A sense of the atmosphere of Renaissance times could still be recalled in the Renaissance banquet that was hosted by the royal couple.

The Dinner with Renaissance Program at the Turku Castle

Thursday 26th August, 19 pm.

Old Turku Castle belongs to the front line of Finnish monuments. The construction of the castle was begun in the 1280s when Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom. The castle was built as a base for that would serve to closely link the region to the motherland. Situated on the shores of the Baltic Sea, Turku was an important port and strategically positioned close to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. With the aid of this new significant role of the castle, Turku grew in size to become the largest city in Finland at that time in history, and the castle became the most important fortress for the ruling powers.

When Duke John and his spouse, Princess Katarina Jagellonica of Poland, took up residence at the Turku Castle in 1562, the life of the royal court flourished anew. During the duke's reign the building underwent many changes and the castle was transformed from a gloomy and dim military fortress to a fine renaissance-style residence.