Läckö Castle ( Swedish: '' Läckö 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 ...

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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, located on

Kållandsö Kållandsö is an island in lake Vänern in Sweden. With an area of 56.78 km² it is the second largest island in the lake after Torsö. It is the northernmost part of the municipality of Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the sea ...

island on Lake

Vänern Vänern ( , , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake in Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland in the sou ...

, 25 kilometers north of

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, Sweden.

History

Brynolf Algotsson, Bishop of the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara () is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in S ...

, laid the foundations for a fortified castle in 1298 originally as a fort that consisted of two or three houses surrounded by a wall. After a fire during the 1470s, the fort was expanded by Bishop Brynolf Gerlachsson (1458-1505). Following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in 1527, King

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

took possession. Field Marshal Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (1583–1652) was granted the property in 1615. Field Marshal de la Gardie embarked on an extensive building spree, including the third floor of the keep. The portal to the main courtyard was added during his period, as were the frescos depicting people and winding plants found in niches, stairwells and the rooms on the third floor. In 1654, Count

Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...

(1622–1686) initiated major construction projects at Läckö. A fourth floor was built in the main building and a number of artists were hired to decorate the walls and ceilings of the castle. Läckö was later granted to Count

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

(1695–1770) in 1752 and in 1810 to General

Carl Johan Adlercreutz Carl Johan Adlercreutz (27 April 1757 – 21 August 1815) was a Swedish general and statesman, born in Borgå (Porvoo), Finland on family estates. Entering the Swedish army aged 13 in the Finnish Light Cavalry Brigade, he was present when Gust ...

(1757–1815).

Today

Läckö Castle is a national monument and has been managed by the National Property Board since 1993. The National Property Board (Swedish: ''

Statens fastighetsverk The National Property Board of Sweden (, SFV) is a Swedish State administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Finance. SFV is responsible for managing a portion of the real property assets owned by the State. The portfolio consists ...

''), the Foundation of Läckö Castle (Swedish: ''Stiftelsen Läckö Slott'') and the National Museum of Fine Arts (Swedish: ''Nationalmuseum'') work together to maintain and furnish the castle in the style of the

Baroque period The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (in ...

. Läckö Castle Opera (Swedish: ''Läckö Slottsopera'') puts on an annual opera production in the castle's inner courtyard, with performances for about three weeks beginning in the middle of July.

La gazzetta ''La gazzetta, ossia Il matrimonio per concorso'' (''The Newspaper, or The marriage contest)'' is an ''opera buffa'' by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was by Giuseppe Palomba after Carlo Goldoni's play ''Il matrimonio per concorso'' of 1763. ...

and other opera performances have been held here.

References

Other Sources

*''The Splendour of The Baroque. Läcko Castle, A Nobleman’s Home in Sweden’s Age of Greatness'' (Lars Sjöberg and Anneli Welin. Stockholm: National Museum of Fine Arts. Text in Swedish. 2001)

External links

Läckö Slott official web siteStiftelsen Läckö Slott: The Foundation of Läckö Slott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacko Castle Castles in Västra Götaland County Museums in Västra Götaland County Historic house museums in Sweden Lidköping Municipality