A castle and a cathedral

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Day 14, Wednesday, 3rd August, 2011

Turku

Naantali is regarded as a separate town to it’s close neighbouring city of Turku. Don’t suggest to any locals that it’s a satellite town or worse yet, a suburb, although the 20km distance between the two to an Australian, would suggest it.

Turku is the local ‘big smoke’ and my birth town, into which we headed for a day of sight seeing. After trying to locate the house in which we lived when I was born, Assisted by a call to Australia to my parents for more information, we pulled up outside the address only to find that the original building has been replaced. (They just don’t seem to leave anything alone. I go away for only 37 years, and everything gets moved around. Clearly I’ll need to talk to someone about this meddling with my memories).
On of the major things to see is Turku castle, which was founded by the Swedes to guard the mouth of the Aura river, and what began in the 1200’s as a simple fortification grew over the centuries into a large and imposing castle, added to and improved upon by various Swedish rulers and Archdukes of Finland.
Today it is an interesting museum and tourist attraction, featuring castle life from the middle ages to the renaissance period.
Totally renovated during the second half of the 20th century, the floors are now mostly timber, although in the medieval section the walls are still all uneven stone, with arrow slit windows, and a dark, gloomy feeling. I imagine that living there would have been extremely uncomfortable and cold. The guide book tells me that even in the olden days it was fitted with a hypocaust heating system, (large fires in the downstairs section provided heated air into the upstairs rooms through vents in the walls), but the inhabitants still resided in local manor houses during the coldest months.
Finland is dotted with various castles and keeps in strategic military locations as Sweden and Russian rulers vied for supremacy in the local area.
We climbed up and down countless stone stairs, through narrow stone corridors and stairwells, leading from one dark stone room to another, until our head spun and legs ached. The rooms all had names such as the kings rooms, the queens rooms, the little lords’ rooms, ladies waiting room, the queens’ wardrobe, the bailiff’s room, in which was a hole in the floor which was the only entrance and exit to the dungeons below. In the past, some poor souls were lowered down with ropes to spend the rest of their lives in the dark stone room below. Reaching the display of china, glass and fashions from various times was a relief and made an interesting finale to the tour of the rambling, ancient pile.
Reaching the outside, we treated ourselves to a coffee and a sit-down. Then off to the other must-see location; the Turku cathedral.
Begun in the 1300’s and enlarged throughout the middle ages, the cathedral reached it’s current imposing size during the 15th century. The tower is the result of rebuilding after a large fire destroyed much of Turku in 1827. After climbing all over Turku castle, the steps up to the church filled my legs with despair. However, we’d paid for the parking in town, and figured that we might as well be brave. There was a summer choral concert finishing as we entered the church, and it was magnificent to hear the acoustics in the building, song surrounding us.
There are many funeral vaults in the side chapels; various bishops, military commanders and a Queen, Karin Mansdotter, wife of Erik XIV, who died in 1613. (Guide books give you such useful information don’t they?)
A Magnificient organ dominates the back of the main chapel area, and there is a beautiful wooden carved pulpit. By this stage, my brain refused to take in any more.
A quick walk along the Aura river followed, a look in at Artek, a shop featuring finnish design, furniture and homewares, followed by a well earned meal.
The evening was a chance to meet the other cousins and children. Relaxing in the cool of the summer evening in a swing under apple trees. Much better.

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Photos

14th century carving of St george and the dragon
found in the medieval chapel

Comments

[Vicki OBrien]

Photo
Love your photo of the slit window, it has a gothic, erie feel about it