Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #7 in Turku, Finland

Turku Castle is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and 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 centre in Finland, which was a part of Sweden until the early 19th century. Only once did the castle figure in the defence of the realm, when Russian invaders from Novgorod destroyed Turku in 1318. It more frequently played a role in internal struggles for power within Sweden and the Kalmar Union. The castle's heyday was in the mid-16th century during the reign of Duke John of Finland and Catherine Jagellon. That was when the Renaissance Floor and King's and Queen's hall were built, along with other features. It lost its status as an administrative centre in the 17th century after Per Brahe's period as governor-general of Finland came to an end. Turku castle is today Finland's most visited museum, with attendance reaching 200,000 in some years. In addition, many of the larger rooms are used for municipal functions.

Wikipedia: Turku Castle (EN), Website

Turku Castle Church is a Lutheran church decorated in the banquet hall of the south wing of Turku Castle during the time of John Duke. The church was consecrated in 1706. It is managed by the Turku Museum Centre, which rents it out for church services, concerts and other events. The church has a capacity of 240 people.

Wikipedia: Turun linnan kirkko (FI), Website

Linnanpuisto is a park located in Turku, Finland. The park is named after Turku Castle in its vicinity and covers an area of 2.6 hectares.

Wikipedia: Linnanpuisto (FI)

Keihässalmi was a minelayer of the Finnish Navy. She was commissioned in 1957 and remained in service until 1994, after which she was turned into a museum ship in Turku. The vessel was named after the strait of Keihässalmi, which is located in Sipoo. Keihässalmi was the first Finnish minelayer to be constructed after World War II.

Wikipedia: Finnish minelayer Keihässalmi (EN)

MS Bore is a combination museum and hotel ship docked permanently in Turku, Finland. She was originally built in 1960 by Oskarshamn shipyard, Oskarshamn, Sweden as the car/passenger ferry SS Bore for Steamship Company Bore, Finland, then the last commercial steam ship built in Scandinavia and the first ferry on the route between Finland and Sweden where cars could drive aboard. She was later known as SS Borea, before being rebuilt as a cruise ship in 1988. 1988 to 2010 she was owned by the Finnish shipping company Kristina Cruises and known as MS Kristina Regina until she was retired because she did not comply with new safety regulations.

Wikipedia: MS Bore (EN)

The Turunmaa-class fast gunboats was a type of vessel, previously operated by the Finnish Navy in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and trade protection roles. Internationally they were labeled as corvettes.

Wikipedia: Turunmaa class gunboat (EN)

Suomen Joutsen is a steel-hulled full-rigged ship with three square rigged masts. Built in 1902 by Chantiers de Penhoët in St. Nazaire, France, as Laënnec, the ship served two French owners before she was sold to German interest in 1922 and renamed Oldenburg. In 1930, she was acquired by the Government of Finland, refitted to serve as a school ship for the Finnish Navy and given her current name. Suomen Joutsen made eight long international voyages before the Second World War and later served in various support and supply roles during the war. From 1961 on she served as a stationary seamen's school for the Finnish Merchant Navy. In 1991, Suomen Joutsen was donated to the city of Turku and became a museum ship moored next to Forum Marinum.

Wikipedia: Suomen Joutsen (EN)

Symbiosis is a sculpture designed by Stefan Lindfors in Turku, Aurajokiranna near Forum Marinum maritime museum and Suomen Joutsen. The sculpture, unveiled in 2014 and placed in its current location in 2015, is part of the campaign to protect the Archipelago Sea: more and more steel plates are constantly being welded to its surface, engraved with the names of donors.

Wikipedia: Symbiosis (FI), Website

Fibonacci Sequence 1–55 is a light installation by Italian artist Mario Merz hung on the chimney of Turku Energia Oy's power plant, unveiled at Linnankatu 65 in Turku in May 1994. The 35-metre-high work, consisting of neon tubes, consists of the first ten chapters 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and 55 of the Fibonacci sequence. In the Fibonacci sequence, each number in the series is the sum of the two previous numbers.

Wikipedia: Fibonacci Sequence 1–55 (FI), Website

Varvintori is one of Turku's squares. It was built in its current form in 1991. The name of the square derives from the Swedish name of Veistämöntori, Varfstorget, from an altered vernacular form.

Wikipedia: Varvintori (FI)

North is an environmental artwork by Israeli artist Micha Ullman, which is part of the Art Project of the Pro Cultura Foundation of the City of Turku. The work consists of 13 granite stones arranged in the shape of the ship's hull. The unveiling took place in 1996 at Varvintori Square in Turku.

Wikipedia: Pohjoinen (ympäristötaideteos) (FI), Website

Sigyn, built in Gothenburg 1887, now museum ship in Turku, is the last remaining wooden barque used for trade across the oceans. At the time she was built there were thousands of similar vessels, but she was one of the last ones built. She was quite small even for her time, considering she was built for long-distance trade, but well built and considered fast and beautiful.

Wikipedia: Sigyn (ship) (EN)

Helmet is Merja Pitkänen's sculpture group at Itäinen Rantakatu 72 in Turku, in front of the so-called White House. Unveiled in 2011, the work consists of four elements in the shape of an enlarged water droplet, whose polished steel surface reflects a wide-angle mirror image of city views in different directions.

Wikipedia: Helmet (veistos) (FI), Website

Mater Marium from 2012 is a media artwork by lighting designer and artist Tarja Ervasti at the mouth of the Aura River in Turku. The work pays homage to the long-term history of the shipping industry in the port area and at the same time reminds us of the city's industrial past.

Wikipedia: Mater Marium (FI), Website

Remains is a work by Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils in Telakkaranta, Turku. The bow of the ship, which is over six metres high and five metres wide, features portraits of Turku-based shipbuilders. The work was unveiled in 2011 by Seppo Lehtinen, Chairman of the City Council, in front of Forum Marinum. The current location is Telakkaranta. The work was commissioned by the Turku 2011 Foundation.

Wikipedia: Remains (Turku) (FI)

Along the Way (1985) is Maarit Nissilä's cubist bronze sculpture in Vähäheikkilä. Two characters sit on a bench: it's hard for them to know if they've just met, or maybe they're already going their separate ways. The work is located at Kupittaankatu 146 in front of the Osuuspankki service point and was commissioned by Osuuspankki on the initiative of the Mäkitupalaisyhdistys.

Wikipedia: Matkan varrelta (FI), Website

Korppu-Vihtori is a sculpture by Viljo Mäkinen unveiled in 1985 in Mäntymäki, Turku, at Kallelankatu 3.

Wikipedia: Korppu-Vihtori (FI), Website

LDS Church is the Mormon activity center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mäntymäki, Turku. It is located on the mound of Mäntymäenaukio at the end of Betaniankatu. The building, commissioned in 1966 and inaugurated in 1967, was designed by architects Mirja and Heikki Castrén.

Wikipedia: MAP-kirkko (Turku) (FI)

Turku Sports Park is a sports and recreation area located in the centre of Turku, on the eastern bank of the Aura River. The extensive park area includes several sports facilities, some of which are open all year round. The most significant areas of the park are the Paavo Nurmi Stadium and the upper field, which serves as both a football and American football field. The park also has a disc golf course, outdoor exercise equipment, and several tennis, basketball and volleyball courts. In winter, the park's fields are frozen for ice games. The park is surrounded by the Karikon lenkki fitness track, named after Paavo Karikos, who was Finland's first municipal sports instructor from 1938 to 1969.

Wikipedia: Turun Urheilupuisto (FI)

Diligent Reading Caterpillars (1975) is a sculpture by Simo Helenius and one of the few public sculptures depicting children in Turku. The work is located in front of Samppalinna School, and it was commissioned from appropriations reserved for decorating the school at the proposal of the Art Committee.

Wikipedia: Ahkerat lukutoukat (FI), Website

Cranes at the Well is a bronze sculpture by Jussi Mäntynen in front of Turku Municipal Hospital. The city commissioned a bronze sculpture of birds at the Lapinlahti Art Foundry and decided to locate it in front of the Municipal Hospital. The work was originally cast in plaster and as such the artist donated it to the City of Turku. The work was unveiled in 1973.

Wikipedia: Kurjet kaivolla (FI), Website