Turku Castle Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Turku Castle, (Finnish: Turun linna, Swedish: Åbo slott) is a monument of Finnish history situated in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with the Cathedral of Turku, Turku castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. Turku castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland, and one of the largest surviving medieval castles in Scandinavia. This national monument standing on the banks of Aura river has experienced many stages for more than 700 years.

Turku Castle was founded on an island on the estuary of Aurajoki River in the 1280s as the administrative castle of the Swedish Crown. The castle was originally built in the form of a rectangular fortified camp. The fortified camp became a closed castle in the early 14th century, and the castle was divided into a main castle and bailey. Under the Swedish Duke Johan between 1556 and 1563, Turku Castle was renovated into a handsome renaissance castle; this is when its main features became the size they are today.

In the 1630s the bailey became the official residence for Pietari Brahe, the governor general of Finland. In the late 18th century, after the county governor and Higher Regional Court had moved from the castle to town, the castle underwent significant changes. The bailey became a prison and the main castle became a granary. The castle functioned as a prison until the 1890s after which the historical museum was placed in the bailey. Turku Castle was badly damaged by the bombings in 1941. The fully repaired castle was opened to the public in 1961.

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of Aura river. It is located in the region of Finland Proper in the Province of Western Finland. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland. Turku was for a long time the most important population center in Finland: it was the first capital city of Finland from 1809 to 1812 and continued to be the largest city by population in Finland until the end of 1840s. Nowadays its significance nationwide is not the same as it used to be, but Turku is still a regional capital and important location for business and culture.

As of February 28, 2009 Turku’s population was 175,689, which makes it the fifth largest city in Finland by population. As of 31 August 2008 there were 303,492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, which makes it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify as speaking Swedish as a mother-tongue.

During the year 2011 Turku has been designated to be the European Capital of Culture together with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. (Source: national board of antiquities & turku.fi & wikipedia)

Royaldevon, Gerrit, Adrian_S, Jonathan_Tree, dip, ymrk, snunney, asajernigan, Cretense, danos, Photo65Net, ChrisJ, Graal, azaf1, Buin, paura, JCG has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Gerrit (36287) 2009-03-19 1:29

Hi George,
excellent photo of this majestic castle in very good saturated colors.
Regards, gerrit

Royaldevon (5944) 2009-03-19 1:30

Good Morning George,

A lovely, postcard quality posting of this ancient building. Your low pov gives it an imposing presence and your sharp focus captures very nicely, the architectural details.
Good use of the surrounding trees.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

Adrian_S (621) 2009-03-19 1:40

Hello George!
Amazing colours. The sky and the grass look amazing, but I think their strenght makes the building a bit too bright, not disturbing though. It still doesn't affect the beauty of this photography.

All the best
Adrian

Jonathan_Tree (4803) 2009-03-19 1:42

Hi George!
Wonderful mysterious castle. Excellent sky. Nice colors. Good sharpness.
Cordially!

dip (12850) 2009-03-19 1:50

Hi George,
impressive view of the castle,excellent POV and wonderful light,
well done!
Greetings,
Dimitris.

ymrk (9142) 2009-03-19 1:50

Turku Castle is that a Turkish architecture?
The beautiful green-blue combination,George.I love this sharpen of colors in here.Very well photolook!
Take care!

Yağmur

snunney (35476) 2009-03-19 2:33

Hello George,
A good capture of this very impressive castle that stands out beautifully against the clear blue sky. The detail in the stonework is very well rendered; whilst the foreground grass makes a good frame. Excellent light and colours and good sharpness. Interesting and comprehensive note.

asajernigan (14284) 2009-03-19 2:35

George,
Great shot of this imposing castle. The angle of the shot is great giving the photo nice depth. The building is framed nicely by the trees. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail.
TFS,
Asa

npecanhuk (14718) 2009-03-19 3:39

Hi George!
Interesting architecture! Simple but effective composition!
Well chosen low viewpoint! Excellent sharpness and perfect exposure! Natural and beautiful colors! I like its brightness! I really like the picture! TFS - Congratulations!
Warmest regards,
Neyvan

ktanska (16695) 2009-03-19 4:39

Hi George,
What a nice surprise, a view from Finland.
It's an impressive castle, full of Finnish history. Pefectly cut lawn and clear blue sky look great too.
Kari

Greg1949 (8519) 2009-03-19 5:53

George, I like the shot and the colors are wonderful and as always the note is fantastic but i think this one is too bright, not much but a bit overexposed on the lighter stone. Other than that it is another great post.

Greg

jlbrthnn (38971) 2009-03-19 6:11

Hello George,
The sky is more blue than the sun of Languedoc:) the colors are superb. Architecture is seen under an excellent angle. It is a beautiful work which I like. Cheer.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

Cretense (57010) 2009-03-19 7:41

Hi George!

Excellent architecture photo (it's your specialty, need to say it again?), with great framing and simple but effective composition! Excellent light managment, beautiful colours and impressive definition! Congratulations!

Hercules

gildasjan (24143) 2009-03-19 7:54

Bonjour George
Le blanc de cette architecture claque vraiment fort avec la densité de ce ciel bleu.Une belle image sans éléments qui viennent perturber celle-ci.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
gildas

danos (33300) 2009-03-19 8:24

Hello George,
very nice perspective and POV of this beautiful National castle of Turku.I like the saturate colours as the castle outline against the blue sky.Informative your note of this old castle.Well done.

Have a nice afternoon,Danos

Photo65Net (43096) 2009-03-19 12:55

Hello George,
Great architecture.
I like the colors and contrasts here.
Have a nice day,
JB.

hay_kes (28562) 2009-03-19 16:18

Hi George,
Very interesting architecture vith excellent POV, light and sharpness.TFS.
Cheers,
Have a nice day,

hAyAti

lousat (16116) 2009-03-19 17:01

Hi George,isn't easy to comment a beauty and a perfection like that! Very interesting place perfectly token from the best point of view,my great compliments,Luciano

ChrisJ (70443) 2009-03-19 19:06

Hi George

A marvellous intense blue sky with good sharpness, colour & framing, on the old stone castle. Excellent graphism & contrast. Tfs!

trekks (14334) 2009-03-19 22:44

hi george

I like this clean view of the deep blue sky, enhanced saturation of the scenery by the green grass and the building lies in between the strong contrast. Very nicely composed shot to show the castle. Good work.

tfs, bill

Graal (58732) 2009-03-20 0:10

Jó napot George,
today we are in Finland with You. Interesting castle in Turku. Good note and well photojob.
Gr., Aleksander

vincz (19045) 2009-03-20 0:44

Great quality and sharpness. Al in blue and green, very vivid colors. A great one.

azaf1 (15547) 2009-03-20 1:42

Good morning George

Clean sharp and bright. The POV has enhanced the beauty of the imposing castle and you have allowed enough space around to get an idea of the place. The note is just excellent

TFS
Argiris

Buin (38280) 2009-03-20 2:44

Hallo George!
This seems to be a truly well-fortified building - and an impressive one. It must have been daunting to aggressors to see these walls. I like the quality of this photo and your point if view which emphasize this castle skillfully!
Greetings from sunny but cold Germany - and have a nice weekend!
Frank

pablominto (41372) 2009-03-20 11:03

Hello George,

An impressive piece of architecture, that stands out so well in the amazing colours of vegetation and sky!
Excellent details in the old walls, the point of view is effective in showing the building...
A balanced composition where the subject is well framed by the vegetation!

Greetings,
Pablo -

paura (39306) 2009-03-21 4:13

George,
Vivid architecture details in your well managed exposition, friend. Very nice photojob.

Abraço

Paulo

Silvio1953 (42869) 2009-03-21 6:21

Ciao George, great view of fantastic castle, great light and splendid colors, very well done, have a good week end, buona Primavera da Spoleto, ciao Silvio

danyy (69465) 2009-03-21 15:46

Bonjour George,
tu avais de superbes lumières, mais qui manquent un rien de chaleur. Il n'empêche qu'elles font éclater les couleurs et les contrastes.
Une photo astucieusement cadrée.
Regards
Daniel.

JCG (25753) 2009-03-22 4:23

Hi George,

Strong contrast to present this beautiful and massive castle that you well framed in its plant environment. The blue sky points out the stone of the building. Nice and interesting photo and thank you for the informative note. Finland, a country that I would like to visit one day...

With all my friendships and a very good Sunday,

Jean-Charles

mauro61 (16300) 2009-03-23 2:57

ciao George,
mi colpisce molto la bella inquadratura di questo castello in pietra con uno splendido prato e un magnifico cielo azzurro.
Una definizione notevole e una composizione stupenda.
un caro saluto
maurizio