Torpa Castle is a well-preserved medieval building near lake
Ă…sunden, in the county of
Västra Götaland, southern
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 ...
.
History
The first stone house was built around 1470 by Privy Council
Arvid Knutsson as a fortress against the
Danes
Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
History
Early history
Denmark ...
. Reconstruction and remodeling of the fortress was made during the 1500s and 1600s, for example the staircase tower, built in the middle of the 16th century. The castle has a well-preserved
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
interior with
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; , from ''gris'' 'grey') means in general any European painting that is painted in grey.
History
Giotto used grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua () and Robert Campin, Jan van Ey ...
wall paintings. The chapel in the ground floor was decorated in the late 17th century in a
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style. The castle is best known in Swedish history as the home of the noble family
Stenbock
The Stenbock family is an old Swedish noble family, of which one younger branch established itself in Finland and another younger branch in Estonia, both of them in the mid 18th century, of which the first was entered into the rolls of the Finni ...
. It was the residence of
Catherine Stenbock
Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 – 13 December 1621) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of King Gustav I.
Early life
Catherine Stenbock was born on 22 July 1535 i ...
, third and last consort of King
Gustav I of Sweden
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 ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...
.
History of Torpa stenhus
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The castle today
In recent years, the castle have been undergoing an interior reconstruction, with the original wooden walls reinstalled. These were torn down when the building was used as a granary in the 19th century.
Today the castle can be seen with guided tours.
See also
*List of castles and palaces in Sweden
This is a list of castles and palaces in Sweden.
In the Swedish language the word ''slott'' is used for both castles, châteaux and palaces; this article lists all of them as well as fortresses.
A–B
C–E
F–H
I–L
M–P
...
References
External links
Torpa stenhus official website
Castles in Västra Götaland County
Museums in Västra Götaland County
Historic house museums in Sweden
Tranemo Municipality
{{Sweden-museum-stub