St. Michael's Church was built between 1899 and 1905. It was designed by Lars Sonck, a 24-year-old architecture student who won a church design competition in 1894. The architecture of the church mixes neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau. Although his work was admired by his peers, architect Sonck did not hide his dislike of the church afterwards.
The Orthodox Church of Turku was built by order of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855) from 1839 to 1845. Built at the same time as the Helsinki Cathedral, the church has the same Russian neo-classical style. Inside, the church's iconostasis icons were painted by Turku-based painter Berndt Abraham Godenhjelm.
The Synagogue in Turku is an Ashkenazi synagogue built in 1912 by architects Eskil Hinderson and August Krook. This Neo-Romanesque brick building still serves as a synagogue.
Turku Cathedral was probably built in wood at the very end of the 13th century, but the present building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. Since then, Turku Cathedral has also been renovated several times. The tower has been erected three times since the fires of 1681, 1738, and 1827. Due to the long period of construction, the cathedral displays several different styles, including Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic. Its age and the uniqueness of its architecture make the cathedral an important historical building in the country, which is often called the "National Sanctuary of Finland".
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