Örebro Castle, Örebro, Sweden - SpottingHistory.com

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. The castle was finally restored to the 16th century appearance between 1897-1900.

Today there are guided tours, an exhibition centre and the castle is a very worthwhile sightseeing destination.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Gábor Dániel Szelley (2 months ago)
Very beautiful, interesting place but i couldnt find a great swedish restaurant in that area.

Sivakumar Annadurai (3 months ago)
Beautifully maintained and it's very well lighted from outside. Heard that it's a restaurant now inside. But it looks great at the river side.

Sissara Chansiri (3 months ago)
It's so beautiful. I got a lot of pretty pics around the castle area. It's worth to come. Örebro is a cute city. I really feel impressed.

D Wasem (6 months ago)
Really nice water castle / palace. Small, but interesting museum about it's history. Depending on the time of year open for guided tours only on the weekend. Nice park around.

Gionatan Torricelli (7 months ago)
Very original building that had a central position on the ancient history of the Sweden. The visit of the castle, its garden and the center of the city can be done easily in one morning. It should be visited if traveling from one side to another of the Sweden.

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Historic Site of the week

Beersel Castle

The moated castle at Beersel is one of the few exceptionally well-preserved examples of medieval fortifications in Belgium. It remains pretty much as it must have appeared in the 15th century. Remarkably, it was never converted into a fortified mansion. A visitor is able to experience at first-hand how it must have felt to live in a heavily fortified castle in the Middle Ages.

The castle was built in around 1420 as a means of defence on the outer reaches of Brussels. The tall, dense walls and towers were intended to hold any besiegers at bay. The moat and the marshy ground along its eastern, southern and western edges made any attack a formidable proposition. For that reason, any attackers would have chosen its weaker northern defences where the castle adjoins higher lying ground. But the castle was only taken and destroyed on one occasion in 1489, by the inhabitants of Brussels who were in rebellion against Maximilian of Austria.

After being stormed and plundered by the rebels it was partially rebuilt. The pointed roofs and stepped gables are features which have survived this period. The reconstruction explains why two periods can be identified in the fabric of the edifice, particularly on the outside.

The red Brabant sandstone surrounds of the embrasures, now more or less all bricked up, are characteristic of the 15th century. The other embrasures, edged with white sandstone, date from the end of the 15th century. They were intended for setting up the artillery fire. The merlons too are in white sandstone. The year 1617 can be clearly seen in the foundation support on the first tower. This refers to restorations carried out at the time by the Arenberg family.

Nowadays, the castle is dominated by three massive towers. The means of defence follow the classic pattern: a wide, deep moat surrounding the castle, a drawbridge, merlons on the towers, embrasures in the walls and in the towers, at more or less regular intervals, and machiolations. Circular, projecting towers ensured that attacks from the side could be thwarted. If the enemy were to penetrate the outer wall, each tower could be defended from embrasures facing onto the inner courtyard.

The second and third towers are flanked by watchtowers from which shots could be fired directly below. Between the second and third tower are two openings in the walkway on the wall. It is not clear what these were used for. Were these holes used for the disposing of rubbish, or escape routes. The windows on the exterior are narrow and low. All light entering comes from the interior. The few larger windows on the exterior date from a later period. It is most probable that the third tower - the highest - was used as a watchtower.

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