Chapels in Turku

Been a busy couple of days in Finland. We did trips to Alvar Aalto's Design Studio and his home here in Helsinki, then spent a day on the bus exploring Turku and back. Visited three churches in Turku, all of which were amazing. Perhaps the best, and least able to be captured in photographs, was the Chapel of the Resurrection. This is a funeral chapel built around the second world war. In fact, construction was delayed during the Winter War with Russia just prior to WWII. You enter through heavy bronze doors adorned with cast vines, at the end of the chapel in front of you is the altar space with a tall window hidden to the right, on the South wall. The sun splashes down at an angle from this window across the wall behind the altar. Vines grow up along the wall towards the sun. Absolutely beautiful.

Next we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross, also a funeral chapel in the same cemetery as the Chapel of the Resurrection. This chapel, built in the 60s, was also stunning in a totally different way. Where the first was warm and reassuring, this was cool and somber. Greys and blues rather than tans and browns. The two chapels cannot be seen from one another, they sit on low hills separated by a small valley. But the graveyard is filled with enormous trees which block the view. But they both toll bells and you can listen to them calling to one another across the valley. A very powerful place.

Finally, we visited the very recent St Henry's Ecumenical Chapel. The interior of this is like the framing of a ship turned upside down. Only two years old, it has become the favorite wedding chapel in Finland. One of the most interesting things about this visit was the way the architecture of the three buildings provided a very different feeling and atmosphere related to the activities they were intended for. The funeral chapels felt like funeral chapels. St Henry's was warm and friendly, it was a place you could get married in. All were beautiful. All were very different. I think they give the best idea yet of why we are here in Finland. More photos here.