Å is for Åbo ( Turku )

 The City of Turku was founded in 1229. 

 Finland's first university was founded in Turku in 1640, even though the number of inhabitants in the city was not very large at that time. The staple town charter (the right to conduct foreign trade) guaranteed, however, that trading was brisk.

In 1827, a large section of Turku was dramatically destroyed in a fire. The burnt city needed an altogether new town plan, which was drawn up by C. L. Engel the following year

Luostarinmäki the Handicrafts Museum.

The area of the museum was the only old residential area left in 1940, when the museum was opened. The location was the largest area to completely survive the Great Fire of Turku. Contemporary handicraft items are presented. The museum received the Golden Apple international tourism award as the only site in Scandinavia in 1984.

The Turku Market Hall, completed in 1896.

The Market Hall, which extends the length of an entire block,

was designed by architect Gustaf Nyström.



Restaurant Samppalinna – a part of the vibrant Turku history since 1832 –

is a spectacular wooden villa with terraces located on the banks of the River Aura.

Turku ( Åbo ) was my home town from 1970 to 1976.