2-913-536 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Abo, from an original sketch, 1854. 'Abo [now Turku] is the most ancient city in Finland; its history being coeval with the reign of Eric the Saint, that is from about 1150 to 1160, the period at which Christianity was first introduced into that wild region. The Castle is as ancient as the town, and can boast of having more than once arrested the onward march of the Russian armies...its University, founded by Gustavus Adolphus, in 1630, has been removed to Helsingfors, the Russian capital of Finland...A recent letter from Stockholm states that no vessel of any kind or nation is allowed to enter Abo, the authorities being afraid of the arrival of intelligence injurious to Russian interests'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.