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Turku  is  Finland's  oldest  town.   No
records  of the foundation of Turku have
survived,   but   its   age  is  usually
calculated from the year 1229, when Pope
Gregory  IX  authorized  the transfer to
the   See  of  Bishop  of  Finland  from
Nousiainen  to  Koroinen  on  the  river
Aura.   In 1249 a Dominican monastry was
estabilished  in Turku.  A Cathedral was
built   on  Unikankare,  the  "Mound  of
Sleep",  and  consecrated  in year 1300.
Even before this, the trading centre had
  been  moved a mile or two downstream
  from  Koroinen,  where the waters of
  the  Aura  were  too shallow for the
  big ships of the Hansa merchants.

 Throught  the mifddle Ages, trade and
 seafaring  were  the  main  means  of
 livehood  of the people of Turku, and
 Turku's    position   as   the   most
 important town in Finland was further
 anchanced   by  the  founding  of  an
 university  in  1640.   After the war
 between    Russia   and   Sweden   in
 1808-1809,  however,  Finland  became
 part  of  the  Russian Empire.  Turku
 was now considered to be too far from
 St  Petersburg,  and in 1812 Helsinki
 was made the capital of the new Grand
Duchy of Finland.  Not long afterwards,
on september 4th and 5th in 1827, Turku
suffered   an  even  worse  blow,  when
almost the entire town was destroyed in
what  turned  out  to  be  the  biggest
conflagration    ever   to   ravage   a
Scandinavian town.  After the fire, the
Academy   of   Turku,  Finland's  first
university, was transefed to Helsinki.

Thanks  to the efforts of its craftsmen
and   merchants,   its  busy  port  and
rapidly  expanding industry, a new city
soon  rose  from  the  ashes of the old
town.   The  architect C.L.  Engel drew
up  a  new  city  plan with rectangural
blocks  of  houses intersected by broad
streets.   Gradually,  Turku  also  won
back   its  position  as  an  important
centre of culture and education.  After
Finland  had gained its independence in
1918,  a  Swedish-language  university,
Abo Akademi, was founded, and two years
later  the  Finnish-language University
of  Turku.   Turku  is  the seat of the
Archbishop  of the Evangelical-Lutheran
Church   in   Finland,   and   as   the
providencial  capital,  it  is still an
important administrative center.

Turku,   which   offers  a  variety  of
historical   attractions  and  all  the
amenities   of   a   city   of  160.000
inhabitians, looks forward to welcoming
tourist and guest.

The  history  of Turku Castle goes back
to  the 1280, when a fortified base was
built  at  the  mouth of the River Aura
for    royal    governor    "praefectus
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Finlandiae",   and   his  troops.   The
original  rectangle  base  grew  into a
massive   grey   stone  castle  in  the
centuries to follow.  In the early 14th
century,  the  height  of the walls was
raised,  and  the work of expanding the
Castle  went  on  up  till the mid-16th
century.  The banqueting halls built in
1556-61  represented  the advent of the
Renaisance     to     Finland.      The
construction  of the Bailey was started
in  the  Middle Ages and took its final
shape   during  the  construction  work
carried  out  from 1576-88.  The Castle
Keep  was  destroyed in a fire in 1614,
after  which  life  at  the  Castle was
transefed completely to the Bailey.
Following    its   loss   of   military
significance   and   subsequently   its
administrative  role,  the  Castle went
through   a   chequered  phase  in  its
history:  the Crown distillery operated
there  and  it  housed a jail until the
end  of the 19th century.  It fell into
disrepair  and  was bombed during World
War  II.   In  the  year  1946-1961 the
Castle Keep was painstakingly restored,
and  emerged  as  Turku's  most popular
tourist   attraction.    Due   to   new
restoration  work,  visitors  have only
limited  access  to  the Castle Keep at
present.

Suomen  Joutsen, the "Swan of Finland",
built  in France in 1902 and originally
named  the  Laennec,  was first used to
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transport  saltpetre from South America
to  Europe.   From  1922  to  1928  she
sailed   under   German   flag  as  the
Oldenburg.   The  Finnish  Navy  bought
this  full-rigged  sailing  ship  as  a
training  ship 1930, when she was given
her  present  name.   During  the years
1932-38  she  made 8 long voyages, each
lasting  more  then  a  half  year.  On
these  voyages she became widely known,
calling   at  48  foreigner  ports  and
travelling  a  distance  equal  to nine
times  round  the  world.   The  "Swan"
finally  came to rest in Turku in 1960.
The  ship served as a school for seamen
until  spring  1988, since when she has
been open to visitors every summer.

After  this  long  historical  text now
some  words  about  the  Amiga scene in
Turku.

There   isn't   many  groups  on  Turku
anymore.   About  1  year ago there was
many famous groups in Turku like Amaze,
Animate (Death Star before), Dictators,
Team-X  and  so  on,  but nowadays they
have  quit  the  scene  and  sold their
machines.   Well  Team-X members are on
OffWorld nowadays.

In  1991  there  is  only  some well...
unfamous  groups  like  Offworld, Arise
(it  was  Coma  SF before), Black Robes
(some  old  Dictators  members  are  on
it.),  Titan  Bytes and some much lamer
groups too.

Thanx for Glenn Cosmos/Offworld for his
help in this article. I hope this
article won't start some wars for the
last lamer groups word!

                     ³Zozo/Majic 12