Gripsholm Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gripsholm Castle (Swedish: Gripsholms Slott) is a castle in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. It is located near the town of Mariefred by the lake Mälaren in central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs.
A fortress was built at the location around 1380 by Bo Jonsson (Grip), and belonged to his family until the confiscation of mansions and castles by King Gustav I of Sweden (Vasa) in 1526. The King tore it down, and built a fortified castle with corner towers and a wall, for defensive purposes. Of the original medieval fortress, only the facade of a wall remains.
Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged to the Swedish Royal Family, and was used as their residence until 1713. In the years 1563-1567 Swedish King Eric XIV imprisoned here John III Vasa and his wife Catherine Jagiellon. Their son Sigismund III Vasa King of Poland and Sweden was born here June 20, 1566.
It was briefly used as a prison between 1713 and 1773. In 1773 it was renovated by King Gustav III of Sweden, on behalf of his wife. A theater was also added at this time.
Between 1889 and 1894 it underwent a heavy and controversial restoration by the architect Fredrik Lilljekvist, and many of the 17th and 18th century alterations were removed. The largest change that took place was the addition of a third floor, though the planned demolition of a wing did not take place.
Today it houses a historical museum with the governmental collection of portraits (Statens porträttsamlingar).
[edit] External link
- Gripsholm Castle information from the Swedish Royal Court official site. Includes a history section, visiting info. All in English.
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Royal Palaces in Sweden |  |
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| The Royal Palace in Stockholm | Drottningholm Palace | Gripsholm Castle | Gustav III's Pavilion | The Chinese Pavilion | Rosendal Palace | Rosersberg Palace | Strömsholm Palace | Tullgarn Palace | Ulriksdal Palace | ||
