Borgholm Castle – 800 Years of Swedish History

Borgholm Castle - 800 Years of Swedish History

Borgholm Castle, ”the most beautiful ruin in Scandinavia”, is one of those examples of architecture, that leaves hardly any visitor unaffected. Its size is overwhelming, its position enchanting.

It is very uncommon to find nature and architecture so coalesced as here, a concord that was even more emphasised when the castle in 1806 was ravaged by serious fire, and the naked structures of its limestone walls were all that remained of its former grandeur.

Borgholm Castle has been teeming with people through the centuries: kings with their families, architects, castle wardens and men of guard, prisoners and jailers, industrialists and crofters. Not to mention the builders: masons, lime-burners and mortar blenders, carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons and stone setters, joiners, scaffold builders, glaziers and house painters, but also detailed peasants, prisoners and members of the armed forces.

Far from all were Swedes. In certain periods Danish and German was even more often spoken than Swedish in the castle. Today, Borgholm Castle is one of the greatest tourist attractions in the region and gives the visitor a unique opportunity to stroll through Swedish, Scandinavian and European history, ranging over more than 800 years.