Visible from the Turku Market Square, the impressive National Romantic granite building of the Turku Art Museum beckons to walk up the Aurakatu street towards the green Puolalanpuisto park. Looking from the city market place, the museum’s granite facade rises at the end of the street at Aurakatu 26.

Our curiosity led us to visit this little jewel of culture. 

Very interested in art in France and all over the world, I was in a hurry to discover that this kind of art was offered in the northern countries.

It’s a very eclectic exhibition. There are works of great quality and very diverse in style: from classical works to the latest in contemporary art. 

In addition to the varied exhibition programme, the museum offers many other activities and a beautiful museum atmosphere in which to meet and socialise.

The museum manages one of the most comprehensive art collections in Finland. Considered a national treasure, the collection includes works of art from Finland’s golden age (the turn of the 20th century), self-portraits, Finnish surrealism and pop art. Today, the museum’s collection comprises almost 7,000 pieces and part of the collection is permanently on display in temporary exhibitions.

The exhibition presents the collection of more than 500 works of art donated to the Turku Art Museum by medical and surgical doctor Lars Göran Johnsson (born 1930 in Tampere). The exhibition is divided into thematic sections that express the character of the collection.

The granite building of the National Romantic Museum is one of the most important landmarks in the city and is also an attraction in itself. Designed by Professor Gustaf Nyström and completed in 1904, the building is the second in Finland to be designed and built specifically as an art museum.

In the cosy Café Victor you can take a break for a coffee or a light lunch and in summer you can enjoy one of the most fantastic views of the city from the terrace. Visitors can also visit the museum shop in Muusa, where you can purchase delicate objects, beautiful gifts and basic necessities.

We went to visit the Turku cathedral, who considered to be the most important religious building in Finland. The cathedral built in the last 13^th century out of wood. It is an Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland where lies the seat of the Catholic bishop of Turku.

We visited the cathedral at sunset. We asked the man of the front desk a question, he is very welcoming. With respect to the cathedral, there is a wide aisle with bibles the disposal of persons for the mass. At the end of the aisle, there is a place with chairs for the musicians, and behind the chairs, on the wall, paintings representative passages of the bible, such as “the last meal”. It are a very beautiful paints some of which look like famous painting, such as La Cène of Léonard de Vinci.

Besides, when we turn around, we can see the main organ above aisle chairs.

I think that ideal time for visiting the cathedral it is the Christmas season because it is central to Finland’s annual Christmas celebrations. However the cathedral visit just as well the others days and stay one thing to do when one comes in Turku.

I’m sure, I will return to see the cathedral because it is very amazing and I strongly advise it.

Sources :

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathédrale_de_Turku

And my pictures

My name is Justine, I’m 20 years old and I’m from a preparatory class for the grandes écoles and it was following a competition that I joined ESAIP for the environment classes. When I chose the destination for the Erasmus, my first choice was Cork, Ireland, to be closer to my family as going far away frightened me. I didn’t get it because of my level of English, one of the reasons why I go in Erasmus scholar trip. I chose Turku, Finland, as my second choice, where I was taken, because if I had to go far away, I have to choose the best country. For me it is Finland because I hear only good things about there. Beautiful landscapes, happy people and a country involved in the environment. Moreover, I chose Turku (because there were two destinations in Finland) for the proposed subjects which are circular economy and energy management, exactly the field in which I intend to work later.

It took me two to three months to accept the fact that I’m going away from my family, it hasn’t been easy because I’m closed to them. What helped me to accept it more easily was the fact that I’m going away with a friend. Living an adventure on my own is a challenge, but living it together is funnier. The closer we got, the more reassured I was, because I realized that once we got there, I wouldn’t be alone, we could count on each other and turn all our problems into jokes.

To prepare my trip to Finland I bought a ski coat, pants that can be taken off with the boots so that my clothes don’t get wet because of the snow, an electric hot water bottle that can be recharged and lasts 2 to 3 hours, crampons to put over the boots so that I won’t slip, gloves, a hat,… The most complicated was to choose the clothes I took because I got a lot of feedback that it was very cold outside but the buildings were overheated so it’s hard to get dressed. I didn’t take the accommodation offered by the school but a shared flat reserved for the Erasmus. So I’m going to share a flat with a foreigner and I’ll also get 4 free saunas per month.
I’m taking the same plane as everyone else who leaves Paris on January 15th around 7am and arrives in Turku at 3.30pm (local time) with a stopover in Helsinki. I have two tutors who helped me and who will pick me up at the airport. They got my apartment keys and they also helped me to find cutlery, pillows, duvets,…
So I am in a hurry to leave and live this adventure with my friend.

Justine MICHELON

My name is Mathilde, I am 20 years old I come from a university and technological institute specializing in health, safety and the environment. I chose Finland as my destination because I love northern countries. I’ve never had the chance to discover it and it’s a chance for me to be able to go with the school. I want to discover their world and not only by visiting tourist sites. I want to see how the Finns live. 

Only two more days and I’ll be in Finland. Precisely in Turku. I managed to stay in a student residence 18 minutes from the university campus. I’ll be sharing with two other people. In this student residence we have access to a laundry, a club room and of course the sauna once a week. All of this is controlled from an application on the phone. 

According to the weather sites it’s in the 3 to 7 degrees right now in Turku. Having warned me that it was going to be even colder during my stay, I therefore planned a coat adapted to the extreme cold and shoes adapted to the snow. In spite of the cold with the possibility to put only 23 kilos in the suitcase, it is complicated to make choices. Let’s hope that the almost 24 kilos will go through the airport. 

After a small passage of doubt and sadness at leaving the family, friends and school, a wave of enthusiasm overwhelms me, giving way to a great joy of discovering a new country and being able to live another experience. 

Can’t wait to go to SAUNA!