The construction of the Tyresö palace began in the 1620s by the Riksdrots Gabriel Oxenstierna and completed in 1636. He also constructed the nearby Tyresö Church, which was inaugurated with his own burial in 1641.
The palace was inherited by Maria Sofia De la Gardie in 1648, who had married Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna, nephew of Swedish Regent and Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. Both her and her husband's family were extremely wealthy. Maria Sofia resided in Tyresö Palace, from where she managed her estates around Baltic Sea.
During 1770s the palace was modernized and the first English garden in Sweden was created. Planned by the garden architect Fredrik Magnus Piper, it is a mixture of an English park, a Swedish flowery meadow and picture out of a fairy tale - with the ancient forest as its ultimate source. The natural-appearing large-scale landscape gardens still exist today.
Today Tyresö Palace is a museum. Marquis Claes Lagergren had purchased Tyresö Palace in 1892. Assisted by architect Isak Gustaf Clason, the Marquis rebuilt the castle, inspired by original drawings from the 17th century. The Marquis wanted the castle kept as a living document of Swedish history. He rebuilt large parts of the castle in a national romantic style. The marquis died in 1930, and in his will left Tyresö Palace to a museum foundation, the Nordic Museum (Nordiska museet). Today the Nordic Museum owns the castle, and it is open for guided tours during the summer.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.