Åbo Svenska Teater, Turku

Åbo Svenska Teater is a Finland-Swedish theatre and the oldest theatre in the country, founded in 1839. The building itself is also the oldest still functioning theatre house in Finland. The name means "The Swedish theatre of Åbo"; Åbo is the Swedish name of the city of Turku.

The theatre has been located in its present building since 1839, when it was opened with the play Gubben i Bergsbygden the 21 January 1839. During the 19th century, the theatre did not have a permanent staff, as Finland did not have any native actors at this point; the actors consisted of travelling Swedish troupes, which toured both Sweden and Finland, of which one of the most notable was the troupe of Pierre Deland, which performed regularly on this theatre in the 1840s and 1850s. The first native actors performed in the theatre in 1872, though it was not to be until 1894, that the first complete troupe entirely of native actors performed here.