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The history of the park currently known as Tähkäpuisto dates back to the 1530s when Gustav I of Sweden gave an order that the area should be made a recreation area for the middle class. The oldest trees in the area are from the collections of the Swedish gardening school, which operated in the area until 1968. After the school ceased operations the area was left as wasteland, until the construction of the current park was started in the 1980s. Tähkäpuisto was inaugurated on Turku Day in 1982.
Tuomiokirkonpuisto is one of the oldest parks in Turku. Its construction began already in 1833 when it was decided that chestnuts, lindens, and maples would be planted on the area destroyed by the Great Fire of Turku. The construction of parks and squares had a significant role in improving fire safety. The park was renovated between 1885 and 1887 based on the plan by City Gardener Oscar Rudolf Gauffin. At that time, a smallish semicircle-shaped square facing the cathedral, and the old straight-lined passageways were replaced with ones that were noticeably curvilinear.
Puolalanmäki is one of the most significant constructed environments in Turku City Centre. Originally founded as a scenic park, the panoramas that opened from the Puolalanmäki park have closed for good due to the blocks of flats built around it.
One of the oldest parks in Turku is Porthaninpuisto, which is located next to the Old Great Square. The first construction work in the park was finished in 1835. Nils Henrik Pinello had a pavilion built in the middle of the western park in the area which was then called Nikolaintori. It was opened in June 1849, but it had to be moved to the side when the statue of Henrik Gabriel Porthan was erected on the same spot. Both Pinella and the Porthan monument – the first public sculpture in Finland – shaped the nature of the park significantly.
Most of the Turku City green areas are different meadows and fields, altogether around 2,500 hectares. These areas are administered by the Public Utility Property Management.
Mannerheiminpuisto is a park the size of an entire block located in the City Centre. The park is bordered by Koulukatu, Puutarhakatu, Puistokatu, and Rauhankatu. The park was named after C.G.E. Mannerheim and a statue representing Mannerheim is located there. The statue of Mannerheim is a bronze bust designed by sculptor Veikko Leppänen and architect Aarne Ehojoki. The statue was unveiled in 1994, fifty years after Mannerheim was elected president. Opposite the statue and next to the park is St Michael’s Church.
Lönnrotinpuisto is located in the Turku City Centre between Aninkaistenkatu, Eerikinkatu, and the Aura River.
In 1900 City Gardener Mauritz Hammarberg suggested that a park should be built around Turku Castle, since it was the first thing a person coming from the sea would notice. An open air museum with demotic buildings such as granaries was built in 1906. As soon as the park was finished it turned out to be inadequate, so Hammarberg’s follower, landscape architect Söderberg, made a plan in 1907 for the expansion of Linnanpuisto.
Kupittaanpuisto is the largest urban park in Finland, and it has capacity for many kinds of activities for the whole family. In addition to the large green areas in Kupittaanpuisto, there are also a bird park, a traffic park for children, the Adventure Park, a pavilion restaurant, an outdoor swimming arena, and a sports hall.
Ingegerdinpuisto is located in the Räntämäki district, surrounded by one-family houses. The plan for Ingegerdinpuisto was drawn up by Turku City Planner Irma Rytkölä in 1990.
The first public urban parks were built in the 19th century with comfort, recreation, and merry-making in mind. One of the oldest parks in Turku is Brahenpuisto, which is located next to Turku Cathedral. The first ‘horti’ were created in the area already in the latter half of the 16th century. Planting of the park started after the Great Fire of Turku in 1833, and Brahenpuisto was renovated and expanded in 1886-1888. The park got its characteristic monument, the statue of Per Brahe by sculptor Walter Runeberg, in 1888.
Asemanpuisto, aka Rautatientori, is a park located in front of the Turku Central Railway Station. Asemanpuisto, together with the Central Railway Station area, belong to the National Board of Antiquities’ nationally significant constructed cultural environments.
Kummeli, Poiju, Reimari, Pooki
(10 people / cabin)
- per cabin: 3 bunk beds, a loft, mattresses, pillows and blankets – bring your own bedlinens!
- a fridge, a coffee maker, a hotplate, a dining set
- cleaning utensils and detergents
- an outdoor water supply point
Please note!
Upstairs:
- 2 bedrooms (2+4), blankets and pillows; bring your own bedlinens!
- the mini-kitchen has a fridge, a hotplate, a microwave oven, a coffee maker, dishes and cooking utensils
- a toilet and a shower
Downstairs:
- office with a copier, computer and fax
- toilet
- 2 electric saunas
Sauna facilities:
- dressing rooms and shower facilities for 12 people
- 13 toilets
- 2 drying rooms
Photos:
- a dining room with institutional kitchen equipment for 200 people
- 6 toilets, 1 accessible toilet
- a TV, a VCR, a stereo, a central radio, AV equipment (no computer)
- a piano, a billiard table
- cleaning utensils and detergents
- can be used as a meeting room
Please note! no accommodation
3 dining canopies next to Majakka, 100 people/canopy Also a kitchen canopy for provisioning large camps
Photos:
Kutteri (208 m2) is the newest building in Ahtela and is excellent for e.g. events of work or recreation groups.
The building by the sea is equipped with:
- 3 toilets (1 accessible toilet)
- an electric sauna
- a dressing room
- a kitchen
- a meeting room for 40 people
- a fireplace
- a video projector
- a large balcony for approximately 20 people
Kompassi has the following equipment:
- Accommodation for 30 people (2 bedrooms) (mattresses, blankets and pillows – bring your own bedlinens!)
- Automatic oil heating in the cabin
- An electric cooker, a fridge-freezer, a microwave oven, a coffee maker, a toaster, dishes and cooking utensils
- A wood-heated sauna, 3 showers,3 toilets, a dressing room, a washroom, toilets, an accessible toilet, a drying cabinet
- A fireplace and a piano in the cabin
- Cleaning utensils and detergents
See the floor plan (pdf, in Finnish):
The cabin has:
- Accommodation for 16 people in the loft
- Mattresses, blankets and pillows - bring your own bedlinens!
- Electric heating
- Kitchen
- An electric cooker and a wood range
- A fridge-freezer
- A microwave oven
- A coffee maker
- Dishes and cooking utensils
- A wood-heated sauna, 2 showers, a washroom, 3 toilets, a dressing room
- A drying cabinet and a washing room
- Cleaning utensils and detergents
Tippsund youth campground is located in Taivassalo by the sea. The area is well suited for camps, school trips and education activities.
There are 8 cabins in the area with accommodation for 6 persons in each, so there are mattresses, blankets and pillows (but no bedlinens!) for 48 people altogether.
Please note!
Vienola campground is owned by the City of Turku and located in Rymättylä, Naantali, by the sea. The size of the area is 4.8 hectares. The cabin (82 m²) can accommodate 18 people.
In addition, there is a beach kitchen and a roofed place for diners in the area. There are also two brews in the area. Vienola is particularly well suited for arranging camp schools and smaller parties as well as for friends to spend the weekend in. The camp site Vienola cannot be reserved from 1 Sebtember to 31 December 2019 because the accommodation premises are being renovated.
Ahtela is a national youth camping centre owned by the City of Turku and located in Sauvo. It is 50 km from Turku and 13 km from the centre of Sauvo. The area is over 40 hectares and the buildings located around the area hold facilities for activities, accommodation, meetings, and dining, as well as washrooms and saunas.
Seven different buildings offer accommodation for 92 people and in summer, when the small cabins are in use, for 112 people.
In summer 500 people can have their meals at once in the maintenance building and under the dining canopies.
The nature reserve of Toijainen is located along Toijaistentie, in the centre of Hirvensalo, and is approximately one hectare in size. Landscape-wise Tammimäki is a very typical small woody hill in Hirvensalo, surrounded by fields. The south and south-west slopes of the hill have large, nearly three metre high boulders as relics from the last ice age.
Both nature and cultural history considered, Ruissalo is a valuable and versatile area. Ruissalo is characterized by the cultural heritage of old fields, gardens, villas from the 19th century, oak forests, and diverse nature.
The nature reserves of Ruissalo were extended notably in 2006 along with an agreement between the State of Finland and the City of Turku concerning land ownership. At the same time the requirements of both the Herb-Rich Forest Conservation Programme and the Natura 2000 network were met.
Rauvolanlahti (Rauvola Bay) is located on the border of Turku and Kaarina cities. It belongs to the national Waterfowl Habitats Conservation Programme which was confirmed by the Council of State in 1982. The bay is part of the Natura 2000 network.
Pähkinäinen is an island located in Naantali. It can be accessed with a commuter ferry from Röölä in Rymättylä. There is a Turku City campsite in Pähkinäinen, and Turku owns the eastern half of the main island of Pähkinäinen. The western half of the island is circled by several kilometres of nature trail.
The majority of Pähkinäinen consists of rocky pine forests typical to the middle archipelago. Depressions with lush groves cut the long rock ridges here and there. A dense vegetation grows in these moist hollows.