18th Century – From War to Prosperity

Sweden’s wars did not end with the previous century; the Great Northern War was fought from 1700 to 1721. Defeats in battle, combined with the harsh period of Russian occupation in Finland—known as the Great Wrath—took a heavy toll on the population. The war ended with the Treaty of Uusikaupunki (Nystad), which brought an end to Sweden’s era as a great power.

The Cathedral also suffered damage during the Great Wrath, as its valuables were looted. Throughout the century, the church underwent several rounds of repairs, first after the occupation and later following fires. Bishops and clergy continued scholarly work, and a long-standing tradition came to an end when burial inside churches was prohibited.

During the Great Wrath, Turku’s population declined dramatically. After these hardships, however, signs of recovery began to emerge. During the Age of Enlightenment, advances were made in both science and culture. The city of Turku expanded, and by the end of the century, its population had recovered and was rapidly surpassing 10,000 inhabitants.

The Great Wrath in the Cathedral

Sweden’s fortunes on the battlefield had still been favorable in the previous century, but this changed at the start of the 18th century. The Great Northern War broke out, with Denmark, Poland, and Russia united against Sweden in an effort to reclaim territories previously lost to it. The decisive turning point came in 1709 at the Battle of Poltava, where Sweden suffered severe defeat against the Russian army. At that time, Sweden was ruled by King Charles XII (reigned 1697–1718), who fled to the Ottoman Empire after the loss.

The Russian army continued its advance, rapidly reclaiming territories. In 1713, the occupation of Finland began, later called the Great Wrath due to its brutality. By the summer of that same year, the occupying forces had reached Turku. The then bishop, Johannes Gezelius the Younger, along with members of the cathedral chapter, fled to Stockholm. Many other clergy did the same, though some remained to care for their congregations despite persecution. During the occupation, people were tortured and their property plundered. Even clergy were not spared, as the occupying army used violence to extract information about hidden church valuables.

In the Cathedral, Russian forces looted valuables and disturbed graves. Among other things, the remains of Queen Karin Månsdotter were interfered with. By order of the Finnish Governor-General Gustav Douglas, the Russians also removed the bones of Saint Henry from the Cathedral. These had been among its most treasured relics since 1300. The bones were loaded onto a ship, intended for the Tsar’s collections in Saint Petersburg. According to one account, however, a storm arose in the Gulf of Finland, sinking the ship and sending the relics to the bottom of the sea. Whether or not the story is true, the relics of Saint Henry taken from the Cathedral in 1720 have been lost, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.

Even in the Lutheran period, the loss of the bones of the Cathedral’s original Catholic patron saint and Finland’s first bishop was a heavy blow. However, during renovations in the Cathedral in the 1920s, a significant discovery raised a new question: were all of Saint Henry’s relics really taken during the Great Wrath? (Further details are discussed in the section on the 20th century.)

The Great Wrath ended with the Treaty of Uusikaupunki in 1721. The occupation had lasted eight years. Many Finns had lost their property or even their lives, and thousands were taken into forced labor and slavery. In the treaty, Sweden lost Kexholm County and southeastern Finland, which led to the Diocese of Vyborg being replaced by the Diocese of Porvoo. The king’s power was reduced and transferred in part to the Riksdag, increasing the political influence of the higher clergy in particular.

Repairs to the Cathedral and a New Tower Cupola 

During the Russian occupation of the Great Wrath, the Cathedral suffered extensive damage: the roof was broken, and many of the windows had been boarded up with planks. After peace was restored, repair work began with the help of the town’s burghers. The roof was repaired, the windows were replaced, and new church bells were hoisted into the tower. The work took a long time, as building materials were difficult to obtain. Gradually, however, the Cathedral was restored, and both burghers and nobles donated furnishings and objects to their beloved Cathedral. For example, thanks to a monetary donation from Hans Wittfooth, a commissioner of the Court of Appeal, the Cathedral acquired new organs with 32 stops.

The Cathedral did not, however, enjoy its renewed appearance for long. In the autumn of 1738, lightning struck the building. The impressive Baroque tower, which had stood since 1689, along with part of the roof, was destroyed, although the rest of the Cathedral escaped major damage. The roof was repaired, and the fallen bells were replaced. It was not until 1759 that a new cupola was constructed atop the tower. It was designed by the German-born city architect of Turku, Christian Friedrich Schröder. Lightning struck the tower several more times later in the century, causing minor fires, until Finland’s first lightning rod was installed on the tower in 1791.

The Age of Utility – The Church as Educator

The 18th century in Europe is known as the Age of Enlightenment, which in Finland is also referred to as the Age of Utility. Science advanced significantly, and progress and rational thinking came to the fore. Society was developed according to ideals of education and enlightenment.

Churches were responsible for caring for the poor and the sick, as well as for public education. Since people were required to gather in churches, the pulpit was an excellent place to spread not only the message of faith but also practical advice for everyday life. Pehr Kalm, professor of economics at the Turku Academy and later vicar of Maaria, stated in his dissertation that the duty of clergy was “to discuss with their listeners everything that is useful in the household.” Clergy held considerable authority, and their example played a key role in spreading new ideas and innovations among the population. For instance, new farming methods and useful crops, such as the potato, became familiar to peasants through the gardens of parsonages.

In this era of education, science, and research, priests and bishops did not study only theology; many were leading scholars in other fields as well. For example, Johan Browallius, Bishop of Turku from 1748 to 1755, served as a professor of theology as well as physics and botany at the Royal Academy of Turku. The plant known scientifically as Browallia is named after him, reflecting this interdisciplinary legacy.

4,500 Graves – The Culture of Burial in the Church

The increasing popularity of church burials and the funerary monuments in the Cathedral’s side chapels are discussed in the section on the 17th century.

Even in the 18th century, two of the Cathedral’s side chapels received notable burial vaults, although the era of elaborate funerary monuments had largely passed. In the Chapel of Saint John, a burial structure was built for the Kijk family. Johan Jacob Kijk (1706–1777), who had originally arrived in Turku from Stockholm as a shop assistant, rose to become one of the wealthiest merchants in the city, owning, among other things, the ironworks at Teijo. In the Chapel of the Corpus Christi, a burial vault was constructed for Herman Witte and his family; Witte, of Latvian origin, served as Bishop of Turku from 1721 to 1728.

Information about those buried in the Cathedral is most commonly sought in the Cathedral’s account books (Åbo domkyrkas räkenskaper). Based on these records, it has been estimated that after the Reformation, about one-fifth of Turku’s men were buried beneath the Cathedral floor, while women were buried there somewhat less frequently and children even less so. The rest were buried in the churchyard. The account books and gravestones usually recorded men by name, while women were often identified only as wives or daughters. Children’s names were often not recorded at all.

A burial place inside the Cathedral was highly desired, as it was seen as a way of honoring the deceased. It was also believed that on the Day of Judgment, it might be advantageous for the dead to rise from so esteemed a place as within a church. Nobles in particular commemorated their dead with portraits and funeral coats of arms, many of which adorned the church walls. It was also common to donate objects or property to the church in memory of a deceased relative. Such donated items can still be seen in the Cathedral Museum.

Burial inside the church always came with a cost, and the price was affected by more than just the grave itself and the burial service. Fees were also charged for tolling bells, both to announce a death and during the funeral. The tolling could last for hours, and from it one could discern the age and gender of the deceased: when two bells were used, tolling for a man began with the larger bell, for a woman with the smaller. The rhythm of the strokes indicated how many decades the person had lived.

Additional fees were charged for services such as burning candles, draping the pulpit and the altar, and for the pall used to cover the body. These palls came in different qualities, the finest made of velvet. Biers were also rented, especially in cases where no coffin was used.

On March 3, 1703, the burgher Simon Agreli was buried in the Cathedral at a cost of 56 thalers, which included a burial pall, interment in the grave, and the tolling of three bells for 4.5 hours.

The price of a burial place varied according to its location. The closer the grave was to the altar, the higher the cost—after all, the Mass could be heard better from there. In addition, the southern side of the Cathedral was more expensive than the northern side. On top of this, the family also paid fees to the gravediggers and the bell-ringer. The poorest were exempt from these payments, and church staff, among others, did not have to pay. Students of the Royal Academy of Turku, for example, were entitled to free burial in the “academic soil” of the churchyard.

Graves were largely family graves, meaning they were reopened whenever a new person claimed a place. If no one from the family claimed the grave within thirty years, it reverted to the Church to be sold again. This is why multiple families can be associated with the same burial site. The account books also reveal that some people purchased only a temporary burial place in the Cathedral’s mortuary or inner sacristy, after which the deceased was moved to another burial ground. It was also not uncommon to transfer remains—for example, when a family established a new burial site in another church and wished to gather their ancestors there.

Toward the end of the century, the problems associated with burials inside churches became increasingly apparent. The spaces beneath the floors were becoming full, and especially in summer, worshippers entering the Cathedral had to endure a strong stench, sometimes resorting to smelling salts. The constant reopening of graves also wore down the church floors and pews. Concerns about hygiene were raised, even though the connection between bacteria and disease was not yet understood.

As a result, in 1784 a royal decree came into force banning burials beneath church floors. At that time, about 90 family graves were still in use in the Cathedral; these were sealed. No graves have been removed from inside the Cathedral—approximately 4,500 people remain buried beneath its floors.

Most inhabitants of Turku, however, were buried in the churchyard outside the Cathedral, where burial was more affordable. The same principle applied there: plots on the southern side were more desirable, while the northern side was reserved for the poorest and for criminals. By the end of the century, there was a growing need for a new cemetery. At first, a site at the end of Piispankatu was tried, but it proved unsuitable due to sandy soil. Eventually, Skanssi Hill was chosen, which at the time lay outside the city limits of Turku. The present Old Cemetery of Turku was consecrated for use in 1807.