Sibelius Museum

Åbo Akademi University (Swedish: Åbo Akademi [ˈǒːbʊ akadɛˈmiː], Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu ɑkɑdeˈmiː]) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Åbo, which was founded in 1640, but moved to Helsinki after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the University of Helsinki. Åbo Akademi was founded by private donations in 1918 as the third university in Finland, both to let Turku again become a university town and because it was felt that the Swedish language was threatened at the University of Helsinki. The Finnish University of Turku was founded in 1920, also by private donations and for similar reasons. Åbo Akademi was a private institution until 1981, when it was turned into a public institution. As the only uni-lingually Swedish multi-faculty university in the world outside Sweden and consequently the only one in Finland, Åbo Akademi University is responsible for higher education for a large proportion of the Swedish-speaking population. This role has many implications for education and research as well as for the social environment. As there are few students in most subjects, cooperation between faculties and with other universities is very important. A minority of students are Finnish speakers who have passed a university entrance Swedish language test. While Turku itself is a bilingual city, the university provides a strong Swedish environment. Most of the students, regardless of their original language, will be functionally bilingual when finishing their studies.

Colonel Samuel Cockburn (c. 1574 – December 1621) was a Scottish soldier in the service of Sweden who in 1614 was serving as generalfältvaktmästare of the Swedish field army. He was born around 1574 in Scotland. He entered Swedish service in 1598 where he participated in the Swedish civil war between Sigismund Vasa and his uncle Duke Karl, later Karl IX.

Turku Cathedral (Finnish: Turun tuomiokirkko, Swedish: Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Finland, Tapio Luoma. It is also regarded as one of the major records of Finnish architectural history. Considered to be the most important religious building in Finland, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols. The cathedral is situated in the heart of Turku next to the Old Great Square, by the river Aura. Its presence extends beyond the local precinct by having the sound of its bells chiming at noon broadcast on national radio. It is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations. The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the Catholic bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards.

The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History (or The Donner Institute, Swedish: Donnerska Institutet) is a private institute in Finland maintained by the Åbo Akademi University. The Institute was founded in 1959 with an extensive donation by Uno and Olly Donner. It hosts the largest special library on Comparative Religion in the Nordic countries, supports research in the area of the Institute through grants, and organizes conferences and seminars.

The Per Brahe statue (Finnish: Pietari Brahen patsas, Swedish: Per Brahes staty) is a monument of Per Brahe the Younger, the Governor-General of Finland and first chancellor of the Academy of Turku, located in Brahenpuisto in Turku, Finland. It was designed by Walter Runeberg and revealed in 1888.The statue is made of bronze and stands 2.95 metres high. The base is made of red granite, standing 4 metres high. The base has the Swedish text Iagh war med landett och landett med mig wääl tillfreds ("I was satisfied with my country and my country satisfied with me"). Runeberg had made one statue before for the base built for Brahenpuisto, but the base was too small, so this earlier statue was sold to Raahe, where it was placed in the Pekkatori square in the city centre. Runeberg sculpted the one seen in Turku later the same year.Other statues of Brahe are located in Raahe (slightly larger copy of the work by Walter Runeberg also from 1888), Lieksa (1953), and Kajaani (1954) in Finland; in Gränna (1916), Sweden.

The Old Academy Building (Finnish: Akatemiatalo, Swedish: Akademihuset) is a neoclassical building, originally consecrated in 1817 for the Royal Academy of Turku in Turku, Finland. It is located in Cathedral Square next to Turku Cathedral. The building was designed by Swedish architect Carl Christoffer Gjörwell. Laying down the foundation stone of the Old Academy Building in 1802 was a milestone where Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf and Queen Fredrika Dorotea were present. The Old Academy Building suffered damage due to the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. After the devastation caused by the fire, the Imperial Academy of Turku, the university at that time, moved to Helsinki. However, the building was restored under Carl Ludvig Engel's plans in 1830 and was signed over to the Court of Appeals of Turku, Turku cathedral chapter and the County Administrative Board. Today, the spaces are used for the Court of Appeal, with the exception of the Ceremonial Hall, which is managed by the University of Turku where its Faculty of Humanities graduation ceremony take place. The hall is used for the two universities in Turku: the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. It seats 350 and is also commonly used for events such as concerts; the acoustics of the hall are superb for choirs and chamber music.

The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo (Swedish: Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or Åbo Kungliga Akademi; Latin: Regia Academia Aboensis; Finnish: Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian czar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku. In 1828, after the Great Fire of Turku, the institution was moved to Helsinki, in line with the relocation of the Grand Duchy's capital. It was finally renamed the University of Helsinki when Finland became a sovereign nation-state in 1917.

The Old Great Square (Finnish: Vanha Suurtori, Swedish: Gamla Stortorget) is a medieval market square located in the city centre of Turku, Finland. It is located in the II District in very close proximity to Turku Cathedral. The area was the administrative and commercial centre of Turku since the founding of the city in the 13th century up until the Great Fire of Turku. Today, there are buildings alongside the Old Great Square, but only on the southern side because the blocks on the northern side changed to Porthaninpuisto after the fire. There are four historical buildings which the City of Turku restored for cultural use: the Brinkkala Mansion, Old Town Hall, Hjelt Mansion and Juselius Mansion. The buildings were mainly constructed after the fire and represent neoclassicism.

The Medieval Market of Turku (Finnish: Turun keskiaikaiset markkinat, Swedish: Åbo medeltidsmarknad) is an annual historical reenactment event organised in the historic city centre of Turku, Finland. Admission to the event is free. In addition to living history performances, it includes an open-air handicrafts market with vendors and even visitors garbed in period costume. The main market is at the Old Great Square (one of the city's oldest market squares), but there are other performances and exhibitions at Turku Castle, Turku Cathedral and at the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum. Together these different performances and exhibitions form the Medieval Turku event, which is organized in unison by Turun Suurtorin keskiaika ry, the Museum Centre of Turku, the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova museum, Rohan Stables and Turku and Kaarina Parish Union. These areas are closed to traffic during the event.

Pinella was a restaurant in the Porthaninpuisto park in central Turku, Finland, next to the Turku Cathedral. The restaurant was run by Sunborn Group. Pinella was one of the oldest restaurants in Finland in terms of length of operation.In 1848, Nils Henrik Pinello from Turku sought permission to construct a pavilion in the middle of the Porthaninpuisto park. The permission was granted and the pavilion was constructed in the place where the statue of Henrik Gabriel Porthan is currently located. Because of the statue, the pavilion was moved closed to the River Aura, for which the city of Turku gave Pinello a grant of 150 roubles. In the same year, the Doric order columns designed by Per Johan Gylich in 1836 were expanded. In 1862 Nils Pinello gave the pavilion away to his son Julius Pinello, after which it has had several owners.The restaurant was known as the bohemian meeting place of the culture and art circles, famous visitors in the 19th century have included Elias Lönnrot, J. L. Runeberg and Sakari Topelius.In 1919, prohibition starved off many restaurants, but Pinella acted as an alcohol store during the time. Alcohol was hidden in the columns among other places. In 1937 a Gulf service station was opened next to the restaurant and stayed there until the late 1970s. The Turku Artists' Association kept ownership of Pinella from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. Pinella was known once again as the meeting place of the bohemian and the artists.In 1973, Pinella was renovated and opened the first street-side terrace with an alcohol sale licence in Finland next to the river shore. From 2004 to 2011 Pinella was disused and its condition worsened. The place was thoroughly renovated. As archaeologists investigated the bottom floor it became apparent that there had been a public toilet at the back of the columns in the 19th century. During the renovation the restaurant's original tapestries from the 19th century were also found.Erik Mansikka, who won the "Vuoden kokki" ("Chef of the year") award in 2013, has been working as a chef in Pinella in the early 2010s. In summer 2018, Sami Tallberg has also worked as a chef in the Pinella kitchen.Restaurant Pinella closed down on 25 September 2021.

Katedralskolan i Åbo (the Cathedral School of Åbo) is the Swedish-language upper secondary school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square (the town, former capital of Finland, is known as Åbo in Swedish). The school believes that it was founded in 1276 for the education of boys to become servants of the Church. The schoolhouse was situated within the wall surrounding the Cathedral of Turku. Mikael Agricola, the founder of Finnish literature, was the headmaster of the school 1539-1548. When the Royal Academy of Turku, now the University of Helsinki, was founded in 1640, the senior part of the school formed the core of the new university, while the junior year courses formed a trivialskola, a grammar school. The graduates of Turku Cathedral School were eligible to be admitted to the university. The current schoolhouse was built after the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. In 1830, the city of Turku also obtained a gymnasium, a higher secondary school, while the older Catedral School became a preparatory school of the new gymnasium. To reflect this, the name of the Cathedral School was changed in 1840 to Högre Elementarläroverk, literally "Higher Elementary School". In the education reform of 1872, the Högre Elementarläroverk and the gymnasium were merged into Svenska klassiska lyceum i Åbo, a Swedish-speaking classical school. In the 1970s Svenska klassiska lyceum and Åbo svenska flicklyceum, The Swedish Girls' Secondary School of Turku, were united and the old school name Katedralskolan i Åbo, the Cathedral School of Turku, was revived. Since the Swedish Reformation in the early 16th century, the Cathedral School and its successors had been financed by the state. In 1977, the introduction of the comprehensive school system in Turku also caused the transferral of the Katedralskolan to the City of Turku. At the same time, the school lost its five lowest classes (age groups 10–15). Since then, the Cathedral School has denoted the three-year upper secondary school at Gamla Stortorget 1, providing academically-oriented secondary education to comprehensive school graduates. In theory, the Katedralskolan is the oldest institution of learning of Finland as it has an organizational continuity from the medieval Cathedral school, founded in 1276.

Aurora Society was a secret society and a national Finnish literary society at the Royal Academy of Turku from 1770 to 1779. The Society consisted of many prominent members of the Finnish cultural sphere and had as its focal points poetry, Finnish history, geography and the research of language and economy.The Society published Finland's first newspaper, Åbo Tidningar (Tidningar Utgifne Af et Sällskap i Åbo), between the years 1771 to 1778, and 1782 to 1785. Furthermore, the first public orchestra concerts in Finland were also organized by the Aurora Society. The society was a typical product of the Enlightenment period: a secret society on one hand and a cultural and educational organization on the other. [1]