Nyköping Castle, Nyköping, Sweden

Nyköping Castle is a medieval castle from the Birger Jarl era, partly in ruins. The castle is mostly known for the ghastly Nyköping Banquet which took place here in 1317. The construction of the castle began in the end of the 12th century, when it began as a fortification. It is thought Birger Jarl expanded the building to a larger castle. During the reign of Albert of Sweden the castle was held as a fief by the German knight Raven van Barnekow, who made important improvements on the building, and later by Bo Jonsson Grip. Further reconstructions and expansions were done during the late Middle Ages. Gustav Vasa strengthened the castle further for defensive purposes and a round gun tower from that time remains today.

The medieval castle was rebuilt in the end of the 16th century by Duke Charles (later Charles IX of Sweden) into a renaissance palace. The palace burned down with the rest of the city in 1665. It wasn't reerected; in fact some of its bricks were used in the construction of Stockholm Palace. However, parts of the castle were sound enough to be used as county residence until the 1760s.

Parts of the castle were refurbished in the 20th century. Kungstornet (the King's Tower) and Gamla residenset (the Old Residence) currently house the permanent exhibits of Sörmlands museum (the Museum of Södermanland). A restaurant is located in the banquet hall and Drottningkällaren (the Queen's Cellar).

References:

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User Reviews

Mario Aquilina (2 years ago)
Small but informative and atmospheric museum. We enjoyed the exhibits. Friendly staff. Free entrance!

ELisabet Holmstrom (2 years ago)
We had a lovely dinner in a nice setting

Robert Lock (3 years ago)
Take a stroll along the Nyköping river and find Nyköpingshus. It is a Beautifully preserved castle that you can go into.

Andee Beck Althoff (3 years ago)
This amazingly old castle is probably very interesting but no tours are offered in English. Read up on it before you go if you don’t speak Swedish. The outdoor Danish cafe on the grounds is excellent.

Tin tin Beldua (3 years ago)
We came late so we couldn’t get in the castle but the view was nice for a little family getaway. The place was surrounded with lots of restaurants and cafes, too.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

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The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.

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