Finland is a beautiful Nordic country. The capital, Helsinki, is the largest city in the country and is well known internationally. The history of Helsinki is not too long. Before Helsinki, another city was the capital of Finland and it has now become a small town. This city is called Turku, located on the southwest coast of Finland, close to Sweden and has been the capital of Finland until 1812. Turku was originally developed by the castle built by the Swedes. The city was established in 1229 and is the oldest city in the country with a population of 180,000. In the 14th century, there were only seven cities in Finland, and Turku was the largest and most important city. The Turku Castle and the Turku Cathedral were established in the 13th century, and the first university in Finland, Turku University, was also built here. Finland eventually moved to Helsinki, originating from the Russian and Swedish competition for Finland. In 1809, Russia began to rule Finland, when Turku was still the capital of Finland, but three years later, the capital went to Helsinki, which is closer to Russia. Turku has many monuments and is an important tourist city in Finland. The most famous are the castles and cathedrals of Turku left over from the Middle Ages.