Torpa Stenhus, Länghem, Sweden

Torpa stenhus is a well preserved medieval castle near Åsunden. The first stone house was built around 1470 by Privy Council Arvid Knutsson as fortress against the Danes. Reconstruction and remodeling took during the 1500s and 1600s. In the late 1500s the castle was enlarged and modernized: the 4th floor was added, the tower was erected and halls were decorated with beautiful paintings. The castle has still today a well-preserved Renaissance interior. The castle is best known in history as the manor of the Swedish noble family of Stenbock. It was the residence of Catherine Stenbock, third and last consort of King Gustaf Vasa.

The first half of 17th century was a heyday of Torpa Stenhus. Gustav Otto Stenbock built a new wooden manor house adjacent to the stone castle, which was used for representative events. The baroque style chapel was also built and decorated in the late 1699.

Later Torpa has been owned by Sjöblad and Sparre families. Today it hosts a hotel, restaurant and conference center.

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User Reviews

Pardalis Georgios (2 years ago)
One of the most wonderful places I have visited. The building itself is something the visitor MUST explore (take a guided tour) and the surrounding area is of unspoken beauty

Steven Mills (2 years ago)
Very nice historical site. Opens in May for tours, but you can still walk around it. Beautiful area.

Jenny Suurküla (2 years ago)
Amazing place for history lovers (and I'd say for ghost story lovers as well). An amazingly well-preserved building from the 1470s. Packed full of history - for example king Gustav Vasa visited there in the 1500s, and one of his wives came from Torpa Stenhus. Also several ghost stories. We took a guided tour and the woman was amazing! I think she is only there in the summer though, not sure how it works the rest of the year. Highly recommended indeed!

Andreea Galetschi (5 years ago)
Surprisingly beautiful. Very well kept. It tells a story.

Lori S (5 years ago)
What a beautiful setting for a cool, historic castle. We got a great tour in English and really enjoyed hearing the history is this place.

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Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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