I had a couple of days in Turku, Finland, before heading off to Stockholm. I hadn’t planned on visiting any cemetery here, but when looking at the maps of the city it was clear that there was a large cemetery to be visited on the outskirts of town. Despite arriving in the city early in the morning, an afternoon nap at the hotel went longer than expected, so I only had a few hours of usable daylight left to do anything. I decided to do most of my sightseeing the following day and started the long walk up towards the cemetery. Yes, I could have taken the bus, but Turku is quite a nice city and I always like getting to cities by walking them. From the downtown area it took about 45 minutes to get there. It’s quite a large cemetery, with the large, tall trees so common in the cemeteries I have visited in this northern European trip.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this cemetery was a preview of the other cemeteries I would see in Finland and Sweden, that is, most of the headstones were simple slabs, and sometimes crosses, with basic details on them. There were very few statues and not a lot of ornamentation. Occasionally I would come across a covered urn or a broken column, but for the most part, many of the graves were smaller and understated.

The grounds were on a slightly rolling hill, but the paths were clear and well-tended to. There were plenty of red squirrels running around, and I could hear birdsong everywhere I went, which made it a very pleasant place to visit. I was there quite late in the day (around 5 p.m.) so there weren’t many people about – I only came across a couple of mourners.

The cemetery is famous for some notable Finns who have been buried there, but I didn’t know any of them.

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Quality of Monuments: As noted, there are a few statues here, but most of the monuments are quite plain. There are some very new headstones next to some very old ones.

Cemetery Grounds: Quite large and extensive, there is a slight incline to part of the cemetery, but the paths are clear and easy to walk around.

Visitors: Few, although I was there at the end of the day. At the entrance of the cemetery there is a gravestone workshop and a florist, so that does indicate it’s probably busier than what I experienced. There are tours here, for people who have the time and money.

Photographer notes: Lots of tall trees can make for some hard contrasts of light and shadow, but the area is quite spacious so it’s fairly easy to get some good angles.

DETAILS
Cemetery: Turku Cemetery (Finnish: Turun hautausmaa, Swedish: Åbo begravningsplats)

Inaugurated: 1807

Location: South-east part of Turku. Bus #7 will take you there in about 5-10 minutes from the downtown area, alternatively you could walk.

Hours: As far as I can tell, it seems to be open 24 hours. The stone fence is quite low and easily crossable, and I seem to recall (perhaps incorrectly, I don’t know) that the entrances had no gates on them.