Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle in the Swedish city of Kalmar is one of the best preserved Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. Due to its location on the former border with Denmark , the former castle played an important role in Swedish history. The castle stands on a small peninsula on the Baltic coast and is separated from the mainland by a moat . It has been classified as Byggnadsminne since 1935 .
history
The castle goes back to a defense tower ( Kastal ) built in 1180 under the government of Knut Eriksson to protect against pirates and other enemies who threatened the city from the sea. Magnus Ladulås had a curtain wall with four towers built around the actual defense tower at the end of the 13th century.
On June 17, 1397 Margaret I of Denmark threaded the Kalmar Union in the castle , which led to the unification of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. For Union King was crowned the fifteen-year-old at the time Erick VII. Wherein Margaret government affairs as a guardian exercised.
In the 16th century, the castle was Gustav Va's first place to stay in Sweden after his escape from Danish captivity. That is why you will find a fountain in the castle that is named after him and a monument in his honor. Gustav and his sons had the castle expanded. Gustav himself had it supplemented by a stone and earth wall, which was intended as a defense against the newly emerging artillery . The sons Erik XIV. And Johann III. paid more attention to the artistic furnishings of the castle. They engaged foreign architects and artists for the interior decoration of the building.
A long period of decline began at the end of the 17th century. The fortress, which was besieged 22 times during the previous 395 years but could never be stormed, was degraded to a prison, granary and royal distillery. Much of the old facility was destroyed, and there were even proposals to demolish the castle. Reconstruction work began in the 1850s and intensified between 1920 and 1940. Because of the economic burden of the Second World War, this work had to be stopped early. The restoration of the exterior could thus be completed, but inside only a few rooms have been completely restored, numerous others have remained largely empty to this day.
The castle chapel is often used for weddings today.
Construction of the castle
In the original version from the 12th century, Kalmar was surrounded by an irregular curtain wall. For better defense, the donjon was built on the lake side and protected by two massive round towers . Two square gate towers secured the access routes at the gate. The round towers - actually a Franco-German development - were the only towers of their kind in Scandinavia for many years.
Gustav Wasa fundamentally rebuilt the castle. Only the old donjon remained from the medieval period, the residential buildings, on the other hand, were rebuilt like a palace. Instead of the previous towers, he built lower but more massive bastions for the artillery. An additional outer wall completed the reinforced fortifications.
literature
- Chris Gravett: Atlas of Castles. The most beautiful castles and palaces. Tosa, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85492-470-4 , pp. 130-131.
Web links
- Entry in the Bebyggelseregistret des Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
- Kalmar Castle near Statens fastighetsverk (Swedish)
- Kalmar Castle as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
Coordinates: 56 ° 39 ′ 29 ″ N , 16 ° 21 ′ 19 ″ E