Kaarina

Kaarina is a seaside city of approximately 34,000 inhabitants, located in southwestern Finland next to Turku. The center of Turku can be reached from the western border of Kaarina in as little as ten minutes. Kaarina’s closeness to the sea and its lush diverse nature are the municipality’s distinctive characteristics. Kaarina covers an area of about 179 km2 and has both peaceful townhouses and modern apartment blocks.

Diverse living by the sea and the best place to grow your business

Kaarina attracts a wide variety of residents: the city offers downtown living in new, modern apartment buildings, as well as a charming environment of the low-rise neighborhoods, and even peaceful life in the countryside. Kaarina is also planning the development of the new areas, which makes it an interesting site for developers and builders. Kaarina has more than 140 km of sea coastline, so seaside plots, recreation areas, beaches and marinas are also a part of Kaarina’s charm.

However, Kaarina is more than just beautiful nature and cozy neighborhoods. Namely, the city has been repeatedly selected as one of the most business-friendly cities in Finland in the 2010s in the Confederation of Finnish Industries municipal ranking. Kaarina has also often been among the best in the rankings for the best place to live.

Historic Kaarina

Kaarina is named after St. Catherine, who is believed to have lived in the 300s AD and suffered martyrdom. For the first time, Kaarina is mentioned in documents from 1309, but discovered ancient remains from the Stone and Iron Ages indicate a more ancient origin. Kaarina became a municipality in 1869 and a city in 1993.

Thanks to its long history, Kaarina has many popular tourist destinations, of which you can find out more on Kaarina's own tourist information website. Kaarina's attractions include the ruins of Kuusisto Episcopal Castle, Kuusisto Church, Piikkiö Church, Tuorla Planetarium and Pukkila Manor Museum. Also the historic King's Road from Turku to Vyborg passes through Kaarina.

Kaarina’s villages and communities

Kaarina is a unique city in that it combines a variety of identities (reference: Turun Sanomat). Different neighborhoods, such as Littoinen on the shore of the lake, the historic Piikkiö, and the island of Kuusisto, have a strong regional identity and form their own smaller communities in the embrace of Kaarina. Kaarina and its community-based decision-making are influenced, for example, by the Kaarina-seura and the Piikkiö-seura associations.

Kaarina is easily accessible by public transport from Turku and is served by Föli buses. Kaarina’s internal Föli bus lines are K1-K6. It is also easy to hop on a bus from all over Kaarina towards the center of Turku. In addition, from the neighborhoods by the Uudenmaantie and the Helsinki highway you can catch long-distance buses to Helsinki.

Kaarina: renewing and growing

The center of Kaarina has undergone a great transformation in recent years, becoming an enjoyable meeting place for the community. The Kaarina-talo, completed in 2018, offers citizens library services, art exhibitions, concerts and spaces for a variety of hobbies. New properties and plots, especially near the sea, attract new residents.

Kaarina also has excellent education facilities: the city has a Swedish-speaking elementary school, 9 Finnish-language primary schools, as well as a high school, an upper secondary school for adults, a community college and the Tuorla college offering land-based studies. Health services are available at Kaarina, Piikkiö and Littoinen health centers.