"Arx Gripsholm", cirka 1700, in Suecia antiqua et hodierna, with the town Mariefred at the right.

Gripsholm Castle is a castle in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. It is located near the town of Mariefred by the lake Mälaren in central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs. The title page Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna, or Ancient and Modern Sweden, is the title of a large work of engravings, collected by Erik Dahlberg in the middle of the 17th century. ... Mariefred Mariefred is a city in Sweden. ... Mälaren at dusk Mälaren is the third largest lake in Sweden, after lakes Vänern and Vättern. ... Strängnäs is a Municipality in Södermanland County, in central Sweden, located by Lake Mälaren. ...

The castle was built around 1380 by Bo Jonsson (Grip) and belonged to his family until the confiscation of mansions and castles by King Gustav I of Sweden (Vasa) in 1526. The King subsequently fortified it with corner towers and a wall. Gustav I of Sweden, Gustav Vasa or Gustav Eriksson Vasa (1496 - 1560), became king of Sweden in 1523 and was the first monarch of the house of Vasa. ...

It has belonged to the Swedish Royal Family ever since, and was used as a residence until 1713. It was briefly used as a prison between 1713 and 1773. In 1773 it was renovated by King Gustav III of Sweden, on behalf of his wife. A theater was also added at this time. The Swedish Royal Family consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden, who are entitled to royal titles, and some of which are performing various official engagements on behalf of the Royal Family and ceremonial duties of State. ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed...

Between 1889 and 1894 it underwent a heavy and controversial restoration by the architect Fredrik Lilljekvist, and many of the 17th and 18th century alterations were removed. The largest change that took place was the addition of a third floor, though the planned demolition of a wing did not take place.

Today it houses a historical museum with the governmental collection of portraits (Statens porträttsamlingar).

External link

• Gripsholm Castle information from the Swedish Royal Court official site. Includes a history section, visiting info. All in English.