Matti Klinge : A European university : The University of Helsinki 1640-2010

THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, the oldest and largest of Finland's universities, has been at the focal point of the country's history for the last 370 years. Founded in Turku in 1640 for the training of Finnish priests and civil servants, it formed part of the university system in the kingdom of Sweden alongside similar institutions in Uppsala, Tartu, Lund and Greifswald. When Finland became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire in 1809 the university was soon transferred to the new capital, Helsinki, where it became the centre of the country's lively academic, political and literary activity throughout the Imperial Russian period. Its teachers and students were the leading figures in the Finnish civic and national movement in the spheres of both politics and the arts, and they have played a vital role at a national level and in expressing public opinion at all the politically important turning points in Finnish history ever since. The University of Helsinki continues to be one of the principal institutions in Finnish society, and its members are influential as commentators and expert advisors in all walks of life. It has clearly retained its status as the leading academic institution and guardian of social and international traditions. The University of Helsinki is the most comprehensive university in Finland today and one of the world's leading modern research universities. International comparisons have consistently placed it among Europe's most accomplished institutions of research and teaching.