Turku, Åland & the Southwest

The south-west is where Finland's recorded history begins. Iron Age farming communities were dense in Varsinais-Suomi — "Finland Proper", the district that first gave the country its name — and in Satakunta, and the Bronze Age burial cairns of Sammallahdenmäki near Rauma show settlement much older still. Swedish crusaders and missionaries arrived in the 12th and 13th centuries, and Turku grew up around its cathedral, consecrated in 1300, and the castle at the mouth of the Aura, becoming the seat of the bishop and of Swedish rule in Finland.

For centuries Turku was Finland's most important city: the Royal Academy, forerunner of the University of Helsinki, was founded there in 1640, and the Treaty of Turku of 1743 ended a Russo-Swedish war. Rauma flourished on shipping and trade from the 15th century, and Pori was founded at the mouth of the Kokemäenjoki river in 1558. After Russia took Finland in 1809, the capital moved to Helsinki in 1812, and the great fire of 1827 destroyed most of Turku, after which the university followed.

Åland took a separate path. Russia built the fortress of Bomarsund there, and Anglo-French forces destroyed it in 1854 during the Crimean War; the islands were then demilitarised. When Finland became independent, Ålanders sought to join Sweden, and in 1921 the League of Nations left the islands with Finland under guaranteed autonomy, the Swedish language and demilitarisation — terms that still stand. In the 20th century the mainland became an industrial coast of shipyards, a car factory at Uusikaupunki and nuclear power at Olkiluoto.

Turku people see their city as Finland's historic capital and like to remind Helsinki of it. It is bilingual, with the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi University alongside the Finnish universities, and the archipelago villages of Pargas, Nagu and Korpo keep large Swedish-speaking communities. Every Christmas Eve the Declaration of Christmas Peace is read from the Old Great Square in Turku.

Åland is a world of its own: Swedish is the only official language, the islands have their own parliament, flag and stamps, and Ålanders identify with neither mainland Finland nor Sweden so much as with Åland itself. Seafaring defines them — Mariehamn's shipowners ran some of the last great sailing-ship fleets in the world — and Midsummer is marked with tall decorated poles.

Satakunta has its own flavour. Rauma has its own Finnish dialect, Rauman giäl, and a bobbin-lace tradition celebrated in Lace Week each summer. Pori is a music town, host since 1966 of Pori Jazz, one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe, and Turku adds the Ruisrock festival on Ruissalo island, founded in 1970.

Turku has about 200,000 residents and anchors a metropolitan area of over 300,000; Pori, with about 83,000, is the second city. Rauma, Salo, Kaarina, Uusikaupunki, Naantali and Raisio are the other sizeable towns, and Åland's roughly 30,000 people live mostly in and around Mariehamn, the capital.

The economy is maritime and industrial. The Turku shipyard builds large cruise ships, Rauma has maritime industry and a busy port, Uusikaupunki assembles cars, and the Olkiluoto nuclear power station at Eurajoki produces a large share of Finland's electricity. Salo was the centre of Nokia's phone manufacturing until the 2010s and has had to reinvent itself. Farming is important on the fertile plains, and Turku's universities and biotech firms keep the city young. Åland lives on shipping, tourism, and duty-free sales on the Finland–Sweden ferries, since the islands lie outside the EU's tax area.

Summer shifts everything to the water: boats, cottages on the skerries and evening swims. In winter, archipelago life contracts to a few year-round residents and reduced ferry timetables.

The Archipelago Sea has its own bread, saaristolaisleipä, a dark, sweet loaf made with malt and syrup and eaten with butter and smoked fish. Baltic herring, pike-perch, whitefish and smoked salmon come from the islands, often cooked on an open fire or hot-smoked on the shore. Turku's market hall, open since 1896, sells fish, cheese and baked goods beside cafés.

Åland's best-known dish is Ålandspannkaka, the Åland pancake — a thick baked pudding of semolina or rice, served with prune compote and whipped cream. The islands' mild climate also makes them known for apples.

The plains of Varsinais-Suomi and Satakunta are Finland's granary, producing rye, barley, oats and vegetables, and new potatoes and strawberries arrive early here thanks to the mild climate. Fishing towns such as Rauma and Pori serve fried vendace and fish soups, and summer restaurants in Naantali and the archipelago serve Baltic fish with dill and new potatoes.

Turku gathers its history along the Aura river: the medieval cathedral, Turku Castle near the harbour, the Luostarinmäki open-air handicrafts museum — the largest area to survive the 1827 fire — the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova museum above medieval ruins, and the riverside Forum Marinum maritime museum. Ruissalo island has oak woods, villas and a botanical garden.

South and west, the archipelago begins: Pargas, Nagu and Korpo on the Archipelago Trail, Kustavi to the north, and the outer islands of the Archipelago National Park. Naantali, a short drive west of Turku, has a wooden old town, the medieval convent church, the president's summer residence Kultaranta and Moominworld on Kailo island.

The Åland Islands lie further west: Mariehamn with the museum ship Pommern and the Åland Maritime Museum, the medieval Kastelholm castle, the Bomarsund ruins, old stone churches, and red granite shores cut by sheltered bays.

In Satakunta, Old Rauma's lanes of painted wooden houses form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as do the Sammallahdenmäki cairns nearby. Pori has the Juselius Mausoleum, with frescoes by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, repainted by his son, and the dunes and sandy beach of Yyteri, while the Bothnian Sea National Park protects the coast offshore.