Vik Castle (''Viks slott'') is situated in
Uppsala municipality
Uppsala Municipality (''Uppsala kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Uppsala has a population of 211,411 (2016-06-30). Its seat is located in the university city of Uppsala.
Uppsala Municipality was created throug ...
and Balingsta district in Uppsala County, in the historical province of
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
,
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 ...
. The name of the castle is sometimes spelled Wik or Wijk, which is a spelling according to older Swedish spelling rules.
History
The castle was constructed in the 15th century, in the manner of a large
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, near the community of Balingsta. Historically, it was part of the Hagunda hundred (''härad''), which spanned part of the territory of today's
Enköping Municipality
Enköping Municipality (''Enköpings kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Enköping.
The present municipality consists of nearly forty original local government units. They were ...
and
Uppsala Municipality
Uppsala Municipality (''Uppsala kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Uppsala has a population of 211,411 (2016-06-30). Its seat is located in the university city of Uppsala.
Uppsala Municipality was created throug ...
(''kommun''), both of which lie in the modern day Uppsala County (''län''). The castle's principal building materials were stone and brick.
The castle grounds include several other historically valuable structures. The castle underwent several renovation efforts during the 19th century, some of which were based on plans prepared by Swedish architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (1816-1881). Vik Castle was declared a Swedish national monument on 3 December 1982.
Vik Castle was the birthplace of
Svante Arrhenius
Svante August Arrhenius ( , ; 19 February 1859 – 2 October 1927) was a Swedes, Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. He received ...
, winner of the 1903
Nobel Prize for Chemistry
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
.
In 1973 and 1974, the castle's interiors were used for recording ''Antik Musik På Wik'' ('Early Music at Wik'), an album of medieval and Renaissance music performed by the Swedish period music ensemble Joculatores Upsalienses. The album was published by Swedish record label BIS in 1974.
Currently, the castle serves primarily as a conference centre, and also offers accommodation, with up to 86 beds for visitors. Vik is generally considered to be the best-preserved medieval castle in Sweden.
Gallery
Image:Wik´s Slott.jpg, A view of the castle's front facade from the eastern side (July 2012)
Image:Wiks slott.jpg, Backside of Vik Castle, near the lake shore (2005)
Image:Wiks_slott_HDR.jpg, Backside of Vik Castle, close-up (July 2012)
Image:OA040 by Upplandsmuseet.jpg, Period view of Vik Castle from the southwest, across the lake (December 1864)
Image:Viks slott 1877.jpg, Period backside view of Vik Castle (1877)
Image:Wiks slott 1881.jpg, Period view of the castle's front facade from the eastern side (1881)
Image:Wikpark2.jpg, A pedestrian path in the castle's park (ca 2009)
See also
*
List of castles in Sweden
This is a list of castles and palaces in Sweden.
In the Swedish language the word '' slott'' is used for both castles, châteaus and palaces; this article lists all of them as well as fortresses.
A-B
C-E
F-H
I-L
M-P
R- ...
References
External links
Vik Castle Official Website(in Swedish)
Castles in Uppsala County
{{Sweden-castle-stub