Turku Cathedral - the main Lutheran temple in Finland. Built in the second half of the XIII century, it was consecrated in 1300 in honor of the Virgin Mary and the first Bishop of the country - St. Henry, who baptized Finland.
The cathedral was laid in 1258 and built in the North Gothic style, which became a model for other churches in Finland for a long time. The first stone cathedral was much smaller than the present one. Its facade was at the place where the cathedral is now located. Below was a vault overlapping the space.
In the Middle Ages the cathedral was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. In the XV century side chapels were added to the cathedral. A little later the height of the vault of the central aisle was increased to the modern size (24 meters). In 1827 the cathedral was seriously damaged by fire. The 101-meter tower of the cathedral was built during the restoration of the cathedral and became a symbol of the city of Turku.
The interior decoration of the cathedral was made in 1830s by Frederick Westin and Carl Engel. The walls and vault of the altar part are decorated with frescos by R. V. Ekman. In 1870s northern chapels were decorated with stained-glass windows by Vladimir Sverchkov.
In 1980 a new 81-storeyed organ was installed in the cathedral.
In the Chapel of St. George is buried Bishop Hemming, listed as a saint. The most famous tombstone of the cathedral is the sarcophagus of Katharina Monsdotter, wife of King Erik XIV. In different parts of the cathedral there are also Mauna II Tavast, Olavi Maununpoika, Konrad Bitz, Mauna III Syarkilahti, Knut Posse, Paul Justen, Isak Rotovius, Thursten Stahlhandske, Oke Tott, Evert Hoorn.
In the southern gallery of the Cathedral there is the Cathedral Museum, which was opened in 1982 after the restoration work was completed.
In front of the cathedral there is a monument to Mikael Agricole, the reformer of the church.
