Turku, Finland/404
Previous | Home | NextThis is the appearance of the university in 1795, before the Great Fire of 1827, and where Gadolin made his discovery of yttrium in 1794 by separating it from gadolinite mineral from Ytterby, Sweden. The translation of the (Swedish) inscription at the bottom is: "The Academy square in Åbo 1795. The ground floor of the front right building housed the first chemical laboratory of the Academy (1764-1804). A glimpse of Vårdberget, on whose slope Gadolin had his garden and private laboratory, can be seen in the background at left. After a drawing by C. P. Hellström in Uppsala University library."
The top of the cathedral spire can be seen behind the building, and allows us to orient ourselves: we must be at the back of the present Old Academy Building, looking southwest along the Hämeenkatu. Drawing, courtesy Pekka Pyykkö.
