Lieto Old Castle, Lieto, Finland

There has been a fortified hill in Lieto (“Liedon Vanhalinna”) from the prehistoric age. According to excavations, the castle has been in use in the Late Bronze Age (1500-500 BC), in Middle Iron Age (500-700 AD, contested) and in the Middle Ages up to the end of the 14th century, when it was replaced by the "new castle" in Turku harbour.

During the first crusade (ca. 1155) to Finland Swedish army fought heavy battles against pagan Finnish people to conquer Lieto castle hill. After the victory Swedish fortified hill with stone and brick walls to defence the new city of Turku and christianity against Finnish and Novgorodians. There were several buildings, outer walls and a watch tower in the hill. When the Turku castle was completed Lieto castle lost the military value and was left to decay. The latest record of the existing castle date from the year 1438.

In the 1956 private landowners donated Lieto hill to the University of Turku, which has used hill for the archeological training. Nowadays there are some few ruins left of castle walls and buildings.

User Reviews

Maria (2 years ago)
Beautiful place for a picnic and lovely nature walks with a family & dog. Didn't go to a museum just up the hill.

Gordon Schnare (2 years ago)
Very nice place. On the top of the hill has amazing views!

Sara Mäkinen (2 years ago)
Café of Vanhalinna in Lieto specializes in delightful coffee. The cozy atmosphere, friendly staff, and delectable treats make it a must-visit spot. Treat yourself to their exceptionally wide selection of chocolate bars (e.g., Tupla, Kismet, Pätkis, etc.). Unfortunately, I needed to drop one star off just because the sheep were unfriendly, even rude.

Antu Datta (3 years ago)
Climb the stairs to reach the hill top aka old fortress rock, beautiful view from there.

alex (4 years ago)
Whether you're visiting for the nature, history, culture, or a spectacular sunset over the farm lands and the Aura river, you won't be disappointed. Climb the bare rock that used to serve as a fortress in the iron age, visit the museum and the replica of the viking-age ship, and rent a boat (20€) and introduce yourself to the river. The cafe is open from 11am to 6pm, tue-fri. The bare rock (55m) was abandoned as a fortress in the 14th century when the political entities moved closer to the coast to the castle of Turku. The earliest recorded activity was dated into the bronze-age. The fortress was used by the locals until 12th century, when the Swedes occupied the area around same time when the catholic church was established in Koroinen. Eventually the Swedish forces handed the area to the Swedish Nobles.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright caminanteK

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