Turun normaalikoulu

Turku International School is an international school in Turku, Finland, located in the eastern district of Varissuo. It was established in August 2003, and is maintained by the City of Turku. Notably it doesn't have its own faculty, but teaching is undertaken by the University's teacher training school. The official language of the school is English (most people speak Finnish). Around half the 200 students are of foreign nationality.It currently temporarily operates within the premises of Turun normaalikoulu, but will soon get its own building in Varissuo. The school offers three programmes: a primary (years 1-4) and secondary (years 5-9) years programme, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (in cooperation with Turun normaalikoulu). The first two are based on the Finnish national curriculum and the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) respectively. The school is intended for foreign-born children living temporarily or permanently in Turku Region and for Finnish children returning to Finland after years abroad. By an agreement signed between the city of Turku and the University of Turku, Turun Normaalikoulu (the Teacher training school of Turku) takes care of the teaching in the international school.

Varissuo (Finnish; Kråkkärret in Swedish) is a district and the largest suburb of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located seven kilometres to the east of the city centre, and is the easternmost major suburb of Turku, bordering on the neighbouring city of Kaarina. Varissuo has 9,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are foreign immigrants. It is thus the second largest district of Turku, after Runosmäki. The name consists of the words varis, meaning 'crow' and suo, meaning 'marsh'. 15.72% of Varissuo's population are under 15 years old, while 12.56% are over 65. Around 60% of the population speaks an immigrant language, reflecting the suburb's wide cultural variety. 90% of students at Varissuo school speak a mother tongue other than Finnish or Swedish. The suburb was constructed from scratch on an area of previously uninhabited wetland (suo in Finnish) starting in the mid-1970s as migration from rural areas to the city increased heavily in volume. Since then, the city's policy of placing many refugees and unemployed people in certain few districts has led to Varissuo, together with Lauste and Halinen, attaining a somewhat bad reputation.Varissuo has several schools, a library, an underground ice arena, a Lutheran church, a health centre, a post office and a social security (KELA) office. In addition, the Itäkeskus shopping centre is located in Varissuo, as well as a University of Turku teacher training school (Turun normaalikoulu) and Turku International School. As many other parts of Turku, Varissuo has many public transport connections, with frequent bus links to the city centre as well as other nearby districts and cities.

Vaala (Finnish; Svalas in Swedish) is a district in the Itäharju-Varissuo ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the east of the city centre, and consists mainly of a strip of low-density residential area between the more densely built suburbs of Varissuo and Lauste. The current (as of 2004) population of Vaala is 972, and it is decreasing at an annual rate of 0.62%. 30.35% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 4.22% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 85.29% Finnish, 2.47% Swedish, and 12.24% other.

Kohmo is a district in the Itäharju-Varissuo ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the northeast of the city, and is a small, reasonably new residential suburb. The current (as of 2004) population of Kohmo is 1,223, and it is increasing at an annual rate of 0.74%. 29.03% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 5.15% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 80.78% Finnish, 3.35% Swedish, and 15.86% other.

Pääskyvuori (Finnish; Svalberga in Swedish) is a district in the Itäharju-Varissuo ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the east of the city between Varissuo and Itäharju and is largely a low-density residential suburb. Pääskyvuori also includes the more densely built area of Laukkavuori. The name consists of the words pääsky, meaning 'swallow', and vuori, meaning 'mountain'. The former television tower located in the district is the tallest free-standing structure (122 m) in the Turku area. The current (as of 2004) population of Pääskyvuori is 4,482, and it is increasing at an annual rate of 0.18%. 20.91% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 13.43% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 92.24% Finnish, 3.32% Swedish, and 4.44% other.

Lauste (Finnish; Laustis in Swedish) is a district and a suburb of the city of Turku, Finland. It is located in the eastern part of the city, bordering the neighbouring city of Kaarina. It is rather densely populated, having a population of 3,405 (as of 2004). Its population is rapidly decreasing, however – it has an annual population growth rate of -5.73%, which is the lowest of all districts of Turku. 17.00% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 11.51% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 75.18% Finnish, 1.59% Swedish, and 23.23% other. This reflects the fact that Lauste is one of the areas with the highest proportion of immigrants in the city.

Huhkola is a district in the Itäharju-Varissuo ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the east of the city, and is mainly a low-density residential suburb. The population (as of 2004) of Huhkola was 986, decreasing at an annual rate of 3.75%. 20.79% of the district's population were under 15 years old, while 4.77% were over 65. The district's linguistic makeup was 91.68% Finnish, 6.09% Swedish, and 2.23% other.

Ravattula Church (also the Ristimäki Church) was a Medieval church in the village of Ravattula in Kaarina, Finland. It is the oldest known church site in Finland, dating back to the late 12th century–early 13th century. The well-preserved foundations of a wooden church were found on the Ristimäki hill in 2013.The Ravattula Church was a wooden building approximately the size of 6×10 meters. It consisted of two rooms and a smaller narrow choir. The church was built with a horizontal timbering technique and the floor was covered with planks. The only remains today are the foundations made of stone.The church was used for only few decades until the 1230s or 1240s. It was demolished and the wooden material was most likely used elsewhere. Ravattula Church is surrounded by a cemetery which may date back to the late Iron Age. The site is located by the river Aurajoki, some 4 kilometers upstream the present Turku Cathedral which was completed in 1300.

Kurala is a district in the Itäharju-Varissuo ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the northeast of the city, and is largely a low-density residential suburb. The current (as of 2004) population of Kurala is 2,956, and it is decreasing at an annual rate of 1.25%. 13.26% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 25.37% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 93.78% Finnish, 4.30% Swedish, and 1.93% other.

Skanssi (Finnish; Skansen in Swedish) is a district in the Uittamo-Skanssi ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is in the southeast of the city, and consists mostly of industrial areas. The current (as of 2004) population of Skanssi is 141, and it is increasing at an annual rate of 5.67%. 17.73% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 22.70% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 93.62% Finnish and 6.38% Swedish.

Skanssi is a shopping center located in the Skanssi district of Turku, Finland. It is located along Highway 1 (E18) near the Kaarina town and the distance to the center of Turku is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). The shopping center was inaugurated on April 17, 2009, and it is the second largest shopping center in the Turku region.The shopping center has a gross floor area of 130,000 square meters and a leasable area of 40,000 square meters. It has parking space for 2,500 cars. The mall has about 100 stores, with six anchor stores including K-Citymarket, H&M, Stadium, Intersport, Clas Ohlson and XXL Sports & Outdoor.

Old Castle of Lieto (Finnish: Liedon Vanhalinna) is a site of a hillfort in Lieto, Finland. It rises 55 meters above the sea level.The original name of the castle is not known. According to excavations, the castle has been in use three times during its history, in the Late Bronze Age (1100–500 BCE) and in Middle Iron Age (500–700 CE). The third phase of the site between years 1000-1370 can be divided into two. According to the excavations the years 1000–1150 are marked with German money and prehistoric artefacts and the years 1200–1370 with Scandinavian bracteates and medieval artefacts. The hillfort was used by the local Finns proper population until 1170, when it was conquered most likely by the Swedes who possibly used it as a stronghold against Tavastians. The steep hillside supported by fortifications on top of the hill provided a good defensive position. Constructions on the hillfort were mostly made of wood. In the latest phase bricks were used as well. Remains of 11 buildings have been found from the top of the hillfort. Earliest defensive structures have been dated to 500 BCE and an outer bailey was in use in the Middle Ages. Total of 14 arrowheads and 150 crossbow bolt heads have been found from the area as well as several spear heads which the oldest has been dated to 6th century. Also several traces of fire have been found from the hillfort. Earliest traces of fire have been dated to Migration Period and the latest to 1360s.The castle was located between two ancient transport routes: Aura river and Hämeen härkätie leading to central Tavastia. Its importance decreased when the Turku castle was finished in beginning of the 14th century. Hence the name Old Castle of Lieto.