In the 2000s, the studies concerning the early phases of urbanization in
Finland have re-actualized after many decades. The studies have focused on
Turku, which is the oldest town of the present-day Finland and has been a
target for many excavations. The focus of this paper is in the beginnings of
the urbanization of Turku with the questions when and why the town was founded.
The questions are old and discussed in many studies since the early 20^th
century. In this article, these questions are reflected on the basis recent
archaeological findings and the circumstantial evidence from historical
sources. I am presenting my interpretation about the course of events, which
led to the establishment of Turku. The town was not founded on a virgin land,
but it was preceded by human activities like farming and possibly gatherings of
religious or commercial nature. The political circumstances activated the
planning of the town in the late 13^th century, which were realized
in the turn of the 13^th and 14^th century. It seems, that
the urbanization process took several decades and probably it was not until the
mid 14^th century when Turku met all the benchmarks set for the
medieval town.