish population dying from hunger or disease. Yet, southern Finland withstood the calamities better than the north.Lahtinen (2015), pp. 45–46