5+ Highlights · Finnish Heritage Agency
Medieval castles — stone and power
Mighty greystone strongholds, moats and thick walls — step into the medieval castles of Turku, Häme and Raseborg that once guarded the realm.
The castle was the seat of power and safety — from here provinces were ruled, taxes gathered and attackers held off. Finland's great stone castles rise from the Middle Ages: Turku Castle by the sea, Häme Castle a square of red brick on the lakeshore, and the ruins of Raseborg at the foot of their rock. Kings and prisoners have passed through their halls, and the thick walls still carry centuries of sieges, feasts and quiet winters.
This is the route into the Finland of castles: from the crown strongholds of the south-west coast to the watch-castles of the interior. Whether your interest is military history, architecture or simply the cool gloom of the vaults, we have gathered the places worth a stop — and a route that takes you to as many as possible in a single day.
Highlights
Häme Castle
Hämeenlinna
Alongside Turku Castle, Häme Castle is our foremost medieval castle, standing at the narrows of Vanajavesi as the centre of Häme's military and administrative power. Its red-brick walls also hold the country's prison history.
Look for: Read the castle's layers: the grey-stone camp castle from the mid-13th century, the brick palace storey from the early 1400s, and the ring wall's cannon tower from the 1560s tell of centuries of building in the same masonry.
Raseborg Castle
Raseborg Castle was the military and administrative heart of western Uusimaa from the 1370s to the 1550s, watching over shipping and trade in the Gulf of Finland. Its ruins rise on a high glaciated rock in a bend of the Raseborg river.
Look for: Pick out the two outer baileys and the great round tower added to the original stone castle during the 1400s; a ring wall follows the natural shape of the rocky island.
Turku Castle
Turun linna on hallinto-, yhteiskunta- ja kulttuurihistoriallinen avainkohde.
Government Palace (Finland)
Helsinki
Originally built as the Senate house, the Government Palace has served for 200 years as the seat of central government. Engel's main wing faces Senate Square and forms part of the square's architectural composition.
Look for: Admire the striking neoclassical facade of the main wing, and behind it the throne hall designed by Engel — now the presidential audience hall, the building's principal room.
Joensuun kruununmakasiini, Pielisjoen linna
Joensuu
On a commanding site on Niskasaari, in the heart of the city, stands Pielisjoen linna — a brick crown granary from 1852, Joensuu's first stone building.
Look for: Notice the thorough 1920s renovation, when the building became the civil guard district's premises: the exterior was plastered and given historicising details.