Turku Cathedral and Museum

Turku Cathedral is the mother church of the Lutheran Church of Finland, and the country’s national shrine.

It is familiar, even dear to every Finn. Its bells chime at noon over the radio (Channel Yle Radio 1) throughout Finland, and they also proclaim the Christmas peace to the country.

The cathedral museum has models showing stages of the cathedral’s construction from the 14th century, as well as medieval sculptures and religious paraphernalia.

The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards.

Architectural detail, Turku Cathedral