Top medieval sights in Sweden
See the most interesting sites remaining us of the Middle Ages, when Sweden was formed from the Viking settlements to small kingdoms and finally a consolidated country.
1. Lund Cathedral
Photo from Flickr, copyright Jamie Barras
Lund Cathedral was consecrated in 1145, and contains many well-known artefacts and features of considerable historical interest. Since then service has been held here every day for almost 900 years. Today over 700 000 persons visit the church each year with some 85 000 who attends a service.
The first cathedral was built in Lund before 1085, but it is difficult to know if the present building was built in the same place. The Cathedral School was established in 1085, making it Denmark's oldest school. The building of the present Cathedral began in 1080s. Its first Archbishop, Ascer, consecrate ...
2. Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral is the largest and tallest cathedral and one of the most impressive religious buildings in Scandinavia. Originally built in the 13th century under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the Protestant Reformation, it has been controlled by the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, the primate of Sweden.
The construction of the cathedral started ca. 1287, when the archbishopric was moved from Old Uppsala. It took more than a century to complete. When inaugurated in 1435 under archbishop Olaus Laurentii, the c ...
3. Gripsholm Castle
Photo from Flickr, copyright Maria_Globetrotter
Gripsholm Castle is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. A fortress was built at the location around 1380 by Bo Jonsson Grip, and belonged to his family until the confiscation of mansions and castles by King Gustav I in 1526. The King tore it down, and built a fortified castle with circular corner towers and a wall, for defensive purposes. Of the original medieval fortress, only the façade of a wall remains.
Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged to the Swedish Royal Family and was used as their residence until 1713. Between 1563 and 1567, King Eric XIV imprisone ...
4. Örebro Castle
For over 700 years Örebro Castle has kept a watchful eye on everyone crossing the bridge on the River Svartån. The oldest part of the castle, a defence tower, was erected in the latter half of the 13th century. This tower was added to in the 14th century to make a larger stronghold. The castle was expanded during the reign of the royal family Vasa between 1573-1627 to the impressive Renaissance castle.
After Vasa family Örebro castle was left to decay, but the main restoration took place in 1758-1764 by Carl Johan Crondstedt. After him the castle was used as a residence of county governor. ...
5. Bohus Fortress
Bohus Fortress construction began in 1308 under King Haakon V Magnuson, king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. At the time Bohuslän was Norwegian territory and it served as a main Norwegian defence against Sweden along the coast as well as the strong point for the Bohuslän region from 1308 until 1658.
According to architect Guthorm Kavli, by 1310 records show it was constructed, as normal for that period, out of granite and brick, perhaps under the guidance of Count Jacob of Halland. By 1450 it included a continuous surrounding wall, 3 metres thick at the base, with a height which var ...
6. Visby City Wall
Photo from Flickr, copyright Michael J Metts
The City wall of Visby (Swedish: Visby ringmur) is an old medieval defensive wall surrounding the city. The building of ringwall was probably started in the 13th century. Around 1280 it was rebuilt to reach its current height, along with the addition of its characteristic towers (although some towers were not constructed until the 15th century) It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Visby. The war in 1288 between the citizens of Visby and the Danish army gave the citizens of Visby a reason to continue the work with the wall. All together the city wall became 3.4 km, and it was finis ...
7. Kalmar Castle
Photo from Flickr, copyright © Libyan Soup
The first defensive construction, a round tower, was built on Kalmarsund in the 12th century concurrently with the harbour. At the end of the 13th century King Magnus Ladulås had a new fortress built with a curtain wall, round corner towers and two square gatehouses surrounding the original tower. Located near the site of Kalmar's medieval harbor, it has played a crucial part in Swedish history since its initial construction as a fortified tower in the 12th century.
One of the most significant political events in Scandinavia took place at Kalmar Castle in 1397, when the Kalmar Union was form ...
8. Vadstena Abbey
The Abbey of Our Lady and of St. Bridget, more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order. The abbey started on one of the farms donated to it by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it. The abbey was founded in 1346 by Saint Bridget with the assistance of King Magnus IV of Sweden and his Queen Blanche of Namur, who made a will donating ten farms to the abbey founded by Bridget.
The abbey was a double monastery, with both a male section of 25 monks and a female section of 60 nuns. The monks were organised under the General Confessor and t ...
9. Varnhem Abbey
Varnhem Abbey (Varnhems kloster) was founded around 1150 by monks of the Cistercian Order from Alvastra Abbey in Östergötland. The Cistercian Order used the same floor plan for all its abbeys, which makes it possible to easily locate the different rooms and halls regardless of the building site.
A wooden and a stone church were both erected on the site before the abbey was built. The stone church was erected in the 1040s at the latest, and is the oldest known stone church in Sweden (excluding Skåne). According to radiocarbon dating, the oldest Christian man buried there died i ...
10. Glimmingehus
Photo from Flickr, copyright Håkan Dahlström
Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).
Construction was started i ...
11. Alvastra Monastery Ruins
Photo from Flickr, copyright fchmksfkcb
French monks of the influential Cistercian order founded Alvastra Monastery in 1143. From Clairvaux in France, the monks brought modern methods of administration, technology and architecture to the province of Östergötland in Sweden. Alvastra Monastery is a distinct part of Östergötland's cultural landscape, and is open for visitors to follow the monks' medieval trail.
The district around Alvastra played an important role in the development of the Swedish Kingdom during the Middle Ages. The powerful dynasty of Sverker resided here. In fact, Sverker the Older has been descr ...
12. Husaby Church
Photo from Flickr, copyright Someday man
Husaby Church is one of the most interesting historical sites in Sweden. The first stave church was built probably in the 10th century. Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian king of Sweden, is rumoured to have allowed himself to be baptised at a well by the church in 1008. Husaby was also the seat of bishop until 1150s.
The present church was built in the early 1100s and influenced by German and English missionaries. Architecturally, it is remarkable for its steep walls and high towers, arguably the only Romanesque architecture in Sweden of that kind. Arches were added in the 15th century.
T ...
13. Stones of Mora
Photo from Flickr, copyright Kapten Spåldin
Stones of Mora was the place where the Swedish kings were elected. The origin of the tradition is unknown, but it has been known since the 13th century and mentioned by Snorri Sturlason (died 1241). The first known document tells that Magnus Ladulås was elected at the Stones of Mora in 1275. Magnus IV was elected at the stones on July 8, 1319 and Kristian I in 1457. He was the last to be elected at the stones.
The Stone of Mora and many stones which flanked it with inscriptions commemorating the elections of earlier kings, were probably destroyed in 1515 during the civil war against the ...