Vadstena Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vadstena Castle is a former Royal Castle in Vadstena, the province of Östergötland, Sweden.
[edit] History
Vadstena Castle was built by King Gustav Vasa in 1545 as a fortress to protect Stockholm from its southern enemies. The fortress consisted of three smaller stone buildings facing the lake, Vättern, three 31 meter wide ramparts, a courtyard, a moat and four circular cannon turrets. All these still exist today, but the original ramparts were torn down in the 19th century and the present ramparts were inaugurated in 1999. The stone buildings later formed the ground floor of the castle.
In 1552, King Gustav Vasa married his third wife, Katarina Stenbock, in Vadstena. One of the castle banqueting halls is called The Wedding Hall, but its construction wasn't finished then.
The reconstruction from fortress into a castle began in the 1550s, when prince Magnus Vasa became Duke of Östergötland. Duke Magnus had a mental illness and was the only son of Gustav Vasa who didn't become king of Sweden. Magnus died in 1595 and is buried in the nearby Abbey Church.
In 1620 the castle construction was finished and all the kings of the House of Vasa up till then had led the construction. Since 1620, the castle has been very well-preserved, being one of Sweden's best-preserved examples of Renaissance architecture. Vadstena Castle was a royal palace until 1716, when the royal family lost interest in it. It then became a storage for grain.
[edit] Today
Since 1899, the castle has housed the Provincial archives and today visitors also find a Castle Museum with 16th and 17th century furniture, portraits and paintings. During the summer the courtyard plays host to many concerts, both classical and pop music.
