Turku Webcam – Market Square in Finland’s Oldest City

The Turku Webcam looks down on Kauppatori, the market square at the center of Turku, from the sixth floor of the KOP-Kolmio building on Aurakatu. The green dome of the Orthodox Church rises on the left of the frame, and hotel and office blocks close off the far side of the square. Wooden market kiosks and pink-roofed stall tents stand in the middle of the paving, a long glass-walled pavilion runs along the right, and yellow city buses pull in and out of the stops on the street below the camera. The light changes a great deal through the year, from long winter shadows across the stone to bright evenings in June, and the square stays lit by street lamps after dark.

About Turku

Turku is Finland’s oldest city and its sixth most populous municipality, with 209,633 residents at the end of 2025. It grew up at the mouth of the Aura River in the southwest corner of the country. Its history is usually dated from 1229, when the Pope allowed the bishop’s seat to move to the area, and Turku Cathedral was consecrated in 1300. The city was the capital until 1812, when Emperor Alexander I moved the seat of government to Helsinki. Even the name points at this square: Turku comes from an old Slavic word, turgu, meaning marketplace.

The square covers 33,000 square meters (about 355,000 square feet). A market has stood here since the 17th century, but its present form follows a design by Carl Ludvig Engel from 1827, the year the Great Fire of Turku destroyed most of the city. Engel also designed the Orthodox Church on the left of the frame, finished in 1845, and worked on the Swedish-language theater, Abo Svenska Teater, which opened on the edge of the square in 1839. The camera’s own building, KOP-Kolmio, is an eight-story commercial block by Viljo Revell, completed in 1964 as a bank office for Kansallis-Osake-Pankki. Its ground floor is square, but the floors above are triangular, which gives the building its name (kolmio is Finnish for triangle).

Between 2018 and 2020 the square was dug out for Toriparkki, a two-level underground car park with more than 600 spaces, designed by Schauman Architects and completed in December 2020. Three market pavilions with curved glued-laminated timber beams and glass walls followed in summer 2021, and cherry trees were planted to frame the Orthodox Church. Set into the paving is Saaristohyppely, a granite map of the Turku archipelago with light and water effects.

Weather and Climate in Turku

Winters are cold, though the Baltic Sea takes the edge off them. At Turku Airport, January averages a high of -1 C (30 F) and a low of -6.5 C (20 F), and snow is typical from November to March. On the camera that means a white square on many winter days, and a sun so low that building shadows cross much of the paving at midday. At this latitude the late December day lasts under 6 hours, so the street lamps carry the view for most of the afternoon.

Spring arrives slowly. April highs reach 9 C (48 F), but nights still hover around freezing at -0.2 C (32 F). July averages highs of 22.6 C (73 F) and lows of 12.5 C (55 F), and around midsummer the sun is up for about 19 hours, so the square stays bright late into the evening. October brings highs near 9 C (48 F) and lows of 2.8 C (37 F), and it is one of the wetter months, with 73 millimeters (2.9 inches) of rain against 684 millimeters (26.9 inches) for the whole year.

Things to Do Near Turku Market Square

The square sits a few blocks from the Aura River, where promenades line both banks and restaurant boats moor along the quays. The Fori, a small ferry, carries pedestrians and cyclists across the river free of charge. Turku Cathedral stands across the river, and close to it the Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova museum pairs medieval ruins dug out under the building with a collection of modern art. Turku Market Hall, a covered market of food stalls and cafes, is a short walk from the square.

On a hill near the center, the Luostarinmaki Handicrafts Museum preserves the one wooden neighborhood that survived the 1827 fire, with its old craft workshops open to visitors. Down at the river mouth stands Turku Castle, the city’s medieval fortress, and the Forum Marinum maritime museum nearby has historic ships moored on the river. The passenger harbour beside the castle is where ferries leave for Stockholm and Mariehamn, carrying more than three million passengers a year.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More city and market square cameras around Finland and across the Baltic:

• Kuopio Market Webcam
• Helsinki Webcam
• Stockholm Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Turku Webcam?

The camera looks across Kauppatori, Turku’s market square, from the sixth floor of the KOP-Kolmio building. The Orthodox Church and its green dome sit on the left, market kiosks and stall tents fill the middle of the square, a long glass-walled pavilion runs along the right, and city buses stop on the street directly below.

Is this the Torilive camera on Turku Kauppatori?

Yes. Torilive is the name Taiste, a Turku software company, gives the stream. It runs from the company’s office in KOP-Kolmio, and Taiste describes it as a 24/7 view of the market square, first set up so people could watch the square being rebuilt.

Where is Turku Market Square?

Kauppatori is in the center of Turku, a few blocks from the Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland. Turku lies on the southwest coast of Finland, where the Aura meets the Archipelago Sea.

Does the Turku Webcam show the harbour or Turku Cathedral?

No. The camera faces the market square, and neither the cathedral nor the river is in frame. Turku Cathedral stands on the other side of the Aura River, and the passenger harbour, where ferries leave for Stockholm and Mariehamn, is at the river mouth beside Turku Castle. The Meyer Turku shipyard and Turku Airport are not on this camera either.

What is the weather like in Turku?

Turku has cold, snowy winters and mild summers. January averages -1 C (30 F) by day and -6.5 C (20 F) at night, while July highs average 22.6 C (73 F). Snow is typical from November to March, and the camera shows at a glance whether the square is white, wet or dry.

What are the pavilions on Turku Market Square?

They are three timber-and-glass buildings completed in summer 2021, with six restaurant and retail spaces between them and stairs and lifts down to the Toriparkki car park under the square. The pavilions won the 2022 Steel Structure of the Year award in Finland.

Is Turku the oldest city in Finland?

Yes, Turku is regarded as Finland’s oldest city. Its story is usually dated from 1229, when the Pope allowed the bishop’s seat to move to the area, and Turku Cathedral was consecrated in 1300.

Source: Taiste