Frontal view of ruins from the main land

Kronobergs slottsruin, borggården, 2015a

Kronoberg Castle (Swedish: ''Kronobergs slott'') is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

ruined Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

castle (''slottsruin'') located on an island in Helgasjön ("the Helga Lake"), north of

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; sv, Kronobergs län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital ...

, which is named after the castle. The castle ruin is open to tourists in the summer months.

History

In 1444 Lars Mikaelson, Bishop of

, built a stone building on the lakeshore, which was destroyed by Danish forces during the

Dano-Swedish War (1470–71) Dano-Swedish War may refer to one of multiple wars which took place between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Denmark (from 1450 in personal union with the Kingdom of Norway) up to 1814: List of wars Legendary wars between Denmark an ...

, but reconstructed and fortified after restored peace in 1472. During the

Reformation in Sweden 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, wit ...

, the castle and its estate were confiscated by King Gustav I. In 1542, during the

Dacke War The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of Lutheranism, and t ...

(''Dackefejden'') Kronoberg was taken over by rebels led by

Nils Dacke Nils Dacke (died 1543) was a Swedish yeoman who was the leader of a mid-16th century peasant revolt in the historic province of Småland in southern Sweden. The resulting Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was fought against King Gustav I of Sweden ...

. The revolt was suppressed in 1543, and control reverted to the crown. Due to its strategic location near the border between Sweden and Denmark at the time, the castle was further fortified and became a stronghold in this part of Småland. The king's son John III ordered additional improvements that never were carried out. The castle had great military significance during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denm ...

(1564–70). In the winter of 1568,

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 Es ...

used Kronoborg as a support point while beating back a Danish attack from Skåne. In 1570 the castle was successfully besieged and burned by the Danes. Between 1576 and 1580 construction continued, after which the castle had at least 50 cannons. Duke Charles continued work on the fortifications, but in the end of January 1612, the castle was again taken and burned by Danish troops under

Breide Rantzau Breide Rantzau (13 October 1556 10 January 1618) was a German nobleman in Danish-Norwegian service. He served as ''stadtholder'' of Copenhagen from 1602. Early life He was born on 13 October 1556 at Segeberg, the son of Heinrich Rantzau, and th ...

(1556–1618).Reconstruction was not started until 1616. As late as the reign of King Charles XI, Kronoberg castle was in good condition. However, after the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat ...

was signed in 1658, the Swedish-Danish border was moved to

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

, and Kronoberg castle lost its military significance. Neglected, the building began to decay and became a ruin.

References

Other sources

*Ekstedt, Olle (2009) ''Kronoberg och Evedal genom tiderna'' (Rottne: Vinga)

External links

Kronobergs slottsruin website
Tourist attractions in Kronoberg County Värend Ruined castles in Sweden {{Sweden-castle-stub