Abstract
The first university in Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. It was at that time the northernmost university in the world and served the Lutheran Kingdom of Sweden mainly by educating priests for it.
The author reflects on the reasons for the establishment of this university by analysing the contents of the Charter granted by the then regency. The story continues by describing the inauguration of the Academy of Turku, which was called “God’s greatest good deed since the creation of the world”. The chapter examines the beginnings of the new academy by focussing on its first professors, rules and regulations (statutes), and the governing bodies of the University of Turku: the consistory, the rector, and the chancellor.
The author describes the governance structure of the Royal Academy of Turku, which was identical to that of the other universities of the Kingdom of Sweden. The statutes contained detailed regulations on the curriculum and education. They also outlined the privileges of the Royal Academy of Turku. These included exemption from taxes and from lodging soldiers. In addition, the university was entitled to its own chancellor and had the right to award degrees.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Swedish name for Turku is Åbo. In Finland, most cities have both Finnish and Swedish names, because (present-day) Finland is a bilingual country, with Finnish and Swedish as its two main official languages. In this book, for the sake of clarity, I will only use the Finnish names. Thus, the Royal Academy of Åbo, the name by which the institution was originally called, is referred to either as the Royal Academy of Turku or the University of Turku.
References
Bibliography
Hammerstein, N. (2003). Chapter 3: Relations with authority. In A history of the universities in Europe. Volume II. Universities in early modern Europe (1500–1800). (1st ed. 1996), ed. H. de Ridder-Symoens (General editor Walter Rüegg (pp. 114–153). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kallinen, M. (1995). Change and stability. Natural history at the Academy of Turku 1640–1713 (Studia historica 51). Helsinki: Suomen historiallinen seura.
Karonen, P. (2014). Pohjoinen suurvalta. Ruotsi ja Suomi 1521–1809 [The northern great power. Sweden and Finland from 1521 to 1809] (Kirjokansi 63) (4th Rev. ed; 1st ed. in 1999, WSOY). Riika: Suomen Kirjallisuuden Seura.
Klinge, M., Knapas, R., Leikola, A., & Strömberg, J. (1987). Kuninkaallinen Turun Akatemia 1640–1808. Helsingin yliopisto 1640–1990. Ensimmäinen osa [The Royal Academy of Turku from 1640 to 1808. The University of Helsinki from 1640 to 1990. Part I]. Helsinki: Otava.
Lappalainen, M. (2005). Suku, valta, suurvalta. Creutzit 1600-luvun Ruotsissa ja Suomessa [Family, power, superpower. The Creutz dynasty in seventeenth century Sweden and Finland]. Helsinki: WSOY.
Lehtinen, E. (1979a). Aikakauden yleiskuva [An overview of the period]. In P. Tommila, A. Reitala, & V. Kallio (Eds.), Suomen kulttuurihistoria I [Finnish cultural history I] (pp. 99–110). Porvoo: WSOY.
Lehtinen, E. (1979b). Akateemisen kulttuurin ensiaskeleet Suomessa [The first steps of academic culture in Finland]. In P. Tommila, A. Reitala, & V. Kallio (Eds.), Suomen kulttuurihistoria I [Finnish cultural history I] (pp. 111–136). Porvoo: WSOY.
Lehtinen, E. (1979c). Hyödyn ja Valistuksen ajan akatemia [The academy during the age of utility and enlightenment]. In P. Tommila, A. Reitala, & V. Kallio (Eds.), Suomen kulttuurihistoria I [Finnish cultural history I] (pp. 205–244). Porvoo: WSOY.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Välimaa, J. (2019). The Founding of the Royal Academy of Turku. In: A History of Finnish Higher Education from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 52. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20808-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20808-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20807-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20808-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)