Turku Cathedral Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Turku Cathedral
Turun tuomiokirkko
Frontside of Turku Cathedral in summer 2008
60°27′09″N 22°16′41″E / 60.4524°N 22.2781°E / 60.4524; 22.2781
Location	Turku
Country	Finland
Denomination	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Previous denomination	Catholic
Website	Official Website: http://www.turunseurakunnat.fi/portal/en/turku_cathedral/
History
Status	Episcopal polity
Dedication	Blessed Virgin Mary Saint Henry
Consecrated	17 June 1300
Architecture
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Romanesque, Gothic Revival
Years built	1276–1300
Completed	1300
Specifications
Capacity	1,400 people
Length	89 m
Width	38 m
Height	85.53 m
Administration
Archdiocese	Turku
Province	Western Finland

Turku Cathedral (Finnish: Turun tuomiokirkko, Swedish: Åbo domkyrka) is a very old and important church in Finland. It is the only medieval basilica in the country. This means it has a special design with a long central hall.

The cathedral is the main church for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is also where the Archbishop of Finland, Tapio Luoma, works. Many people see it as a key part of Finland's building history.

This cathedral is the most important religious building in Finland. It has seen many big moments in the country's past. Today, it is a well-known symbol of Turku. You can find it in the heart of the city, near the Old Great Square. It is also right by the Aura River. Every day, its bells ring at noon, and the sound is even played on national radio! It is also a big part of Finland's yearly Christmas celebrations.

The first version of the cathedral was built from wood in the late 1200s. It became Finland's main cathedral in 1300. Back then, it was the home of the Catholic bishop of Turku. Over the 1300s and 1400s, it grew much bigger. Stone was used for most of the new parts. A huge fire in 1827 badly damaged the cathedral. After the fire, it was rebuilt almost completely.

History of the Cathedral
Notable People Buried in the Cathedral
Gallery
See also

History of the Cathedral

Turku Cathedral plan

Turku Cathedral cross section

In the 1200s, Turku became Finland's most important trading city. Because of this, the Bishop's office moved to the city center. It used to be in a place called Koroinen, further up the Aura River.

By the end of the 1200s, a new stone church was finished. It stood where an old wooden church used to be. This new church was opened in 1300. It was named after the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Henry. Saint Henry was the first Bishop of Finland.

How the Cathedral Grew

When it was first built, the cathedral was smaller than it is today. The front part was where the pulpit is now. Its roof was also much lower. The cathedral was made bigger many times during the Middle Ages.

In the 1300s, a new choir section was added. The tall, eight-sided pillars you see in the chancel today come from this time. For a long time, the high altar was in the middle of the church. In the mid-1600s, it moved to its current spot. This spot used to be the Chapel of All Saints.

In the 1400s, small chapels were built along the sides of the main hall. Each chapel had an altar for different saints. One of these chapels holds the tomb of Bishop Hemming (1290–1366). He was the 12th bishop of Turku.

Bishop Hemming helped the cathedral a lot. He made sure big repairs happened in the 1300s. He was also a close friend of Saint Birgitta of Sweden. When he died in 1366, he was buried in the choir.

In 1514, his remains were moved to a special spot. This was because Pope Leo X had recognized him as blessed. His new tomb is a wooden box. It is decorated in a style from the early 1500s. You can still see traces of gold, yellow, blue, and red colors. It must have been very bright when it was new! The tomb is in a dark spot near the pulpit. But its location makes it easy to reach. This was important because of its special status.

Famous People Buried Here

Another important person buried in the cathedral is Queen Karin Månsdotter (1550–1612). She was Queen of Sweden for a short time with Erik XIV. She lived many years in what is now Finland.

When she died in 1612, she was buried under the floor of the Tott Chapel. In the 1860s, her remains were moved. They are now in the Kankas Chapel. She rests in a black marble tomb with a crown on a golden pillow. This chapel was decorated in the 1800s after the Great Fire of Turku.

By the end of the Middle Ages, the cathedral had 42 side chapels. The roof was also made taller in the late 1400s. It reached its current height of 24 meters. So, by the early Modern era, the church looked much like it does today.

The tower is a later addition. It has been rebuilt many times because of fires. The worst damage happened in the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. Most of the town was destroyed. The inside of the tower and the main hall were also ruined. The tower's current top was built after this fire. It is 101 meters high. You can see it from far away. It is a symbol of both the cathedral and the city of Turku.

Changes After the Reformation

During the Reformation, the Lutheran Church of Finland took over the cathedral. Most of the inside of the church today comes from the repairs after the Great Fire in the 1830s.

The altarpiece shows Jesus changing in appearance. It was painted in 1836 by Fredrik Westin, a Swedish artist. The screen behind the altar and the pulpit were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel. He was a German architect famous for his work in Finland.

The walls and roof in the chancel have beautiful paintings. These frescos are in the Romantic style. They were painted by Robert Wilhelm Ekman. They show scenes from the life of Jesus. They also show two key moments in Finnish Church history. One is the baptism of the first Finnish Christians by Bishop Henry. This happened by a spring at Kupittaa. The other shows Michael Agricola giving the first Finnish New Testament to King Gustav Vasa.

The cathedral has three organs. The main organ was built in 1980 by Veikko Virtanen Oy. It has 81 rows of pipes and a mechanical system.

Building Materials of the Church

The first church on this spot was made of wood. But in the Middle Ages, wood was not good for city buildings. This was to stop fires from spreading.

The first parts of the current stone church used grey stone and clay bricks. Making bricks was not common in Finland back then. Bricks were mostly used for churches. It is thought that bricks were made close to where they were used. Records show a clay pit near the cathedral. It was owned by a local group of monks.

Many other medieval churches in Finland are made of stone and wood. Using bricks was special. It happened only where bricks could be made nearby. Shaping stone was not very advanced in Finland in the 1300s. Stone was used for some churches and cellars. But it was not easy for detailed work.

Notable People Buried in the Cathedral

Blessed Bishop Hemming (around 1290–1366), Bishop of Turku
Paulus Juusten (1516–1576), Bishop of Viipuri and later Bishop of Turku
Karin Månsdotter (1550–1612), Queen of Sweden
Princess Sigrid of Sweden (1566–1633), Swedish princess
Samuel Cockburn (1574–1621), Scottish soldier
Torsten Stålhandske (1593–1644), officer in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War
Åke Henriksson Tott (1598–1640), Swedish soldier and politician

Gallery

View before the Great Fire
Cathedral in 1900
View of the cathedral from Vartiovuori hill
Interior view
Altar
The main organ
Tomb and burial monument of Catherine Månsdotter, the Queen of Sweden
Votive ship
Illustration in Finland framstäldt i teckningar edited by Zacharias Topelius and published 1845-1852.