Vadstena Castle ( sv, Vadstena slott) is a former Royal Castle in
Vadstena, the province of
Östergötland,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
.
History
Vadstena Castle was originally built by
King Gustav I in 1545 as a
fortress to protect
Stockholm from enemies approaching from the south. The fortress consisted of three smaller stone buildings facing
Lake Vättern
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larg ...
, three 31-meter wide
ramparts, a
courtyard, a
moat and four circular cannon
turrets
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* M ...
. 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.
On August 22, 1552, King Gustav I married his third wife,
Catherine Stenbock, in Vadstena. One of the castle banqueting halls is called The Wedding Hall ( sv, Bröllopssalen), although its construction wasn't finished in time for the wedding.
The reconstruction from fortress into a habitable
castle began in the 1550s, when
prince Magnus became
Duke of Östergötland. Duke Magnus suffered from
mental illness and was the only son of Gustav I who didn't eventually become king of Sweden. Magnus died in 1595 and is buried in the church of nearby
Vadstena Abbey.
By 1620, when the castle was completed, all the kings of the
House of Vasa had contributed to its construction. Since 1620, the castle has been very well preserved, and is one of Sweden's best examples of
Renaissance architecture.
Vadstena Castle was a royal palace until 1716, when the royal family lost interest in it; after which it became a storage barn for grain.
Today
Since 1899, the castle has housed the Provincial Archives and today visitors can also find a Castle Museum with 16th and 17th century furniture, portraits and paintings. The castle is also the seat of the International
Vadstena Academy, Sweden's smallest opera house, commissioning new operas and reviving lost operas from archival scores.
Vadstena Akademien
During summers the courtyard plays host to many concerts; both classical and pop music.
File:Vadstena slott mittornet.JPG, The chapel is situated in the main tower.
File:Vadstena slott.jpg, Winter view from north-east.
File:Vadstena_Castle.JPG, Summer view from south-west.
File:Vadstena slott, östra sidan, juni 2005.jpg, Circular turrets by the moat.
File:Vadstena slott källaren kanon.JPG, The basement with a 17th-century cannon.
File:Vadstena castle main gate.jpg, Main gate
File:Vadstena castle gate.jpg, Bridge leading to the main gate
File:Vadstena castle tower.jpg, Tower
File:Vadstena castle detail.jpg, Suspension bridge
File:Vadstena castle wall.jpg, Gun on the fortress wall
External links
Official visitor site (Swedish)The castle at the Nationalmuseum website
Notes
{{Coord, 58, 26, 45, N, 14, 53, 01, E, region:SE-E_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title
Listed buildings in Sweden
Östergötland
Castles in Östergötland County
Museums in Östergötland County
Historic house museums in Sweden
Royal residences in Sweden