University of Turku

The I District is the easternmost of the central districts of Turku, Finland. It is located on the east side of the river Aura, between Uudenmaankatu and the Helsinki motorway (Finnish national road 1). The main street Hämeenkatu divides the district in Sirkkala and Universities area, and continues as the national road 10 towards Hämeenlinna. The district hosts all three universities of the city, the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi, and the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration. The city's central hospital TYKS is also located in the district, as well as the Cathedral of Turku and the residence of the Archbishop of Finland. The district is rather densely populated, having a population of 6,177 (as of 2004) and an annual population growth rate of -0.63%. 5.47% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 18.67% are over 65. The district's linguistic makeup is 85.54% Finnish, 10.94% Swedish, and 3.51% other.

Turku School of Economics (Finnish Turun kauppakorkeakoulu) is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 1977. It was the second largest school of its kind in Finland, with approximately 2,000 graduate and 250 postgraduate students and a staff of 350. In January 2010, Turku School of Economics became the seventh faculty of the University of Turku. Its former rector, Professor Tapio Reponen, is now a vice rector of the University of Turku.In addition to teaching a wide variety of economic and business related subjects, the faculty conducts research on matters relating to its field, and offers consulting services to businesses. Teaching is mainly carried out in Finnish, but there are also a number of courses available in English. As a higher education institution, Turku School of Economics had been one of the most efficient universities in terms of master's per professor.

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 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 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.

Turku University Hospital (Finnish: Turun yliopistollinen keskussairaala, TYKS, Swedish: Åbo universitetscentralsjukhus, ÅUCS) is a hospital in Turku, Finland.

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.

Posankka (Swedish: Grisankan) is a statue located in Turku, Finland. The statue, which is located near the campus area of the University of Turku and the Turku Student Village, represents a hybrid between a marzipan pig ("possu") and a rubber duck ("ankka"). It is a pink animal with a duck's lower body and a pig's head.The statue was designed by Alvar Gullichsen in 1999 when it was placed floating in the Aurajoki river in Turku. The statue has stood at its current location since 2001.Every winter, a Santa Claus hat is put on Posankka's head, and on Walpurgis Night it is capped with a Finnish student cap.

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 Sibelius Museum (Finnish: Sibelius-museo, Swedish: Sibeliusmuseum) is a museum of music, named after the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The museum is located close to Turku Cathedral in the historical city centre of Turku on the southwest coast of Finland. It is the only museum devoted to music in Finland. The museum houses a wide collection of historical music instruments from around the world. The archives of the museum include documents (sheet music, manuscripts, recordings, photographs, concert programmes, etc.) The museum was first founded during the 1920s as a seminar for the Department of Musicology at Åbo Akademi University, and has later developed into its own department. The Museum is currently organised and funded by the Åbo Akademi Foundation. The current building was built and opened in 1968 and it was designed by architect Woldemar Baeckman.

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.