About this site
The need for a new Archbishop's House became apparent in 1884. The old house was found to be in poor condition and its position in post-fire Turku had changed. Provincial architect von Heideken drew up a plan for placing new buildings on the original plot, drawings for new outbuildings and a cost estimate for the entire renovation. The Senate granted funds for the project and set the cost ceiling at 100,000 marks. Architect Sebastian Gripenberg was given the task of making changes; one of the drafts was selected as the proposal to the Senate. At the Board of Public Buildings, architect Jac. Ahrenberg was tasked with preparing the house's final drawings. The drawings are signed, in addition to Ahrenberg, by the then director of the Board, J. L. Lindqvist. The drafts did not include drawings for the facade, the second-floor rooms or the basement, so these fell entirely to Ahrenberg. The Senate made the building decision in 1887 and additionally stated specifically that both the main building and the yard building were to be built of stone. The original garden and planting plan was made by A. F. Rydberg, a Swedish-born garden architect active in Turku at the time. On the basis of his plans, the final plan was prepared and executed by the head gardener, the City of Turku's city gardener O.R. Gauffin. The black cast-iron fence erected along the street sides of the Bishop's House was manufactured, in all probability by Turku Iron Industry in the neighbouring block, on the basis of architect Reinius's drawings. The fence's decorative motif is a repeated arch resembling a bishop's crook, with a stylised lily in the centre. The gates in turn feature large cross motifs. The three years of construction work were completed in 1890. From outside, especially from the side of the main entrance, the Archbishop's House appears to be two-storey, even though the second floor is largely attic space. The Neo-Renaissance palace's main colour is broken red brick, from which the lighter wall sections and window trims stand out. Decoration on the facade has been used only in certain details, such as the plant-motif ornaments on the symmetric and round-arched window trims. The surrounds with pediments around the larger windows at the ends of the facade are more decorative than the other six window frames. The eaves of the house are, in keeping with the style, wide and decorative. Both gables of the building are surrounded at the top by symbolic lily bands in the wall mouldings. Light corner quoins also accentuate the building's corners. The round-arched door at the entrance gable is flanked on either side by square pillars with plain capitals. The entrance is bordered by a line-ornament pattern. In keeping with the custom of the time, representativeness was intended specifically for the street facades. On the other side of the house, viewed from the garden courtyard, the wall is of uniform colour. The Archbishop's House contained both the bishop's reception and representative premises, the residence, and the servants' quarters. The large salon was intended as a festive hall and representative space. It was connectable via doors to the dining room. The walls of the salons were partially panelled and both featured decorative majolica stoves. On the ground floor there was also the bishop's reception room and study, as well as the master's bedroom and nursery, living room, serving room and kitchen. All residential rooms had tiled stoves. The building's second floor was reserved for residential spaces. Overall, the accommodation was intended for a fairly large family with children. The separation of private residential rooms and representative premises was not implemented until the renovation of 2009–2010, when a kitchen and a separate entrance were built on the upper floor. The floor area of the Archbishop's House's first floor was 479 m², and of the second floor's residential spaces 153 m². Simultaneously with the main building, a yard building on the north side of the plot was completed, built according to Ahrenberg's drawings. It contained spaces for the servants' use and shelter for domestic animals and horse-drawn carriages.
Official description (Museovirasto) — machine-translated from Finnish
- Municipality
- Turku