Vadstena Castle
Gustav Vasa began building a fortress on Lake Vättern in 1545. His sons turned it into a Renaissance palace, with a symmetrical main range and richly designed gables. The castle is one of the best preserved from the Vasa era and shows how the Renaissance reached Sweden by way of the Netherlands and Germany.
In 1545 Gustav Vasa began building a castle on Lake Vättern, as part of the defence of the realm and to support royal power in Östergötland. It was a stronghold with massive round corner towers and ramparts. His son, Duke Magnus, was given the castle as his residence, and under John III and Charles IX it was rebuilt as a Renaissance palace. The work continued into the 17th century and was directed by master builders from the Netherlands and Germany, who brought with them the idiom of the Northern Renaissance. The castle was built mainly of stone and brick, and the walls of the fortress were incorporated into the new palace. The building process was protracted, and several plans were changed depending on who wanted the castle at the time.
The main building is a long, symmetrical range facing the water, with round towers at the corners. Its most characteristic feature is the gables, richly designed with volutes, obelisks and other ornaments on Netherlandish models. The façade is rendered in a light colour, and the windows are set in regular rows, giving an impression of order despite the building’s origins as a fortress. The interiors are largely plain today, but the size of the halls and the long rows of windows give an idea of how the court lived. The moat, originally part of the defences, still surrounds the castle. Vadstena Castle shows the transition from medieval fortress to Renaissance palace: the walls and towers are fortifications, but the gables, windows and symmetry belong to a new way of displaying power and taste.
After the 17th century the castle lost its importance as a royal residence. It was used, among other things, as a granary and storehouse, which meant that the interiors decayed but that the building was not remodelled in later styles. Since 1899 the castle has housed the Regional State Archives in Vadstena, which hold archives from several counties in south-eastern Sweden. During the 20th century the castle was restored and several halls were prepared for visitors. Today the castle is also used for opera and concerts. Together with Kalmar and Gripsholm, Vadstena is regarded as one of the most important Vasa castles. It is the one that has best preserved the exterior of a Renaissance palace, and it shows how the Renaissance reached Sweden not directly from Italy but via the Netherlands and Germany.