A real-life princess

Turku Castle, Turku (FI), 2022

The princess Catherine Jagiellon once lived in Turku Castle. Young visitors can discover the real person she was, and how she differed from the princesses in the fairytales.

A storybook life

Princess Catherine had rich parents, lived in a castle and grew up to be queen. It might sound like the life of a Disney princess, but Catherine’s story really happened. The exhibition lets kids learn in a fun way about princesses as people with real lives and feelings.

A pendant that belonged to Catherine Jagiellon

Escape to reality

The exhibition is made up of oversized objects, each symbolising a part of Catherine's life. Young visitors can see the bed she slept in as a child and the carriage that took her to Turku. As they begin to interact with these storybook installations, they discover the truth behind the fairytale. The bed tells them how Catherine’s parents were almost never home, and the horses pulling the carriage show that the journey to Turku was a perilous one. “Once upon a time” was real, but very different from today.

Photos: Joonas Mäkivirta

Credits

Client
Turku Castle

Content Design
Studio Louter

Spatial Design
Takt Oy/Taina Väisänen

Graphic Design
Dog Design