Vadstena Castle ( sv, Vadstena slott) is a former Royal Castle in Vadstena, the province of

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

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 ...

History

Vadstena Castle was originally built by King Gustav I in 1545 as a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

to protect

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 ...

from enemies approaching from the south. The fortress consisted of three smaller stone buildings facing Lake Vättern, three 31-meter wide ramparts, a courtyard, a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and four circular cannon

turrets Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * M ...

. The original ramparts were torn down in the 19th century and the present ramparts were inaugurated in 1999. The stone buildings later formed the ground floor of the castle. On August 22, 1552, King Gustav I married his third wife, Catherine Stenbock, in Vadstena. One of the castle banqueting halls is called The Wedding Hall ( sv, Bröllopssalen), although its construction wasn't finished in time for the wedding. The reconstruction from fortress into a habitable

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

began in the 1550s, when prince Magnus became Duke of Östergötland. Duke Magnus suffered from

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and was the only son of Gustav I who didn't eventually become king of Sweden. Magnus died in 1595 and is buried in the church of nearby Vadstena Abbey. By 1620, when the castle was completed, all the kings of the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

had contributed to its construction. Since 1620, the castle has been very well preserved, and is one of Sweden's best examples of Renaissance architecture. Vadstena Castle was a royal palace until 1716, when the royal family lost interest in it; after which it became a storage barn for grain.

Today

Since 1899, the castle has housed the Provincial Archives and today visitors can also find a Castle Museum with 16th and 17th century furniture, portraits and paintings. The castle is also the seat of the International

Vadstena Academy Vadstena Academy (Swedish: Vadstena-Akademien, full name Stiftelsen internationella Vadstena-Akademien), is a music academy founded in 1964 by opera pedagogue Ingrid Maria Rappe (1915–1994) and based in the small city of Vadstena in Sweden. The a ...

, Sweden's smallest opera house, commissioning new operas and reviving lost operas from archival scores.Vadstena Akademien
During summers the courtyard plays host to many concerts; both classical and pop music. File:Vadstena slott mittornet.JPG, The chapel is situated in the main tower. File:Vadstena slott.jpg, Winter view from north-east. File:Vadstena_Castle.JPG, Summer view from south-west. File:Vadstena slott, östra sidan, juni 2005.jpg, Circular turrets by the moat. File:Vadstena slott källaren kanon.JPG, The basement with a 17th-century cannon. File:Vadstena castle main gate.jpg, Main gate File:Vadstena castle gate.jpg, Bridge leading to the main gate File:Vadstena castle tower.jpg, Tower File:Vadstena castle detail.jpg, Suspension bridge File:Vadstena castle wall.jpg, Gun on the fortress wall

External links

Official visitor site (Swedish)The castle at the Nationalmuseum website

Notes

{{Coord, 58, 26, 45, N, 14, 53, 01, E, region:SE-E_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Listed buildings in Sweden Östergötland Castles in Östergötland County Museums in Östergötland County Historic house museums in Sweden Royal residences in Sweden