Eskilstuna House ( sv, Eskilstunahus) was a royal

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, in present-day

Södermanland County Södermanland County ( sv, Södermanlands län) is a county or '' län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is t ...

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 country located on ...

. It was erected on the site of a medieval monastery in the 16th century, and was later destroyed in a fire in 1680. The palace was the county seat of Eskilstunahus County during its existence, before its merger into

in 1683.

History

Conversion from monastery to royal residence

The palace and its gardens were located on the site where the first church in the area had been erected by

Saint Eskil Saint Eskil (11th century) was an Anglo-Saxon monk particularly venerated during the end of the 11th century in the province of Södermanland, Sweden. He was the founder of the first diocese of the lands surrounding Lake Mälaren, today the Dioces ...

. In the late 12th century or early 13th century a monastery belonging to the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

had been established here, which later was confiscated during the

Swedish Reformation 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 did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, with ...

in 1527. King

Gustav I Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

had the monastery rebuilt into a royal palace. He and his sons occasionally used Eskilstuna House as a royal residence. Duke John's daughter

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

was born in the palace during his stay here in May 1568, and in June the same year the rebellion of the dukes John and Charles against their royal brother King

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

was launched from the palace, leading to the imprisonment of Eric and the ascension of Duke John to the throne as John III. In 1589 Mary of the Palatinate, the first wife of Duke Charles (later King Charles IX) died in Eskilstuna House.Eskilstuna.se - (machine translation
Historiens vingslag
/ref>

Renaissance palace

The majority of the renaissance palace was constructed sometime after 1585 during Charles IX's reign as Duke of Södermanland, and it was completed by his son, Prince Charles Philip, during the early 17th century. The palace was two stories high, approximately 80 meters square (260 feet) and built around a square court. The south façade had two towers with domed roofs. The establishment of an ironworking industry close to Eskilstuna House in the 17th century transformed

into an industrial city. A plan drawn by

Jean de la Vallée Jean de la Vallée (ca 1620 – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect. Biography Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (ca 1595–1642). He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque forms ...

in 1658 for a new palace north of

Eskilstunaån Eskilstunaån (''Eskilstuna River'') is a small river in Sweden, length 32 km, running through the city of Eskilstuna and the town of Torshälla in Södermanland County. The river drains Lake Hjälmaren into Lake Mälaren Mälaren ( , , ...

existed but was never realised.Eskilstuna.se, Jean de la Vallée
Eskilstuna map with proposed design for a new royal palace, 1658
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020125605/http://eskilstuna.se/PageFiles/41664/1658_de_la_Wall%C3%A9e_A6.pdf , date=2012-10-20

Fire and modern day remnants

A fire in 1680 destroyed most of the upper levels of Eskilstuna House, only sparing the basements, which remained in use as a local prison. The palace was never rebuilt; instead, the seat of the county administration was permanently moved to

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

in 1683. Some of the material from the ruins was later used in the construction of the present

Royal Palace of Stockholm Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace ( sv, Stockholms slott or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Pala ...

. Presently, a school named after the palace and a cemetery belonging to Eskilstuna Parish are located on the site. Some remnants of the foundations are still visible in the cemetery.

References

External sources

*Nordisk familjebok (2nd ed., 1907)
Eskilstuna
Royal residences in Sweden Castles in Södermanland County Ruined castles in Sweden