Visiting Turku Castle - Swedish and Finnish history

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: September 2026 | Turku Castle is one of Finland's most impressive historical buildings, with more than 700 years of Swedish and Finnish history within its walls. Here, royalty has feasted, prisoners have been held, and power struggles have taken place. Today, you can wander through medieval halls and Renaissance comforts and discover the castle's many exhibitions.

Turku Castle

Turku Castle is one of the most interesting sights in the Finnish city of Turku, which was once Sweden's second largest city after Helsinki. Stockholm. Incidentally, the city is called Turku in Finnish and the castle is called Turun linna, which initially confused us a bit. After a while we realised that "Turun" is a genitive conjugation of the word "Turku", so Turun linna simply means Turku Castle.

Turku Castle is located at the mouth of the Aura River, near the Port of Turku.

Turku Castle - from camp fort to Renaissance castle

Turku Castle began to be built in the 1280s under the Swedish king, and was initially a simple camp fort. Relatively soon, however, the building evolved into a mighty grey stone castle, with a main castle and antechamber.

In 1556, Gustav Vasa appointed his son Johan as Duke of Finland, and now the castle was given banqueting halls and developed into the Renaissance style it still has today. In one of the exhibition halls you can see models that clearly show the different stages of the castle's historical development.

Erik XIV and John III - a violent feud between brothers

Duke John and his older brother Eric XIV, who became king after the death of Gustav Vasa in 1560, had a complicated relationship, to say the least. John ruled his duchy from Turku and married the Polish princess Catherine Jagiellonia in 1562. Together they held a magnificent Renaissance court at Turku Castle.

At the same time, the conflict between the brothers grew. Johan pursued an increasingly independent policy and his contacts with Poland went against the plans of Erik XIV. In 1563, Turku Castle was besieged by the king's troops. Johan surrendered and was taken to the Gripsholm Castle, where they were held captive.

A few years later, everything changed. Erik XIV was deposed in 1568 and Johan became King Johan III. Now it was Erik who became a prisoner instead.

The deposed king was held in several different castles and was also imprisoned in Turku Castle around 1570–1571. After that, his imprisonment continued in other places, including Kastelholm Castle on Åland. Erik XIV died in 1577 at Örbyhus Castle.

It's hard not to think about the dramatic family history when you walk through the rooms of Turku Castle today. First, one brother was imprisoned on the orders of the other, and a few years later the roles were completely reversed.

Administration, Prison and now ... Museum

The Governor General of Finland, Per Brahe the Younger, held court in the castle in the 17th century. When the administration was later moved to other locations, the castle was turned into both a warehouse and a prison.

The castle was largely destroyed by bombing in 1941. After the end of the war, the castle was restored and in 1961 it was ready to receive tourists. Parts of the castle now look like they once did, while other parts contain various exhibitions.

Visiting Turku Castle

Visiting Turku Castle is something you don't want to miss when you're in Turku. Here you can walk around for a long time in the different halls and rooms.

There are a lot of fine artefacts, such as the medieval wooden sculptures in Sture Church and the Nunne Chapel in Turku Castle, which mainly come from nearby churches.

You can also peek into rooms such as the medieval king's roof, the bachelor's quarters, the maid's quarters and the castle church. Signs tell you when Gustav Vasa visited, where Duke Johan lived and where Erik XIV was imprisoned.

Museums and exhibitions

There are permanent exhibitions in both the main castle and the pre-castle. Here you can see historical artefacts, costumes, furniture, jewellery, coins and exhibitions that tell the story of life in the castle from the perspective of both the courtiers and the servants. There is also a "Children's Castle" with activities for younger visitors.

An exhibition we saw: The Princess's Journey

When we visited Turku Castle, the temporary exhibition was on display The Princess's Journey, which was about Catherine Jagiellonian's path from Poland to life with Duke John in Turku. The exhibition ran from 2022–2024 and is no longer there, but we really liked it and it made the story of John and Catherine extra vivid.

More to see in the neighbourhood

There is of course more to see in Turku than just Turku Castle. You can also continue your journey to the beautiful and charming Naantali. Here you will find more tips:

• Things to do in Turku
• Things to do in Naantali
• The Moomin world