Turku Castle is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. It was founded in the late 13th century and stands on the banks of the Aura River. The castle served as a bastion and administrative centre in Eastland, as Finland was known during its time as a province of Sweden. Only once did the castle figure in the defence of the realm, when Russian invaders from Novgorod destroyed Turku in 1318.
Turku castle is today Finland’s most visited museum, with attendance reaching 200,000 in some years. In addition, many of the larger rooms are used for municipal functions.
Construction
The layout of the castle consists of the Medieval keep (päälinna) and Renaissance bailey (esilinna). The keep consists of a square fort with two square gateway towers whose wall thickness at the base is some 5 metres (16 ft).
In the Middle Ages the castle was surrounded by a moat conjoining with the River Aura, the castle effectively lying on an island. The keep was completed in the early 15th century. Construction of the bailey was begun in the late 15th century and finished in the 16th. The bailey is not as heavily fortified as the keep, but it has several turrets. The Renaissance construction work included heavy modification of nearly all the rooms in the older medieval part of the castle. Since the Renaissance no additions have been made to the castle.
The modest military fortification grew into a massive greystone castle, whose solid walls have witnessed many milestones in Nordic history. The castle has been subject to numerous sieges and several battles have been waged aside its walls. Of all Finnish castles, Turku castle has the most warlike history besides Vyborg castle and Olavinlinna.
The castle’s heyday was in the mid-16th century during the reign of Duke John of Finland and Catherine Jagellon. That was when the Renaissance Floor and King’s and Queen’s hall were built, along with other features.
The castle was the center of the historical province of Finland Proper, and the administrative center of all of Finland. Its strong walls and dungeons also served as the state prison for centuries; even today, a prison is colloquially referred to as linna (castle) in Finnish. The castle has been the place of many historical events; in 1573–1579, for example, the deposed Swedish queen Karin Månsdotter was kept prisoner here.
The castle is Finland’s most visited museum, with attendance reaching 200,000 in some years. In addition, many of the larger rooms are used for municipal functions.
