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Turku Castle

c. 1280 · 13th century

Turku Castle is a medieval fortress at the mouth of the Aura River in Turku, south-western Finland, begun around 1280 as a Swedish stronghold. For centuries it was the main seat of royal power in Finland. In the 1550s and 1560s Duke John, later John III of Sweden, held court there as ruler of the Duchy of Finland and enlarged it in Renaissance style. It is now a museum.

Turku Castle
Image: Otto Jula · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Duchy of Finland

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Turku Castle. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/turku-castle
MLA
“Turku Castle.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/turku-castle. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Turku Castle.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/turku-castle.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Turku Castle’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/turku-castle (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻