Turku and Turku Castle

Finland'S Oldest City And Former Capital, With Its Medieval Cathedral And Castle; Gateway To The Archipelago Sea · Turku, Southwest Finland

Turku is the oldest city in Finland and was its capital until the early 19th century, when power moved to Helsinki under Russian rule. It grew around the mouth of the Aura river, and its two great medieval buildings still frame the centre: Turku Cathedral, consecrated around 1300 and still the national shrine of the Finnish church, and Turku Castle near the harbour, begun in the late 13th century and often called the largest surviving medieval building in the country. Between them the river is lined with trees, restaurant boats, museums and cafes, crossed by a small free ferry that has run for over a century. The city is a university town with a lively food scene and the gateway to the Archipelago Sea and the ferries to Aland and Stockholm. The honest caveat: the great fire of 1827 destroyed most of the old wooden town, so Turku is not a preserved medieval quarter - it is a modern city with a few outstanding old buildings, and the charm is along the river rather than in cobbled lanes.

Turku, from the cathedral along the Aura river to the castle by the harbour, Turku, Southwest Finland, Finland

The city is always open. Turku Cathedral is usually open daily for visitors outside services, with free entry to the church and a small fee for the cathedral museum. Turku Castle is typically open daily in summer and Tuesday to Sunday for the rest of the year, closed Mondays off season - check the current schedule. Trains from Helsinki take about two hours; the castle is next to the ferry harbour and a short bus ride from the centre. Book summer guided tours of the castle, Ruisrock tickets and July hotels ahead.

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