Tre Kronor (castle)
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Tre Kronor (; "
Three Crowns Three Crowns ( sv, tre kronor, links=no) is the national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or Gilding, gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background. Similar de ...
") was a castle located in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden, on the site where
Stockholm Palace 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 Palac ...
is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that
Birger Jarl Birger Jarl, also known as ''Birger Magnusson'' (21 October 1266), was a Swedish statesman, ''jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, w ...
built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century. The name "Tre Kronor" is believed to have been given to the castle during the reign of King Magnus IV in the middle of the 14th century. Most of Sweden's national library and royal archives were destroyed when the castle burned down in 1697, making the country's early history unusually difficult to document.


History

When King
Gustav Vasa 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 ('' Riksför ...
broke Sweden free from the
Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
(a series of
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
s between Denmark, Sweden and Norway since 1397) and made Sweden independent again, Tre Kronor Castle became his most important royal seat. Gustav Vasa expanded the castle's defensive measures, while his son John III of Sweden later rebuilt and improved the castle aesthetically, turning it into a
renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style castle and adding a castle church. The
keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
may have existed previous to the 16th century, but in a much smaller form than on the pictures from the beginning and end of the 16th and 17th centuries. The tower was then about half the height at the end of the 16th century. The castle consisted of two parts, the main castle (''högborgen'') and the walled in gardens surrounding it (''ekonomigården'') with the high tower in the middle.
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
(1594–1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph was born in the castle. He was
King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...
from 1611 to 1632.


The fire

On 7 May 1697, a large fire broke out in Tre Kronor that completely demolished the majority of the castle. The fire was discovered by the castle's keeper, Georg Stiernhoff. The fire marshal, Sven Lindberg, informed the royal staff that he could not get to the fire extinguishing equipment because the fire blocked his access to it. The royal family and court were forced to evacuate the castle. The servants attempted to save as much as possible of the royal possessions. The fire spread quickly to all parts of the castle. Since the castle was made out of wood and copper, the hot copper plates set the roof on fire. Due to the fire most of Sweden's national library and royal archives were destroyed. Shortly after the fire died out, the investigation was launched into why it was not discovered earlier. A royal court found three possible culprits. Sven Lindberg – the fire marshal for the castle – and Anders Andersson and Mattias Hansson, soldiers on fire watch for the night, reporting to Sven Lindberg. It is revealed that Anders Andersson was running an errand for the fire marshal's wife, against fire watch regulations. Mattias Hansson had left his post, going into the kitchen to get some food. Hansson claimed that the fire marshal's wife had given permission to do so – a statement she denied. The royal court concluded that the fire marshal had used the soldier for his and his wife's private errands. It was also found that he had accepted bribes in exchange for hiring people into certain positions at the castle. In February 1698 the sentences were handed out. Sven Lindberg and Mattias Hanson were sentenced to death since they had both neglected their duty. Anders Andersson was sentenced to
run the gauntlet Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
. The death sentences were both later commuted to running the gauntlet and six years of forced labour at
Carlsten fortress Carlsten ( sv, Karlstens fästning) is a stone fortress located at Marstrand, on the western coast of Sweden. The fortress was built on the orders of King Carl X of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde, 1658 to protect the newly acquired pr ...
. Lindberg died while running the gauntlet.


Rebirth

Plans were made to rebuild a new castle on the old foundation.
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator. The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the midd ...
was the architect in charge of rebuilding. The new building,
Stockholm Palace 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 Palac ...
, was completed in 1754. Nicodemus died in 1728 and did not get to see it completed.


Images

File:Suecia 1-015 ; Tre kronor.jpg, The castle, from '' Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna'' File:Suecia 1-016 ; Tre kronor.jpg, The castle, from ''Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna'' File:Suecia 1-017 ; Tre kronor.jpg, The castle, from ''Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna'' Image:Slottet Tre kronor under 1600-talet, sett från nö.jpg, The castle in the 17th century, seen from the northeast File:Suecia 1-018 ; Slottet Tre kronor, Stora Borggården, sedd från v.jpg, The Castle, the Grand Courtyard seen from the west File:Slottet efter branden.jpg, Castle after the fire File:Slottet Tre Kronor Storaborggården.jpg, The Castle's Grand Courtyard File:Section, through castle.jpg, Cross-section of the castle File:Stockholms slott Rehn 1770.jpg, Stockholm Palace 1770 File:Model of Tre Kronor castle.jpg, A small-scale model of the Tre Kronor castle as a museum exhibit in the Swedish Royal Palace


Recreations

A 1/3rd scale replica of Tre Kronor was created as part of The
General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm (1897) The General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm of 1897 ( sv, Allmänna konst- och industriutställningen) also known as Stockholm Exhibition or Stockholm World's Fair (''Stockholmsutställningen'') was a World's Fair staged in 1897 in Stoc ...
( sv, Allmänna konst- och industriutställningen) also known as "Stockholm World's Fair" (''Stockholmsutställningen'').


References


External links


The Swedish Royal Court - The Tre Kronor Museum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tre Kronor (Castle) Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Ruined castles in Sweden Palaces in Stockholm 17th century in Sweden Cultural heritage of Sweden 17th-century fires