Swedish royal couple arrive in Turku to commemorate 1809 war

Two-day official visit to Turku area and Tampere

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King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden arrived in Turku on Tuesday on a visit marking the events of 1809. During their two-day official visit, the royals will visit Turku, Naantali, and Tampere.
      The Swedish royals have made numerous unofficial visits to Finland in recent years. This is the first official visit since 2003.
     
The royal couple flew into Turku Tuesday morning. From the airport they were taken to Kultaranta, the summer residence of the Finnish President in nearby Naantali, where they were greeted by President Tarja Halonen.
      After the official welcoming ceremonies, the President’s husband Pentti Arajärvi gave Queen Silvia a bouquet of yellow flowers.
      From Kultaranta, the presidential and royal couples were taken by boat to Turku. Their arrival in Turku along the Aura River was followed by large crowds of curious onlookers on the banks and bridges.
     
The visit is part of commemorations marking the bicentenary of the War of Finland, which was fought in 1808-1809 between Sweden and Russia. As a result of the conflict, Finland, which had been a part of the Swedish empire, fell under Russian rule.
      Both President Halonen and King Carl Gustaf spoke at a seminar held in Turku on Tuesday afternoon on the events of 1809 and the years that followed.
      At the seminar, Turku Mayor Mikko Pulkkinen noted that the start of the period of autonomy under the Russian Tsar was not exclusively a good thing for the city of Turku, which had been the capital of Finland. In 1812 the Finnish capital was moved to Helsinki, which is closer to Russia (and hence was thought to be less under the influence of Sweden).
      Under Russia, Finland was soon granted autonomous status, which is widely seen as a precursor to full independence just over a century later.
      Sweden lost about half of its empire in the war. It was followed in Sweden by the ascendancy to the throne of the Bernadotte family, the ancestors of the present king.
      This was followed by a time of peace for Sweden, which has continued to the present day, and Sweden eventually got “a very good eastern neighbour - independent Finland”, as King Carl Gustaf said in his speech at the seminar.
     
On Wednesday, the Swedish king and queen are in Tampere.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  EDITORIAL Finland and Sweden - closer than ever on bicentenary of separation (15.1.2009)
  Swedish PM says Finland and Sweden do not need to apologise to each other over common history (16.1.2008)
  War of Finland 1808-1809 (21.2.2008)

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