Ruissalo (; ) is an island in the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea (, ) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the List of archipelagos by number of islands, larges ...

and a district of the city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The island is located to the south-west of the city, between Hirvensalo and

Pansio Pansio is a district and a suburb of the city of Turku, Finland. It is located in the western part of the city. It has a population of 2,809 (), and an annual population growth of -3.83%. 19.25% of the district's population are under 15 years ...

in the mainland. It is rather sparsely populated, having a population of only 126 (), with an annual growth rate of 3.97%. The villas on the island are considered culturally and historically valuable in Finland. Some are used as guesthouses; some are owned and run by foundations, labor unions, sports teams, and private enterprises in the area; some can be rented freely for days for private parties such as weddings; some have cafeterias in them. Private ownership exists – a couple villas even have renters with very selective occupancy. Some villas have deteriorated because of the high maintenance costs due to the historical building methods that must be used here. One of the largest old oak forests in Finland is situated on the island and many parts of it are included in nature conservation programs. According to Karhu et. al, “the total area of the oak-dominated woodland is 170 hectares, representing approximately the half of all oak-forests of Finland.” Kukkarokivi 1

In the westernmost part of the island there is a spa and a camping area. Turku golf course is also situated here. The botanical garden of the

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

is situated in the middle of the island. Near the southern tip of the western part of the island was once a small, unofficial

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to us ...

. Official nude beaches in Finland can only be found in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and in

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

. 15.08% of the district's population are under 15 years old, while 13.49% are over 65. The district's

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

makeup is 88.89% Finnish, 8.73% Swedish, and 2.38% other. The island hosts the annual

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular eve ...

Ruisrock Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland. Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second-oldest rock festival in Europe (after Pinkpop) and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted internationa ...

''. The Paavo Nurmi Marathon route goes through Ruissalo.

References

External links

Ruissalo, in Finnish
{{coord, 60, 26, N, 22, 10, E, region:FI_type:isle, display=title Districts of Turku Finnish islands in the Baltic Nude beaches Landforms of Southwest Finland sv:Åbo#Runsala

See also

References

External links