St. Henry’s Turku

St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel in Turku. This was an unscheduled stop, but we had seen pictures of this building at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki and simply had to see it. The church was completed in 2005, literally months before we arrived in Finland and it did not disappoint.

It was designed by Sanaksenaho Architects and is simply one of the most striking examples of contemporary architecture that I have ever seen. The shape of the structure resembles the prow of a ship and is apparently a quite literal reference to Turku's seafaring past (though it could be said to simply follow the contour of the site). The overt nature of that reference aside, everything else about the church is elegant and unique. The interior is all pine and the exterior is clad in copper. Window placement on the end of the building give the strikingly-simple altar an ethereal glow. Actually there is no alter per se, since the artist comissioned to design the altar passed away before completing his work. Walking through this small church is an experience matched by very few buildings even several times its size.

Architect's website