The Old Great Square (, ) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

located in the city centre of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the II District in very close proximity to

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral (, ) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Turku, Arch ...

. The area was the administrative and commercial centre of Turku since the founding of the city in the 13th century up until the

Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku (; ; ) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had faced several large fires before, including an especially devast ...

. Today, there are buildings alongside the Old Great Square, but only on the southern side because the blocks on the northern side changed to Porthaninpuisto after the fire. There are four historical buildings which the City of Turku restored for cultural use: the Brinkkala Mansion, Old Town Hall, Hjelt Mansion and Juselius Mansion. The buildings were mainly constructed after the fire and represent

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

Historical buildings

Brinkkala Mansion

The Brinkala Mansion is best known for the traditional proclamation of

Christmas Peace Christmas Peace (, ) is a traditional Finnish event whereby a town formally announces the beginning of the Christmas season. This practice has its roots in old Swedish legislation and was established by Birger Jarl in the 13th century, building ...

, which has been given from the Brinkkala Mansion balcony each

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

at 12:00 since 1886. Prior to that, Christmas peace was proclaimed from the "doors and windows of the town hall" as the old saying went. The wooden balcony known as the Christmas peace balcony was added to the Brinkkala facade during renovations from 1884 to 1886. The declaration started in the 14th century.The Declaration of Christmas Peace
City of Turku. Retrieved 5 December 2013. The earliest information about the Brinkkala Mansion is from the 16th century when it was a town house of the owner of Brinkhall Manor in Kakskerta. Before its renovations from 1884 to 1886, it was a hotel, town hall and Turku police station. Nowadays, it is a space for art galleries and banquet halls. There is a

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...

located in the

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

. The

Turku Medieval Market The Medieval Market of Turku (, ) is an annual historical reenactment event organised in the historic city centre of Turku, Finland. Admission to the event is free. In addition to living history performances, it includes an open-air handicrafts m ...

also takes place in the courtyard.

Old Town Hall

It is assumed that the City of Turku administrative centre was headquartered at the Old Town Hall since the 14th century. The most famous of the Turku town halls was the stone building planned by master bricklayer Samuel Berner, finished in 1736. Berner's town hall was destroyed by the fire of 1827, along with its

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. A private house was built upon the walls of the badly destroyed building, this house being acquired by factory owner Juselius in the 1850s. The building was redone into a three-story factory in 1899, which was active until the 1920s. In 1932, the building was acquired by the City of Turku, and was for police department use. Nowadays, it is a space for galleries and a banquet hall and concerts. Hjeltin talo

Hjelt Mansion

After the fire, Captain Hjelt bought the site along the town square, and built the impressive two-story stone building in 1830. The Hjelt Mansion is the only remaining stone building in Finland which clearly represents the Saint Petersburg

empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

. The Hjelt Mansion was taken over by the City of Turku in the 1930s, at which time both stories were used by the police department. After this, the downstairs level was a used as the children's and young adult's section of

Turku City Library Turku City Library (, ) is a municipal public library in Turku. Turku Main Library, The Main Library is located in the VI District, Turku, VI District at City Centre, Turku, the city centre. The Turku City Library also operates several Library br ...

, and the Turku Cultural Centre worked in the upstairs level. The library section moved to the new building of

Turku Main Library Turku Main Library (, ) is the chief branch of Turku City Library, located in the city centre of Turku, Finland. The library is approximately 8,500 m2. Old building The Turku Main Library 2,900 m2 old building is a Dutch late Renaissance style b ...

and the Turku Cultural Centre moved next door to the Old Town Hall. Four

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

organisations moved into the building at the beginning of 2008
UBC Environment and Sustainable Development SecretariatWHO Healthy CitiesCentrum Balticum
an
Valonia
The building was officially designated as the ''Itämeritalo'' ("Baltic Sea house") on 19 August 2008.

Juselius Manor

The new renaissance Juselius Mansion is the newest of the buildings in the area. It was built by Carl Fredrik Juselius in 1892, originally as his home. It has been a residential building for city officials, space for the police department and a dociros office. Nowadays, the building is used for other purposes, such as the legendary restaurant ''Teini''.

Katedralskolan i Åbo

Katedralskolan i Åbo (, ) is the Swedish-language upper secondary school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square (the town, former capital of Finland, is known as in Swedish). The school is believed to have been founded in 1276 for the education of boys to bec ...

is a Swedish-language

senior high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, built after the fire on the foundation of the former Hovrätt by C.L. Engel. Its style is

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. There reportedly was a school under the authority of

in the Turku city centre in late 13th century called Turun katedraalikoulu.

Events

There are different events organised at the Old Great Square throughout the year.

is organised in June and July, stretching out to Porthaninpuisto, the courtyard and Luostarin Välikatu. Christmas City events also take place for three weekends as well as events for Turku Night of the Arts.

Prospects

The Old Great Square and its historical surroundings have been designed to be marketed as the old part of the city of Turku. Under EU protection, the idea is to revive the area to a European style by attracting more cafes and restaurants and organising different events at the square and park. Furthermore, a bridge called Pennisilta, to replace the one destroyed by the fire, is due to be built to connect the old part of the city to the traffic centre.

Gallery

File:Brinkkala.JPG, Old Town Hall, Brinkkala Mansion on the right File:Vanha suurtori.JPG, Brinkkala Mansion File:Suurtori.JPG, Hjelt Mansion, view from Uudenmaankatu File:Joulurauhan julistus, Turku.jpg, Christmas peace proclamation File:Turku Medieval Market, market booths.jpg, Turku Medieval Market File:Turku medieval festival.jpg, Turku Medieval Market

References

Sources

Turun Sanomat

External links

Ihmiselle parempi keskusta -hanke
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