Malmö Castle, Malmö, Sweden - SpottingHistory.com

Malmö Castle (Malmöhus) was founded in 1434 by King Eric of Pomerania. This structure was demolished in early 16th century. The castle acquired its present appearance following major reconstruction in the 1530’s, when King Christian III ordered the building of a modern fortress, splendid Renaissance castle and county governor´s residence, all on the one site. Historically, this fortress was one of the most important strongholds of Denmark.

Denmark´s coins were minted there in the Middle Ages. Crown Prince Frederick held wild parties in the 16th century. Prisoners were beheaded in the courtyard in the 19th century. Malmöhus has now been restored in the spirit of the 16th century and is part of the Malmö Museums, the largest museum in southern Sweden. The castle is part of Sweden´s cultural heritage and is managed by the National Property Board.

The castle was for five years (1568-1573) the prison of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. The earl was taken into custody on the orders of the Protestant Danish king Frederick II of Denmark when his ship ran aground in Bergen, Norway during a storm. He was sent to Malmö Castle to be imprisoned, although he had previously been released from Tower of London for lack of evidence in the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. As a bachelor, Frederick II courted Elizabeth I of England and was made a Knight of the Garter. Some sources suggest a second reason for the involvement in this matter by the Danish king; he is thought to have held hopes of collecting a ransom from Scotland. However, the Earl of Bothwell died in 1578 in Dragsholm Castle, Zealand, where he had been moved after the first five years in Danish captivity, without ever being the subject of Danish-Scottish negotiations for his release.

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User Reviews

Waldemar “Forest Afghan” Konieczny (2 years ago)
A tiny castle. Weird and original. a piece of the fascinating history of post-war Sweden in a glass case. It is worth stopping, even for a moment.

Dj Joa (2 years ago)
Cool place, even for an adult it was interesting to get to know the local history.

Roja EA (2 years ago)
The castle is a bit boring, nothing really interesting/unique can be found in the museum or the art exhibition. But it has an aquarium, which is nice to visit, particularly if you have kids.

Suyash Kutumbe (2 years ago)
Place for history lovers specially those who are interested in World war II incidents as the castle is also a museum with lot of material and information about WWII survivors. Castle also hosts an aquarium so please keep at least 2-3 hours in case you want to visit whole castle area comfortably.

Sajid Decosta (2 years ago)
There’s an aquarium in the Castle where you find out a lot about the inhabitants of the oceans, seas and lakes. The museum is meant for visitors of all ages - both kids and grown ups learn something new every time. I recommend it to the families with children.

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