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Finland
Turku (IPA: /ˈturku/, Swedish: Åbo (help·info)) is a city in Finland, founded in the 13th century. Turku is the fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of 174 824 (2004), and is located in the south-west of the country at the mouth of the Aura river. It is the capital city of both the region of Finland Proper and the province of Western Finland, as well as being the centre of the country's third largest urban area with over 300,000 inhabitants.
Turku is the oldest city in Finland, having been founded on an as of yet undetermined date during the late 13th century. It has a long history as the country's largest city and administrative centre, but has during the last two centuries lost that status to Helsinki. As a remnant of the its long history, the city hosts a number of important historical landmarks, such as the Turku Castle and the Cathedral of Turku. It also has one of the largest Finland-Swedish populations in the country.
Due to the city's location, the sea is also an important part of the its history and present. Today the Port of Turku is possibly the most important seaport in the whole of Finland.
The Coat of Arms of Finland were granted at the burial of Gustav Vasa in 1560 and still remain the arms of the Republic of Finland. The arms were also used as the official symbol of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
The blazon as described in the act on the arms of Finland (381/78) may be translated as follows: "Gules, among nine roses argent, a lion rampant crowned Or, having for its dexter forepaw a human arm armoured, brandishing a sword and in base a falchion fesswise reversed, both of the second hilted of the third."
- ... that there are 187,888 lakes, 179,584 islands, 5,100 rapids, 450,600 summer cottages and 2 million saunas in Finland?
- ... that the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance signed between Finland and the Soviet Union was a major factor in Finnish foreign policy until the fall of the Soviet Union, leading to the coining of the term Finlandisation?
- ... that the Finnish Civil War and the Continuation War have been the two most controversial and emotionally loaded events in the history of modern Finland?
- ... that the Finnish markka was abolished in 2002, when twelve European Union member states (including Finland) adopted the euro as their currency?
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