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V District, Turku

Districts of TurkuWestern Finland Province geography stubs
Turku, Itäranta
Turku, Itäranta

The V District, also known as Itäranta (Finnish; Öststranden in Swedish, meaning 'east bank'), is one of the central districts of Turku, Finland. As its name suggests, it is located on the east side of the river Aura, and stretches from the IV District (Martti) all the way to the mouth of the river. The district is strongly associated with the sea - it neighbours the Port of Turku across the river, and its street names have a ship-related theme. The district has a population of 3,677 (as of 2004) and an annual population growth rate of -1.25%. 13.41% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 10.31% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 90.02% Finnish, 5.17% Swedish, and 4.81% other.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article V District, Turku (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

V District, Turku
Matruusinpolku, Turku V

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 60.436388888889 ° E 22.244722222222 °
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Address

Turun kaasukello

Matruusinpolku 8
20810 Turku, V
Finland
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Turku, Itäranta
Turku, Itäranta
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VIII District, Turku
VIII District, Turku

The VIII District, also known as Port Arthur (or Portsa in colloquial Finnish), is one of the central districts of Turku, Finland. It is located on the west side of the river Aura, between Puistokatu and the IX District (Länsiranta). The district consists mostly of wooden houses, separated by narrow streets paved with cobblestones. It is widely considered one of the most beautiful residential districts in the whole of Finland, and has received an award to that effect in 2001. Port Arthur is one of the most expensive districts in Turku to live in. The district was originally built in the 1900s as a residential area for workers. It was inadvertently named after the city of Port Arthur (now Lüshunkou, China) that Imperial Russia (which ruled Finland at the time) lost during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Local children asked the workmen what they were doing; their reply of "rebuilding Port Arthur" caught on among the citizenry.Attempts by the city council to build tenements in the area in the 1970s failed due to strong opposition from locals. The area is nowadays protected. In addition to the residential area of Port Arthur, the district contains the Michael's Church, and the Kakola hill. The district has a population of 4,760 (as of 2004) and an annual population growth rate of -1.55%. 9.26% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 19.10% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 91.07% Finnish, 7.06% Swedish, and 1.87% other.

Finnish minelayer Keihässalmi
Finnish minelayer Keihässalmi

Keihässalmi (pennant number "05") was a minelayer of the Finnish Navy. She was commissioned in 1957 and remained in service until 1994, after which she was turned into a museum ship in Turku. The vessel was named after the strait of Keihässalmi, which is located in Sipoo. Keihässalmi was the first Finnish minelayer to be constructed after World War II. Keihässalmi was designed according to lessons learned from the Ruotsinsalmi class minelayers, but with increased size and tonnage. It was stronger, more seaworthy and faster than its predecessor. The construction took place from 1956 to 1957 at the Valmet Oy shipyard in Helsinki. The sinking of the minelayer Riilahti in 1943 had left a big gap in Finnish mine warfare capabilities, and a new vessel was needed. It would last until the mid-1950s before this was addressed, due to the harsh after-war conditions and war-payments which included many ships to be constructed at Finnish shipyards. The Keihässalmi was fitted with almost all weapons systems available to the Finnish Navy (except torpedoes), although she primarily was a minelayer and minesweeper. Keihässalmi was launched on 16 March 1957 and the vessel remained the largest vessel of the Finnish Navy until 1962, when the frigate Matti Kurki was purchased. It was also used as a sort of test-bed for multiple systems. At one point a 75 mm gun was fitted to the ship, as the Finnish Navy lacked designated gunships. The ship was also used for training, and was sent out on trips every sailing season. The Keihässalmi was cheap to operate and required a low complement (important as the Finnish Navy had a manpower restriction), but the vessel proved itself over the decades. The ship underwent repairs and refitting from 1975 until 1981, when its seaworthiness was improved by the installment of ballast tanks. The forward mine section was slightly modified to allow the vessel travel in high seas. The weaponry was modernized and the gunlaying was now radar-guided. Keihässalmi was the flagship of the Finnish Navy and she made many visits to other countries in the 1960s. She was the official school ship of the navy from 1975 until 1979, awaiting the replacement for the Matti Kurki. Keihässalmi was retired and turned into a museum ship in 1994. She is currently on display at the Forum Marinum museum in Turku.