Näs Castle Ruins

Visingsö, Sweden

In the 12th and 13th century, Näs (or Visingö) Castle on the southern end of Visingsö was the residence for the fragile Swedish monarchy. It was built probably by Sverker I of Sweden (died in 1156) or his son Charles VII of Sweden (Karl Sverkersson). Näs was thereby the oldest Royal castle in Sweden. It was a residence 5-6 kings before in 1318 Birger I (Birger Magnusson) pawned it to Danish. The castle was probably demolished soon after.

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Details

Founded: mid-1100s
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Yang Liu (2 years ago)
Beautiful cliff view
Manoj Prabahar J T (2 years ago)
Very nice place to visit. Seeing ocean like lake from the the castle feels so wonderful. A place to visit.
Alice Serban (2 years ago)
A lovely dramatic piece of history, sadly it will slowly crumble into the lake
Llums d'Hivern (2 years ago)
Worth the trip, especially if you’re biking from the harbour during a daytrip to the island
Hamed Razzaghi (2 years ago)
Näs Castle is a castle ruin on the southern tip of Visingsö in Visingsö parish in Jönköping municipality. The village Näs in the vicinity has given the castle its name, in medieval sources it is called Visingsö or Visingsö hus. The facility was built as a royal residence during the 12th century. Possible builders were Sverker the Elder and his son Karl Sverkersson. The castle marks a transition to larger and more comfortable castle buildings and is the first of its kind. Most medieval sources agree that the castle, especially in the early 13th century, was at the center of the Swedish monarchy. This was Sweden's first national castle and was also used as a national bank, when the kings collected their and the kingdom's treasures in the castle. In 1318 it was pledged by King Birger Magnusson to the Danes. The castle was burned down after some fighting the same year while Birger was in exile.
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