Swedish Royal Couple in Kultaranta

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia were on an official visit in Finland on 25-26 August 2009 at the invitation of President of the Republic Tarja Halonen. They started their two-day visit at the President of the Republic's summer residence, Kultaranta, where reception ceremonies took place on Tuesday, 25 August in the morning. Watch a video recording of the ceremonies. From Kultaranta the King and Queen together with President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi traveled aboard the Kultaranta VIII to Turku, where they had lunch at Turku Castle and participated in a seminar at Åbo Akademi University on the events of the year 1809. The afternoon programme also included a tour of a cruise ship under construction at the Turku shipyard.

On Wednesday, 26 August the King and Queen together with President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi traveled by train from Turku to Tampere, where they visited the city's Swedish school and the Moominvalley of the Tampere Art Museum, among other things. The programme also included lunch at City Hall and a tour of the Finlayson factory area.

President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi welcomed King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia to Kultaranta. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic

Speech at a seminar on “The Year 1809 and the Aftermath”