%cb%fa%s3Strömsholm, Sweden and other Europe General Tips

Strömsholm castle, Sweden

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In these general tips' I want to make an overview of all the castles and palaces that I've visited in Europe. I just love visiting castles, so I thought this group deserved a special section :-)

Castles of Europe
Strömsholm Castle
Sweden

In this picture you can see Strömsholm castle in Sweden. Hmmm.... maybe not the best one to start this page with, because I only had a chance to look at the castle from the outside. But it looked great and I hope to visit the palace in the near future!

Strömholm is located on the largest of three islands in the Kolbäckså river delta at Lake Mälaren. This is about 20 km to the southwest of Västerås. The area of Strömsholm is well known for it's horses and that has been so for a very long time. The start of Strömsholm castle has actually everything to do with horses : King Gustav Vasa ran a stud-farm on the property during the 1500's and in 1560 the first permanent house was build on this location. The current castle was built between 1669 and 1681 for queen Hedvig Eleonare.

Strömsholm palace is one of the countries best examples of French Baroque. The Palace has royal interiors that are well preserved. So as you can understand, I am really eager to go here again, and have a tour around the palace.

Opening hours : (2008)
Second half of May : Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 12.00 - 16.00
June : daily 12.00 - 16.00
July : daily 12.00 - 17.00
August : daily 12.00 - 16.00

The entrance fee is 70 SEK.
Children 7 - 18 and students: 35 SEK
Children younger then 7 years: free

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General Tips: Gripsholm castle, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Oct 14, 2003

Gripsholm castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Gripsholm Castle
Sweden

Gripsholm castle is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, next to the village of Mariefred, about 70 kilometers west of Stockholm. The castle was built in the second half of the 14th century by Bo Johnsson Grip. And this name also explains the name of the castle : Gripsholm.

In the castle you can see a lot of Swedish interior design from the 16th to the late 19th century. But the main thing the castle is known for is its great collection of portraits : the Swedish national collection. The number of portraitts is huge, and it features prominent Swedes from the days of Gustav Vasa until now. Hahaha, you have to know some famous Swedes of course to really appreciate it. But there are a few names that you might know, like Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo.

You can read more about this castle on my Gripsholm page

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General Tips: Örebro Castle, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Oct 15, 2003

Örebro Castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Örebro Castle
Sweden
Örebro Castle is a nice castle to see from the outside, but it has a bit of a strange location, being in the heart of the city of Örebro. It looks lovely though with the moat around it, and lot of people seem to find this a nice and relaxing place to sit, only steps away of the busy heart of the city.
The oldest part of the castle, a defence tower, was erected in the latter half of the 13th century. And since that time Örebro Castle has kept a watchful eye on everyone crossing the bridge on the River Svartån.

I did a guided tour through the castle and had a great time. But that was mainly because of our friendly guide and the fun stories she told about how life in the castle was like. The interior of the castle itself isn't that spectacular to see, most furniture has been lost over time and not much has remained in the castle nowadays.

Guided Tours 2003 :
June 16–August 17:
11.00, 13.00, 15.00: Swedish
12.00, 14.00, 16.00 English/German

August 19-September 1:
13.00 (Swedish, English information available)
Rest of the year: Saturdays-Sundays 13.00 (Swedish)

You can see read much more about my visit to Örebro Castle on my Örebro page

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General Tips: Drottningholm Slott, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on May 29, 2006

Drottningholm

by sim1 , 4 more photos

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Castles of Europe
Drottningholm Slott
Sweden

Drottningholm Slott (or Drottningholm Palace) is the most famous of Sweden palaces and it is located on the outskirts of Stockholm on the island of Lovön. The name "Drottningholm" means "Queens Inlet", a well chosen name as the palace was built for Queen Hedvig Eleonora and it is located on an inlet of Lake Mälaren. It was build in 1662, after the previous palace on this site was burned down to the ground.

As Drottningholm is located so close to Stockholm it has become a popular site to visit. The Palace and its grounds are on the UNESCO´s World Heritage list, which probably draws in even more people. But despite being such a major attraction, I thought it was still relatively calm and nice to visit.

Drottningholm is not only a palace, there is much more to see and do here.Some of the things not to be missed are the theatre, changing of the guards, the gardens, the Guards' Tent, and most of all Kina Slott!

You can read more about this castle on my Drottningholm page

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General Tips: Engsö Castle, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Mar 21, 2008

Engsö Castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Engsö Castle
Sweden

I went to Engsö Castle on a rainy day.... sigh... I wish there had been some sunshine, because the area around Engsö castle is a beautiful area to hike. But it was the last day of the season to visit the castle, so I didn't have many options in choosing a better day.
My best memory of Engsö is actually not the castle, but the kitchen! Hahaha, it's true! If you visit the castle you certainly must go to the little restaurant to have a cup of coffee and some cake or kanelbulle like I had. Mmmmm, the kanelbulle was still warm and in the kitchen it smelled like delicious fresh baked waffles. Yummy!

Okay, back to the castle.... The oldest parts of the castle are from the 1480's. There are no guided tours though, so you have to go explore the castle by yourself. I bought a guidebook in English, which told me a lot about the history of the castle, but not much about the interior of the castle itself. All the rooms have furniture, but I couldn't pick out any special pieces, because there were hardly any signs explaining what I was looking at. That made the visit to the castle a little bit frustrating, but on the whole it was a nice castle to visit. An extra touch to the castle is the ghost stories. Hahaha, like every self-respecting castle, this one has also its own ghost stories. I'll write more about these ghost stories and the history of the castle on my Engsö page

I have lots of pictures of the castle, so please don't forget to take a look at this page.

If you visit Engsö castle you also should make a quick visit to the little church of Engsö, next to the castle. It is a small brick church from 1340 and it is well-preserved.

Opening hours of the castle : (2008)
1/5 - 31/8 Saturdays and Sundays : 12:00 -17.00
1/7 - 15/8 Opened every day, except on Fridays. 12:00 -17.00

The entrance fee is 60 SEK, Children younger then 12 years: free

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General Tips: Fiholm Castle , Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Oct 15, 2003

Fiholm Castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Fiholm Castle
Sweden

Fiholm is not an easy spot to find, you almost have to know where it is to find it. Luckily I had a good guide with me, so I had no problems at all. Fiholm is located just north-east of Kvicksund, on a side road of road 53. When you drive on little road through the beautiful countryside you will find the sign pointing you in the direction of Fiholm. The only big problem is that this last little road is not accessible for cars :-( So you either walk, hahaha, or take the car anyway :-) And that's what we did, without having any problems at all.
Fiholm is a private residence and is not open for the public. So I only took a quick look from the entrance of the castle. Although it is not very 'castle like' it is a lovely place to see.
Fiholm was the seat for the local bishops as early as the 1300's. The estate that you see now was built in 1772 in neo-classic style by Councillor Carl Hohan Ridderstolpe.

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General Tips: Fiholm Castle, Sörmland, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on May 8, 2005

Fiholm Castle, Sörmland, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Fiholm Castle (Sörmland)
Sweden

Another castle called Fiholm, but this one is located on the south side of Lake Mälaren.
I visited this Fiholm Castle during a bicycle tour from my home. It's not that far from where I live (about 10 - 15 kilometres), hahaha, if you don't mind the hills. Hmmm... they are not really hills I guess, hahaha, but it isn't flat either. But if you are from the Netherlands, like me, every bump in the road feels like a hill :-)

It's a beautiful bicycle ride though, when you get close to the castle you can ride along the picturesque long lanes belonging to the castle.

The estate of Fiholm was inherited in 1617 by Axel Oxenstierna. In 1640 they started building a big castle. In 1642 the two wings were constructed, but no main building was ever raised. Reason to this, as the stories goes, is the dispute Axel Oxenstierna and his son Johan. When the son was asked about the coming building of the castle he answered that they were more like two barns than a castle. The angry father Axel answered:- If you think so than you have to build the cattle shed by yourself!-

Hahaha, I love this story. But I have to agree a bit with son Johan. Although the castle is nice to see, it does have some resembles of two huge barns. It would have been totally different if the main building was there to complete the picture, but unfortunately it was never build. All you see now are the two wings of the castle opposite each other.

It is possible to visit the castle, but it isn't open daily. It is possible to book an excursion for groups. The other option is to be here when there is an event going on (which is not very often, about twice a year). During those days it is possible to take a look inside as well.

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General Tips: Sundbyholm Castle, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Nov 4, 2003

Sundbyholm Castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Sundbyholm Castle
Sweden

Hahaha, what a lucky girl I am! I have actually a castle 'almost' in my back yard! Hahaha, what more can you wish for when you love castles :-))
This is Sundbyholm castle and when I go for a short walk, this is mostly where I go to. It's quite picturesque with a little harbour behind the castle with the beautiful views over lake Mälaren.
The castle was built from 1639 to 1648 by Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm, the illegitimate son of King Carl IX. The castle has been on fire 1674 but it was rebuilt after the fire, adding a third floor. After another fire, 100 years later, it was only partially restored. In 19th century it was restored again, but now rebuild as a conference centre and luxury hotel.
Sundbyholm is at Lake Mälaren, about 11 kilometres north of Eskilstuna.

You can read more about Sundbyholm Castle on my Sundby page

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General Tips: Tidö Castle, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on Mar 21, 2008

Tidö Castle, Sweden

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Castles of Europe
Tidö Castle
Sweden

Unfortunately enough I got up too early this day, hahaha, so I was here before the castle opened. I didn't feel like waiting for a long time, so all I did was walk around the castle itself. That was great to do though, although I would love to take a look inside! But I don't live that far away, so next year I will make a visit for certain!
The castle has been build by Count Axel Oxenstierna and it took 20 years to complete. They started building the castle around 1625. The mansion was owned by the Oxenstierna-family until 1840, when it was sold. In the next 50 years it was resold several times until it was bought in 1890 by David von Schinkel. Sadly enough the building had gotten into decay by this time. But the family von Schinkel have fully restored the building and its furniture, and that makes the castle a great place to visit nowadays! But besides the restorations, they also opened in 1974 Sweden's first toy museum, with thousands of toys from all over the world. A must see I have heard, so I am eagerly waiting to get back to Tidö again!

Tidö Slott is around 14 kilometres south of Västerås.

Opening hours : (2008)
May: only during the weekends 12.00 - 17.00
11 June - 17 August: Every day (except Mondays) 12.00 - 17.00
18 August - 31 August:Only during the weekends 12.00 - 17.00
Guided tour through the castle at 2 p.m.

You can read more about Tidö Castle on my Västerås page

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General Tips: Skokloster, Sweden

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Updated by sim1

on May 8, 2005

Skokloster