With a picturesque position looking protectively over Turku, the city’s Cathedral is a stunning attraction even before history and context are taken into account. This beauty is one of the most important historic buildings in the country, Finland’s most important religious structure and a witness to the storied history of this most storied city. The initial wood structure (completed at the end of the 13th century) was developed over time, but the great fire in 1827 did a serious number on the cathedral. It was renovated extensively afterwards, rebuilding the church not only in presence but also in ideology, as it transferred from Catholicism to Evangelical Lutheran. The cathedral dominates the Turku skyline and so it should, a stunning example of determination and courage in building form.