Läckö Castle (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: '' Läckö 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 ...

castle in Sweden, located on

Kållandsö Kållandsö is an island in lake Vänern in Sweden. With an area of 56.78 km ² it is the second largest island in the lake after Torsö. It is the northernmost part of the municipality of Lidköping. Kållandsö and the surrounding archipel ...

island on Lake

Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland i ...

, 25 kilometers north of

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40 000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

, Sweden.

History

Brynolf Algotsson, Bishop of the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara ( sv, Skara stift) is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden, originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, and since Protestant reformation a Lutheran diocese of the Church of Sweden (the former state church of S ...

, laid the foundations for a fortified castle in 1298 originally as a fort that consisted of two or three houses surrounded by a wall. After a fire during the 1470s, the fort was expanded by Bishop Brynolf Gerlachsson (1458-1505). Following the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1527, 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 ...

took possession. Field Marshal Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (1583–1652) was granted the property in 1615. Field Marshal de la Gardie embarked on an extensive building spree, including the third floor of the keep. The portal to the main courtyard was added during his period, as were the frescos depicting people and winding plants found in niches, stairwells and the rooms on the third floor. In 1654, Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (1622–1686) initiated major construction projects at Läckö. A fourth floor was built in the main building and a number of artists were hired to decorate the walls and ceilings of the castle. Läckö was later granted to Count

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

(1695–1770) in 1752 and in 1810 to General Carl Johan Adlercreutz (1757–1815).

Today

Läckö Castle is a national monument and has been managed by the National Property Board since 1993. The National Property Board (Swedish: '' Statens fastighetsverk''), the Foundation of Läckö Castle (Swedish: ''Stiftelsen Läckö Slott'') and the National Museum of Fine Arts (Swedish: ''Nationalmuseum'') work together to maintain and furnish the castle in the style of the

Baroque period The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. Läckö Castle Opera (Swedish: ''Läckö Slottsopera'') puts on an annual opera production in the castle's inner courtyard, with performances for about three weeks beginning in the middle of July.

References

Other Sources

*''The Splendour of The Baroque. Läcko Castle, A Nobleman’s Home in Sweden’s Age of Greatness'' (Lars Sjöberg and Anneli Welin. Stockholm: National Museum of Fine Arts. Text in Swedish. 2001)

External links

Läckö Slott official web siteStiftelsen Läckö Slott: The Foundation of Läckö Slott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacko Castle Castles in Västra Götaland County Museums in Västra Götaland County Historic house museums in Sweden