Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Turku Castle

This is the first castle that I've been in (unless you count the Excalibur casino in Las Vegas...)

Turku is the oldest city in Finland, but a lot of the oldest stuff has been destroyed by fires. The castle still stands, and I ventured into Finland's most popular tourist attraction for a look. I originally intended to wander down, take a couple of photos and head back, but the walk was longer than I thought and I was wet from the rain, so figured I'd head in. It was well worth it (for a castle virgin, any way) and had a quick tour with a young bloke dressed up in some faux medieval garb - I'm sure he felt like an idiot.




The castle courtyard



This is part of the oldest paintings in Finland - 15th century. No flash photography allowed, but mine accidentally went off. You know, new camera, takes a bit of getting used to.



Detail of one of the wall tapestries



A statue of one of the saints. The castle contains the last catholic church built in Finland before protestantism took over.

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