Salsta Castle is one of the finest Baroque palaces in Uppland. The earliest known settlement in Salsta was a fortified farm from the early Middle Ages and the first known owner was Magnus Greg Ersson in the 1300s. The family of Bielke became the owner of Salsta in the 1500s and they erected a three-storey Renaissance castle. The present castle with park was built in 1672-78 by Nils Bielke and the building master was Mathias Spihler. The castle was strongly inspired of French Baroque style. The model of Salsta, as well as many palaces, was taken from Vaux-le-Vicomte, a chateau near Paris.
Also the garden was a French-inspired. Nils Bielke had visited in the Versailles park, knowing that a baroque garden should be symmetric and strictly. There are today only some remains of the original Baroque park, but you can sense the romantic park with winding paths and pedestrian bridges that were built in the 1800s.
An extensive renovation was made at the end of the 1700s. Main floor was reconstructed with new furnishings and modern stoves. The owner of Salsta was then Fredrik Magnus Brahe, who also owned Rydboholm and Skokloster castles. Until 1976 Salsta was a residence of the family von Essen. Since 1996, Salsta is managed by the National Property Board.
Salsta castle became a national monument in 1993 due the well-preserved appearance and the site's long history.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.