Frontal view of ruins from the main land

Kronoberg Castle (Swedish: ''Kronobergs slott'') is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

(''slottsruin'') located on an island in Helgasjön ("the Helga Lake"), north of

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; ) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is the city of V ...

, which is named after the castle. The castle ruin used to be open to tourists in the summer months, but is permanently closed to tourists since January 2023 due to lack of maintenance.

History

In 1444 Lars Mikaelson, Bishop of

, built a stone building on the lakeshore, which was destroyed by Danish forces during the Dano-Swedish War (1470–71), but reconstructed and fortified after restored peace in 1472. During the

Reformation in Sweden The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and was not definitively decided until the Uppsala Synod of 1593, in the wake of an attempted Counter-R ...

, the castle and its estate were confiscated by King Gustav I. In 1542, during the

Dacke War The Dacke War () was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of Lutheranism, and the confiscation o ...

(''Dackefejden'') Kronoberg was taken over by rebels led by

Nils Dacke Nils Dacke (died 1543) was a Swedish yeoman who was the leader of a mid-16th century peasant revolt in the historic province of Småland in southern Sweden. The resulting Dacke War () was fought against King of Sweden, King Gustav I of Sweden ...

. The revolt was suppressed in 1543, and control reverted to the crown. Due to its strategic location near the border between Sweden and Denmark at the time, the castle was further fortified and became a stronghold in this part of Småland. The king's son John III ordered additional improvements that never were carried out. The castle had great military significance during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...

(1564–70). In the winter of 1568,

Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...

used Kronoborg as a support point while beating back a Danish attack from Skåne. In 1570 the castle was successfully besieged and burned by the Danes. Between 1576 and 1580 construction continued, after which the castle had at least 50 cannons. Duke Charles continued work on the fortifications, but in the end of January 1612, the castle was again taken and burned by Danish troops under Breide Rantzau (1556–1618).Reconstruction was not started until 1616. As late as the reign of King Charles XI, Kronoberg castle was in good condition. However, after the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

was signed in 1658, the Swedish-Danish border was moved to

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

, and Kronoberg castle lost its military significance. Neglected, the building began to decay and became a ruin.

References

Other sources

*Ekstedt, Olle (2009) ''Kronoberg och Evedal genom tiderna'' (Rottne: Vinga)

External links

Kronobergs slottsruin website
Tourist attractions in Kronoberg County Värend Ruined castles in Sweden {{Sweden-castle-stub Buildings and structures in Växjö