Sunday 9 September 2018

Borgholm Castle Ruin, Öland

Road Trip 2018, Part 15

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Borgholm Castle, originating from the 12th or 13th century, stands on the edge of a rocky precipice overlooking the strait of Kalmarsund. First mentionend in 1281, one of the oldest parts of the castle was a round defensive tower, from where lookouts could monitor the boat traffic. The city of Kalmar on the mainland also had its own fortifications. (We’ll be visiting Kalmar Castle in a later post.)

In the past, Öland was not an exclusively Swedish island. There were also Danish and German interests here, and from time to time the castle was under their control. When Gustav Vasa (Gustav I) was crowned king of Sweden in 1523, Borgholm castle lay in ruins. In the late 1500s, during the reign of king Johan III, it was transformed into a Renaissance castle. The old tower was restored; four wings were built around an inner courtyard; and facing inland, new defensive walls with huge bastions and platforms were added, from which every part of the castle could be protected.

In a war between Denmark and Sweden in the early 1600s, the castle again suffered serious damage. After the Peace of Roskilde in 1658, when Sweden’s border was moved further west, it lost its importance as a frontier fortress. There were plans to turn it into a baroque palace; but soon after this work was completed, it was left to again fall into decay; and in 1806 it was further destroyed by fire. In the 1880s, however, work was started to preserve the ruin and make it accessible to visitors.

What we see today is the ruins of the 17th century baroque palace; now owned and managed by the National Property Board of Sweden (Statens Fastighetsverk). It is open for visitors, and the inner courtyard is used for concerts, theater performances, and other events.

(Facts picked from a sign near the castle + Wikipedia.)


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Courtyard with stage and audience gallery

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2018-07-18-09 Borgholms slottsruin

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“Upstairs”

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Zooming in the church tower in the town (from up on top of the castle).


Aerial view of the Borgholm castle ruins from 2013 ( Wikimedia Commons )



14 comments:

  1. Wow, this castle has been through a lot! I wish they would have totally finished the Baroque remodel, that would have been amazing. But it would likely cost a fortune. The archways in the corridors remind me a bit of roman architecture. It has a fabulous view! Are the events well attended? I imagine none in the winter. Going to a play there would be a total experience. I always love that clock tower!

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    1. Ginny, any castle dating back to medieval times will have been through a lot of changes, and often a few fires as well :)

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  2. It would be a great place to hear a concert or watch a play.

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  3. I am happy the castle ruins are preserved and yet sad that the entire castle is not ours to see today. What must it have been like in its prime? It has a great location for views and for defense.

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    1. Terra, ruins like this are indeed a challenge for one's imagination.

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  4. What a wonderful use of it. I was amazed at how big it is.

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    1. Kate, even having been there, I was rather surprised when (in my research for this post) I came across the aerial photo. The thing is, from the ground there is no point of view from where one can see the whole thing. (Makes me rather impressed with the architects who planned it once upon a time!)

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  5. I love all of the inside of it.. those arches and all that stone work are amazing, it is beautiful from the Arial view.. more like our forts we have here than what I think of with the word castle.

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    1. Sandra, I think "castle" usually denotes a fortified building, while a "palace" is a grand building but not necessarily fortified. In Swedish we have several words with slightly different connotations as well, which sometimes get mixed up. For example "slott" which can be either a castle or a palace - usually with royal connection, but not always. I suppose the main difference over in the US is that your forts are not as old as the ones in Europe, and you had no kings!

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  6. That's a serious sort of multi purpose castle. I think it's great that it still serves a practical purpose today.

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    1. Pauline, old castles (and ruins) still standing are usually turned into museums, but also often used for concerts and similar.

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  7. Even by the standard of European castes that appears to be a large one. It's good that it is being maintained so that it does not deteriorate further. It's even better that it's being used.

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    1. Graham, I agree. It was quite hard to grasp the size and layout from within, but the views from up on the battlements (? if that's the word) gave an idea of its strategic position in the landscape.

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