Turku and Pori Province

Hamburger Börs was an Art Nouveau hotel building in Turku, Finland, next to the Market Square built in 1909. It was designed by Frithiof Strandell as an expansion to a hotel located on Kauppiaskatu. The building had 30 hotel rooms. The inner yard hosted the Metropol film theatre, which had been built into a brick warehouse according to Strandell's plans. The theatre later functioned with the names Lyyra V and Rialto up to the 1960s.Oy Centrum Ab sold the property to the Turku cooperative in 1942, and the cooperative planned how to make better use of the lot. The planning of the renovation started in the 1970s. Both the Finnish Museum Board and the Turku museum board wanted to protect the building. Plans for dismantling the building were published in 1976 and this drew media attention all around the country. There were differing opinions about the need to protect the building, and the intendant of the Turku Museum of Art Erik Bergh said that the building did not fit into its surroundings at all and could be dismantled.The Turku city council accepted the dismantling plan. The Finnish People's Democratic League, the museum board, the Arts foundation for the Province of Turku and Pori and the milieu political Enemmistö ry opposed the dismantling. The Finnish state rejected the complaints about the dismantling in December 1976 and dismantling could being. Although the protection of Port Arthur had awoken citizen activism, it was Hamburger Börs that made citizens of Turku demonstrate against dismantling for the first time. Dismantling began despite of the protests, and the new hotel building was built in 1979.The old hotel building with 14 rooms on Kauppiaskatu was spared and was reinforced in 2003. At the same time, elements in Strandell's original plans were restored to its facade and the coat of arms of Hamburg which had been on its wall since 1894 was restored. This building had originally been a two-floor stone house built in the 1830s, which had had an extra floor built and had been renovated to the Art Nouveau style from 1903 to 1904 according to Strandell's plans. The glass paintings of the building were designed by the German Willy Baer.

The Great Fire of Turku (Finnish: Turun palo and Swedish: Åbo brand) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned once before, in 1681.

Turku City Library (Finnish: Turun kaupunginkirjasto, Swedish: Åbo stadsbibliotek) is a municipal public library in Turku. The Main Library is located in the VI District at the city centre. The Turku City Library also operates several branch libraries and two mobile libraries. It is part of the Vaski library network, which is a consolidation of 18 public libraries in the Finland Proper region.The library traces its roots to the 1860s, when a privately funded people's library and an academic oriented city library were established in Turku. The municipality of Turku soon took over operating both libraries, and in 1912 they were merged to form the Turku City Library.The Turku City Library has a regional development responsibility in the regions of Finland Proper and Satakunta. The libraries with regional development responsibility are tasked with developing the working environment of the area's public libraries and updating the staff's skills and knowledge.

Turku Main Library (Finnish: Turun kaupunginkirjaston pääkirjasto, Swedish: Åbo huvudbibliotek) is the chief branch of Turku City Library, located in the city centre of Turku, Finland. The library is approximately 8,500 m².

The VI District is the northernmost of the central districts of Turku, Finland. It is located on the west side of the river Aura, to the east of Aurakatu. It forms part of the city's central business district, hosting a large proportion of the city's business life, particularly around the central Market Square (Kauppatori). The city's main bus station and the head library are also located in this district. The Finnish national road 1 begins in the VI District. The district is the fifth largest in the city, having a population of 6,187 (as of 2004) and an annual population growth rate of -0.15%. 5.11% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 22.64% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 87.23% Finnish, 10.00% Swedish, and 2.77% other.

The Åbo Bloodbath (Swedish: Åbo blodbad; Finnish: Turun verilöyly) of 10 November 1599 was a public execution in the town of Turku (Åbo), Finland, then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the context of the war against Sigismund. Sweden was by then in the final phase of a civil war, with one faction supporting King Sigismund III Vasa, who also was King and Grand Duke of Poland–Lithuania, and another faction supporting Duke Charles of Södermanland, the later Charles IX, Sigismund's paternal uncle. After winning the upper hand in the dispute, Charles crushed the last resistance to his rule, particularly in Finland, while Sigismund had already retreated to Poland. The forces opposing Charles in Finland were led by Arvid Stålarm and Axel Kurck (Kurk), who both became Charles's prisoners after the surrender of Åbo castle and further strongholds. Together with other prisoners, including two sons of Finland's previous commander, Clas (Klaus) Fleming, they were tried by a jury speedily assembled from Charles' followers, and sentenced to death. Fleming's sons and twelve others were then beheaded in Åbo's Town Hall Square, while Stålarm and Kurck were sent to Linköping where they were tried and condemned again along with other captured opposition leaders. However, Stålarm and Kurck also survived the subsequent Linköping Bloodbath.

The siege of Åbo (1563) was a siege of Åbo by the royal army under Eric XIV against his brother, John III, in 1563.

The Market Square (Finnish: Kauppatori, Swedish: Salutorget) is a city square in the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located in the city's VI District, and is generally considered the city's central square. It hosts a lively market on weekdays, and there are several cafés and restaurants on the square. The buildings around the Market Square are also part of the city's central business district. They include, for instance, the Hansa and Forum shopping centres, the Wiklund department store, an Orthodox church, a private medical clinic, and several instances of media such as an office of Finland's major newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, locally most significant newspaper Turun Sanomat and Yle.

The Library Bridge (Finnish: Kirjastosilta, Swedish: Biblioteksbron) is a pedestrian and cycling bridge in Turku designed by Pontek Oy. Located at the city centre, the bridge crosses the Aura River connecting the streets Kauppiaskatu and Rettiginrinne. The bridge was opened for traffic in 2013, and it was named as the result of a public naming contest. The Turku Main Library is located near the bridge.The glass railing of the bridge is illuminated during the dark hours, and the programmable illumination enables the use of different colors during holidays and special occasions. The bridge has won several construction awards.

Turku City Hall (Finnish: Turun kaupungintalo, Swedish: Åbo stadshus) is a Neo-Renaissance building located on the bank of the Aura River in Turku, Finland. The City Council of Turku convenes at Turku City Hall. The Mayor used to work in an Art Nouveau building near to the City Hall, the Turku City Office until 2011. It was originally designed by Charles Bassi from 1810-1811 as the restaurant Seurahuone. The building survived the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. It was redone 1879-1883 as the city hall under plans by Frans A. Sjöström. The first floor used to have the register office of Turku up until 1975 and Turku district court until 1997. After the district court of Turku moved to the new Turku courthouse, the first floor was replaced by work, meeting and legislative spaces in 1999. The second floor of the building is decorated with gold and massive crystal crowning. The wing of the building, located on Aurakatu 4, is for city council groups' rooms and travel agency services. The public can enter the building during specific events such as Turku Day. The public is also permitted to witness the city council assembly.

Puutori (Swedish: Trätorget, lit. 'timber market square') is a market square in the city centre of Turku, Finland. It measures at approximately 100 by 40 metres (330 ft × 130 ft). It is bordered by Aninkaistenkatu/Aningaisgatan, Maariankatu/Mariegatan, Brahenkatu/Brahegatan and Sibeliuksenkatu/Sibeliusgatan. Today, it has no regular market square activity but Puutorin puolesta ry organises different events there each year. Located at one end of the square are Ystävyydenpuisto ("friendship park") and Wäinö Aaltonen's statue Kun ystävyyssuhteet solmitaan, which was designed in 1955 in honour of the friendship between Turku and Göteborg. There are also small cafés and shops surrounding Puutori, as well as a pet store.

Lilja is a red granite sculpture by Wäinö Aaltonen, located in Turku, Finland. It is located in Runeberginpuisto near the Aurasilta. It depicts the lily, the flower of the Turku coat of arms. In 1927, the statue was the first public art commission in Turku.Today, the Lilja statue is a central part of Vappu in Turku. The traditional placing of the student cap on the head of the statue was first done in spring 1929 when students decided that, like the Havis Amanda student cap ceremony in Helsinki, Turku needed the same tradition. The student nation Turun yliopiston varsinaissuomalainen osakunta began the traditional cleaning of the statue for Vappu at the end of the 1960s. The Lilja statue also goes by the name Turun Lilja/Åbo Lilja ("the lily of Turku").