Appointing a governor (prefectus Finlandiae) in 1280 marked a turning point in the Finnish history, because it established the status of Finland in the state of Sweden. Carl Gustafsson was appointed the first governor of Finland. The founding of the Castle of Turku has been associated with this particular period of time, the 1280’s.

The building of the castle began on a rocky island in the mouth of the River Aura. A rectangular fortified encampment (59 x 38m) emerged as a result. There was a shooting rack circling the top of the wall. Both in the eastern and the western ends of the castle there were tower gates and there were gates also in the middle of both of the sidewalls. In the far southwestern corner was situated the dwelling house of the head of the castle and in the far northeastern corner a two-story storehouse was located. (According to the research conducted by Knut Drake the building has been the first church in the castle and the eastern tower was built at a later stage.)

The wall was built from regular sized greystones. There were triangular arches in the door and window ways. The closest resemblance of this fortified encampment was in Gotland, probably because that is where the builders had come from.

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During the reign of the Duke Waldemar (1302-1318) the fortified encampment was transformed into a closed administrative castle. The gates in the sidewalls were walled up and also the gate by the west tower became useless. Therefore the only entrance was by the castle’s eastern tower. The castle was divided with an intermediary wall into two separate parts, namely the main castle and the pre-castle. The encircling wall was heightened and more dwellings were built inside. By this time the medieval King’s hall was completed.

The Castle of Turku experienced its first heyday while Mattias Kettilmundsson was the head of the castle. (1324-1326)

King Magnus Ericsson visited the castle in 1347 and 1351. These were the first royal visits made to Finland. During the hostilities between Magnus Ericsson and Albrekt of Mecklenburg the castle fell under besiege for a period of over eight months. At the time the head of the castle was the Norwegian Narve Ingevaldsson.

The besiege of the castle ended in the surrendering and burning of the castle. In the fire for example the vaults of the medieval king’s hall collapsed. However, the construction started soon again. Bo Jonsson Grip, who became the feudal lord of the entire area of Finland, re-built the vaults of the medieval king’s hall. After the enlargement was finished, there were altogether about forty rooms in the castle. Furthermore, during the early 15^th Century the chapel of the nuns received its beautiful star vaults.

In 1403 the young union king Eric of Pommer visited the castle of Turku. Carl Knutsson Bonde, who had recently been appointed the governor, arrived in Turku and took control of the castle. However, in 1441 Eric Axelsson Tott occupied the castle of Turku and it fell into the hands of the Dane Kristian of Oldenburg. Nevertheless, Carl Knutsson Bonde recaptured the castle of Turku in 1448. In addition, during the years 1472-1499 the castle was part of the Finnish feudal lands of Sten Sture the elder.

During this period of time the southern wing was heightened in its entire length. The castellan’s residence, a small vaulted room or a stone chamber appeared next to the castle cottage. In the bottom floor there were a kitchen with a well, a large open fireplace and an oven.

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The administrator Sten Sture and his wife Ingeborg Tott visited the castle of Turku in 1495. Apparently, the church of Sture in the northern wing dates back to their time.

The signs of medieval castles include for example passages through which one was able to move from one room to another as well as the small loopholes in the outer wall.

The Finnish castles fell into the hands of Kristian II who had been crowned the king of Sweden in 1520. However, because of the rebellion aroused by the bloodbath in Stockholm, the troops led by Gustav Wasa occupied the castle in 1523.

Gustav Wasa visited the castle in 1530. In honour of his visit the mural paintings in the gatekeepers room were designed. In the end of the decade a large reparation and construction work began in the castle and for example the heating system was enhanced.

Gustav Wasa revisited the castle of Turku in 1555. The reparation and construction of the castle was still going on. The old intermediary wall in the middle of the yard was torn down. At the time the renaissance layer including the great luminous halls as well as the rooms of the master and mistress of the castle were built in their entirety. The stair towers were also finished.

Johan was appointed the duke of Finland in 1556. He arrived in the castle along with his Polish wife Katarina Jagellonica in 1562. This was the genuine flourishing period of the court life in the castle of Turku. Nevertheless, after a little over eight months the duke and duchess were captured and taken back to Sweden by the troops led by the duke’s brother king Eric XIV. Later on, the roles were reversed and Eric along with his family had to spend time as a hostage in the castle of Turku (1570-1571).

The main part of the castle of Turku burned down in 1614 during a visit by Gustav II Adolph. Noticeably, only the intermediary foundations and water roofs were replaced after the fire. In 1705 "the grand hall" in the southern wing was decorated as a church. During the bombings in 1941 the main castle burned down entirely.

It took over fifteen years to rebuild the castle and finally in 1961 the renovation was finished. The castle was returned partly to its medieval and partly to its 16^th Century appearance. However, the external appearance remained in its simple 18^th Century form.

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