Gripsholm Castle

Gripsholm Castle (Sweden: Gripsholms Slott) is a castle in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. It is located in the town of

Mariefred by the lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm.

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 (Gustav 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 façade of a wall remains.

Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged to the Swedish Royal Family, and was used as their residence until 1713. Between 1563 and 1567, King Eric XIV imprisoned John III Vasa and his wife Catherine Jagiellon in the castle. Their son Sigismund III Vasa, later the King of Poland and Sweden, was born there in June 20 1566.

The castle was again used as a prison between 1713 and 1773, before it was renovated by King Gustav III on behalf of his wife. A theater was also added at this time.

Between 1889 and 1894, the castle underwent a heavy and controversial restoration by the architect Fredrik Lilljekvist during which many of the 17th and 18th-century alterations were removed. The largest change was the addition of a third floor; the planned demolition of a wing did not take place.

Today part of the castle houses the National Collection of Portraits (Statens porträttsamlingar), the oldest portrait collection in the world.

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Sven Paulson
26 July 2017
Amazing castle with tons of Swedish history. I recommend that you either to with the guide or go with a well informed friend because the place breath Swedish.
Rob Nero
10 August 2019
Gripsholm is Sweden’s national portrait gallery with over 800 paintings. The small village nearby is cosy, with cafes and great restaurants. Even a mini-scale train to ride!
Lavinia T
7 October 2015
Beautiful castle with awe-inspiring architecture, very well-preserved. :)
Roxanne Roxanne
18 August 2018
Nice to have lunch
Francesca de Rosa
14 August 2012
Beautiful reinassance castle.
Martin Jonasson
23 July 2017
Vackert och välbevarat slott!
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Map
Gripsholm 3, 647 31 Mariefred, Sweden Get directions
Fri 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sat 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Sun 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Mon 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Tue Noon–5:00 PM
Wed 11:00 AM–4:00 PM

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