Gripsholm castle is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, next to the village of Mariefred. This is actually not the first castle that was built here. The first castle was built in the second half of the 14th century by Bo Johnsson Grip. And this name also explains part of the name of the castle : Gripsholm. The second part of the name Holm means island, so it actually means Island of Grip.
The castle of Gripsholm is one of the Royal castles in Sweden. This castle started to be build by King Gustav Vasa in 1537 as part of a new system of national defences.
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 portraits is huge (the collection has over 4,000 pictures), 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.
Click on "Show on map" button to see location of the castle
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