Southwest Finland

Southwest Finland, also known in English as Finland Proper^[1] (Finnish: Varsinais-Suomi, Swedish: Egentliga Finland) is the bilingual region in south-western Finland that borders the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Åland and Uusimaa. Its capital and biggest city is Turku with 182,000 inhabitants, which was also the capital of Finland from its establishment around the 13th century until 1812.

The area comprising the southwest is largely the same as the historical province of Finland Proper, so named because it is the original home of the tribe known as the Finns. 5.7% of population of the region speaks Swedish natively.

Origin of the name

The name of Finland Proper has a historial function. In historic times, in the area of the present southern Finland lived three tribes, which were the Finns, the Tavastians and the Karelians. The southwestern part of the country, the province where the Finns lived, was called simply Finland (Finnish: Suomi). In the 17th century the name began to be used to refer to the whole land and a specified name for the lesser Finland was required. The first notes Fennigia specialiter dicta and Fennigia presse dicta were recorded in Latin in the 1650s and the Swedish Finland för sig sielft and Egenteliga Finland later in the 18th century the modern form Egentliga Finland being in official use at the end of the century. The Finnish term Varsinais-Suomi became established only around the 1850s.^[2]

Historical Provinces

Main article: Finland Proper (historical province)

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of Finland Proper

The region of Varsinais-Suomi is made up of 27 municipalities, of which 11 are towns.

Towns

Finland Proper Sub-regions, towns and municipalities

Turku (184,190)^[3]
Salo (54,243)
Raisio (24,409)
Kaarina (32,376)
Naantali (18,946)
Uusikaupunki (15,604)
Pargas (15,497)
Loimaa (16,562)
Paimio (10,642)
Somero (9,147)
Laitila (8,547)

Other municipalities

Aura (3,967)
Kimitoön (7,116)
Koski Tl (2,447)
Kustavi (892)
Lieto (16,717)
Marttila (2,004)
Masku (9,577)
Mynämäki (8,045)
Nousiainen (4,866)
Oripää (1,427)
Pyhäranta (2,200)
Pöytyä (8,485)
Rusko (5,870)
Sauvo (3,043)
Taivassalo (1,687)
Vehmaa (2,357)

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2015 in Finland Proper:

Heraldry

The region uses the coat of arms of the historical province of Finland Proper.

Gallery

Turku Cathedral dating back to the 13th century is Finland's national shrine and one of Finland's most recognized buildings
A typical view from Turku Archipelago, the largest archipelago (by number of islands) in the world
Louhisaari Manor in Masku was the birthplace of Finland's marshal and president Mannerheim
The Old Castle of Lieto and rural landscape
Naantali Harbour with the former Bridgettine monastery church in the background
A general view of the City of Turku from the tower of the cathedral
Bengtskär Lighthouse in Kimitoön is the highest one in the Nordic countries
Nautelankoski Rapids in River Aura in Lieto
The medieval Turku Castle on the banks of River Aura is one of the most influential buildings in Finnish history
Moomin World, Naantali
A limestone quarry in Pargas
Historical salt warehouses in Uusikaupunki town centre
A bridge from 1850 in Taivassalo
Korpo Church; there are 25 remaining medieval churches in the region
Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum is an 18th-century district of the city that survived the Great Fire of Turku which burnt down four-fifths of the city in 1827
May Day celebrations in Turku centre; the Arts Museum on the top of Street Aurakatu
Traffic connections between islands are mostly served with ferries in the archipelago
The National Romantic style Karuna Church
The mobile phone manufacturer Microsoft had originally its factory and headquarters in Salo; state-of-the-art models are still manufactured there
A street view in Turku; old wooden houses and modern block of flats
Marshland in Loimaa
Naantali Old Town has been well preserved
The functionalistic Paimio Sanatorium by Alvar Aalto
A silo in Salo; the region still has a strong agricultural feel
Windmills in Uusikaupunki
The popular ferries travel twice a day around the year from Turku to Stockholm, Sweden
Ruins of the medieval Kuusisto Bishops' Castle demolished in 1528 during the Protestant Reformation in Kaarina
Pargas Old Town
River Paimionjoki and rural landscape in Marttila
Teijo Church in Salo is the smallest stone church in Finland

Notes

↑ The regional council of the region uses the name "Southwest Finland". Despite this, the Language Planning Department of Finland recommends the name "Varsinais-Suomi" as suggested in the statement by the Interior Ministry of Finland in 1988. The Institute for Languages of Finland lists the official English name as "Varsinais-Suomi".
↑ Suomalainen paikannimikirja. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. 2007. ISBN 978-951-593-976-0.
↑ "VÄESTÖTIETOJÄRJESTELMÄ REKISTERITILANNE 30.06.2015" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 17 July 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finland Proper.

Finland Proper travel guide from Wikivoyage

Regional Council of Southwest Finland — Official website

South Finland EU Office

Regions of Finland

Regions	Åland Central Finland Central Ostrobothnia Kainuu Kymenlaakso Lapland North Karelia Northern Ostrobothnia Northern Savonia Ostrobothnia Päijänne Tavastia Pirkanmaa Satakunta South Karelia Southern Ostrobothnia Southern Savonia Southwest Finland Tavastia Proper Uusimaa

Former regions	Eastern Uusimaa

Coordinates: 60°30′N 22°45′E / 60.500°N 22.750°E / 60.500; 22.750

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