Gråborg Castle

Färjestaden, Öland, Sweden

Gråborg is the largest ancient castle in Öland. It was built probably in the 6th century and enlarged through Middle Ages. According old tax reports dating back to the year 1450, Gråborg was owned by Vadstena abbey and functioned as a some kind of trade center. It was used for defence against Danish even in 1677. According to legend Gråborg was strongly associated with king Burislev Sverkersson who had grown up there with his half-sister Sofia of Minsk.

Gråborg Castle consisted of a circular wall, about 4-7 meter tall. There were three entrances and one of them was vaulted in the Middle Ages. Archaeological excavations have revealed lot of findings, which are stored today in Kalmar Museum.

There are medieval ruins of the chapel of St. Knut on the north side of castle.

References:

Upptäck Öland

Address

Borg 106, Färjestaden, Öland, Sweden

See all sites in Färjestaden, Öland

Details

Founded: 500 AD
Category: Castles and fortifications in Sweden
Historical period: Migration Period (Sweden)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.olanningen.com

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Algutsrum Church (4,8 km)

Borgholm Castle (22,9 km)
Kalmar Castle (15,2 km)
Långe Jan Lighthouse (53,8 km)
Kalmar Cathedral (14,6 km)
Borgholm City Museum (23,7 km)
Eketorp Fort (41,9 km)
Solliden Palace (22,4 km)
Ismantorp Fortress (9,1 km)
Vickleby Church (13,2 km)

User Reviews

Ludovic Nion (3 years ago)
A nice breath in the Swedish countryside

Leonardo Romanello (3 years ago)
Need steps? Love cattle? Then don’t miss Gråborg. ?

Zommy NL (3 years ago)
Very interesting place with loads of old and ancient buildings, graves and several hiking trails. We visited the wall ( which has cute little goats in them now) and the old ruined chapel. Signs are very clear and available in several languages (See, En, Ger). You can spent the entire day here of you walk all the trails or quickly stop by the chapel and wall as we did. Entry is free

claire gisubizo (gisubizo claire) (4 years ago)
Historical information and its beautiful view makes it different

Pardalis Georgios (4 years ago)
The chapel ruin could get some better care,but combining it with the fortress ruin and the nice hiking paths around makes it a pleasant experience.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Ninara

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The Church of the Holy Cross

The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).

The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.

The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.

The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.