Turku Castle

Turku Castle (Finnish: Turun linna, Swedish: Åbo slott) is a medieval structure in the city of Turku, Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. It is also 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 center in the historical region of Finland until the early 19th century. It played a role in power struggles within Sweden and the Kalmar Union and stood sieges, with additional battles fought outside its walls. The castle was at its peak in the mid-16th century, during the reign of Duke John of Finland and Catherine Jagellon.

It lost its status as an administrative center in the 17th century, after Per Brahe's period as governor-general of Finland came to an end. Turku Castle is Finland's most visited museum. Visitations reach well over 100,000 people annually. Some of the rooms in the castle are used for municipal functions.

The castle was the center of the historical province of Finland Proper, and the administrative center of all of Finland.

Text adapted from “Turku Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Turku Castle ranks #358 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 21 mapped in Finland. Founded 1300, it is older than 63% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 9,881 times in the last 60 days, more than 92% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Finland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗