Åbo was the administrative capital of Finland as a part of Sweden. In 1809 Finland was ceded to Russia and the capital was shortly there after relocated to Helsingfors (Helsinki). In 1827 the university was also relocated and continued as the University of Helsinki. Both the University of Turku and the Åbo Akademi University are newer entities, but they still maintain an academic tradition spanning from the 17th century.
See also: List of universities in Finland, History of Finland, History of Sweden