Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred

Gripsholm Castle or Gripsholm Slott is one of the eleven royal castles in Sweden. Gripsholm Castle is build in Mariefred, a small place next to Lake Mälaren in Sörmland (south of Stockholm). King Gustav Vasa had the castle built in the early 16th century. The furniture and artwork of the castle represents four different centuries. The highlights of the castle include an authentic 16th century room, a theater from the 18th century and the National Portrait Gallery.

Chamber of Duke Karl

One of the first rooms you visit in the castle is the chamber of Duke Karl. The frescoes on the ceiling in this room date back to 1573. The rest of the room is also still intact and as it was in the 16th century. You can’t enter the room because of the vulnerability of the historical features but you do get to peek inside from behind a glass fence.

Theater of Gustav III

Another highlight at Gripsholm Slott is one of the best preserved theaters in Europe from the 18th century. As King Gustav III spend a lot of time in his favourite Gripsholm Slott, he had a lot of renovations and alteration done at the castle. One of those things was a very well equipped theatre in one of the towers of the castle.

Portrait gallery

The selfies nowadays are actually a modern version of the portraits from those good old times. In Gripsholm Slott you can find an extensive collection of portraits of famous Swedes: many royal portraits, of course, but also one of Bjorn Andersson of ABBA, one of Astrid Lindgren, one of Ingvar Kamprad (the founder of Ikea) and portraits of many others got a place in this unique collection. You’ll spot well-known Swedes from the time of Gustav Vasa until now.

More information on the website of Gripsholm Castle.

The Gripsholm rune stone (Sö 179)

Right next to the road to the castle you’ll find one of Sweden’s most famous rune stones, the Gripsholm Stone (Sö 179). This 11th-century stone is one of the most important ‘Ingvar stones’ and was erected by a woman named Tola in memory of her son Harald, the brother of the legendary Viking chieftain Ingvar the Voyager.

The inscription is unique because of a rare poem in the Old Norse meter fornyrðislag, which recounts their fateful expedition to the east. The text describes how they went in search of gold in the distance and ‘fed the eagle’ (a poetic reference to killing enemies on the battlefield), only to ultimately perish in Särkland (the land of the Saracens).

The discovery of the stone is also remarkable: in the 1820s, it was rediscovered as a threshold stone inside the castle, hidden under a layer of tar. It was this protective layer of tar that ensured that the inscription was preserved in excellent condition, after which the stone was placed in its current location outside the castle in 1930.

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• Gripsholms Värdshus, the oldest inn from Sweden

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