Varissuo ( Finnish; ''Kråkkärret'' in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and the largest

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

, in

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, ...

. It is located seven kilometres to the east of the city centre, and is the easternmost major suburb of Turku, bordering on the neighbouring city of

Kaarina Kaarina (; , i.e. "Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Catherine's") is a town in Finland, located in the region of Southwest Finland. It lies south of the regional capital, Turku. The population of Kaarina is approximately , while the Turku sub-regi ...

. Varissuo has 9,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are foreign

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s. It is thus the second largest district of Turku, after Runosmäki. The name consists of the words , meaning '

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

' and , meaning '

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

' or '

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

'. 15.72% of Varissuo's population are under 15 years old, while 12.56% are over 65. Around 60% of the population speaks an immigrant language, reflecting the suburb's wide cultural variety. 90% of students at Varissuo school speak a mother tongue other than Finnish or Swedish. The suburb was constructed from scratch on an area of previously uninhabited

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

( in Finnish) starting in the mid-1970s as

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

from

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

areas to the city increased heavily in volume. Varissuo has several schools, a library, an underground ice arena, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church, a health centre, a post office and a social security (

KELA Kela or KELA may refer to: * KelA, a sports club in Kellokoski, Finland * KELA (AM), a radio station (1470 AM) licensed to Centralia-Chehalis, Washington, United States * Kela (Finnish institution), the Finnish social security agency * Kela (tribe) ...

) office. In addition, the

Itäkeskus Itäkeskus (, literal translation ''East center'') is a '' quarter'' in the neighbourhood of Vartiokylä (as of the 1980s) in Helsinki, Finland. The district's main attraction is the largest covered-in shopping mall in the Nordic countries, Itis ...

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

is located in Varissuo, as well as a

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 ...

teacher training school (

Turun normaalikoulu Turun normaalikoulu (or Norssi for short) is a school in Varissuo, an eastern Districts of Turku, suburb of Turku, Finland. It provides education from primary school (age 7) to upper secondary school (age 19). The school is authorized by the Inte ...

) and Turku International School. As many other parts of Turku, Varissuo has many

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

connections, with frequent bus links to the city centre as well as other nearby districts and cities. Varissuo has a very high percentage of immigrants who lack proficiency in the Finnish language; many speak a form of Finnish known as Varissuomi with simplified grammar and a limited vocabulary.

References

{{coord, 60.448, N, 22.356, E, region:FI_source:enwiki-uniquenames, display=title Districts of Turku

See also

References