Castle sights in Svealand

1. A Map

   Slottet

   • Örebro, Sweden
   • Sights › Castle

   The magnificent Slottet now serves as the county governor’s headquarters. While the castle was originally constructed in the late 13th century, most of what you see today is from 300 years later. The outside is far more dramatic than the interior (where the castle’s conference business is all too evident). Parts of the interior are open for exhibits, but to really explore you’ll need to take a tour; there’s a historical one at 4.30pm (in Swedish or English, depending on numbers) or ‘Secrets of the Vasa Fortress’ at 2.30pm (in English), which is a slightly toe-curling piece of costumed clowning around. Book either one through the tourist office. The northwest tower holds a…

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2. B Map

   Uppsala Slott

   • Uppsala, Sweden
   • Sights › Castle

   Pink and ponderous, Uppsala Slott was built by Gustav Vasa in the 1550s. It contains the state hall where kings were enthroned, and where Queen Kristina abdicated. It was also the scene of a brutal murder in 1567, when crazy King Erik XIV and his guards killed Nils Sture and his two sons, Erik and Svante, after accusing them of high treason. The castle burned down in 1702, but was rebuilt and took on its present form in 1757. In the dungeon below the castle’s south tower is the Peace Museum, with displays on various world conflicts and atrocities, as well as Sweden’s long record of neutrality and the achievements of former UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld. At the…

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