How much to travel Scandinavia

HOTELS. Marina Palace, Linnankatu 32, 307 SP; Hamburger Bbrs, Kauppiaskatu 6, 323 b„ SP; Rantasipi Turku, Pispalantie 7, 300 SP; Maakunta, Humalistonkatu 7, 200 Henrik, Yliopistonkatu 29A, 144 Keskushotelli, Yliopistonkatu 12A, 131 Seurahuone, Humalistonkatu 2, 118 Turku. Eerikankatu 30,48 Turun Karina, Itainen Pitkakatu 30B, 36 b. OUTSIDE THE TOWN: Ruissaio, 300 SP.

YOUTH HOSTEL: Linnankatu 39. CAMP SITES: Ruissaio and Vepsa.

RESTAURANTS. Brahen Kellari, Puolalankatu 1; Teatteriravintola Foija, Aurakatu 10; Samppalinna, Itainen Rantakatu (summer only).

EVENTS. Boat Show (second half of April); Rock Festival at Ruissaio (beginning of August); How much to travel Scandinavia Turku Music Festival (beginning of August); Turku Trade Fair (mid-August); Handicraft Days (first half of September).

The southern Finnish town of Turku (Swedish Abo), the country’s third largest and oldest city and once its capital, lies on the Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of the Aurajoki, sheltered by a number of large islands and by countless skerries. About 5% of the population is Swedishspeaking. It istheadministrative hub of the province of Turku and Pori, the see of the Lutheran Archbishop of Finland and the seat (since 1623) of the Provincial Court, with a Finnish and a Swedish university and a commercial college. Together with the neighbouring Naantali, it is a key port for imports, particularly in winter, since the access route through the skerries can be kept open all year. Turku is also an important industrial town (shipbuilding, engineering, foodstuffs, textiles, etc.).

HISTORY. The town developed from a settlement on the Koroinen peninsula, on the N side of the Aurajoki estuary, and received its charter from Gustavus Vasa in 1525. In 1630, Gustavus Adolphus established a grammar school; the school was raised to university status in 1640 by Queen Christina. The treaty ending the Swedish-Russian war of 1741-3 was signed in Turku. In 1809, the town was passed to Russia, along with the rest of Finland. In 1810, the seat of government was transferred to Helsinki and, after a devastating fire in 1828, the University was also moved there. After the declaration of Finnish independence in 1918, a new Swedish university was established, and in 1920 a Finnish university; Turku thereafter took on a new lease of life. Since the Second World War, there has been a steady development of industry and a rapid increase in the growth of the tourist trade.

SIGHTS. The hub of the city’s traffic is the Market Square (Kauppatori: market until 2 p.m. daily), on the N bank of the Aurajoki. At the S corner is the Swedish Theatre (1838), on the NW side, the Orthodox Church (C. L. Engel, 1846). From here, the busy Aurakatu runs NW to the Museum of Art (Taidemuseo; by

G. Nystrom, 1904), a handsome granite building standing on elevated ground, surrounded by gardens (rich collection of pictures and sculpture, primarily by Finnish artists). On the steps leading up to the entrance are figures (W. Aaltonen) of the Finnish painters ?. II. Ekman (1809-73) and V. A. Westerholm (1860-1919). Tothe Wof the Museum is the Central Station. SW of the station, in Puistokatu, stands the neo-Gothic St Michael’s Church (1905).