Nyköping Castle in Nyköping

Nyköping

Nyköping is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,427 inhabitants in 2005. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County.- History :...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, is a Mediaeval castle from the Birger Jarl

Birger jarl

, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...

 era, partly in ruins. The castle is mostly known for the ghastly Nyköping Banquet

Nyköping Banquet

The Nyköping banquet was king Birger of Sweden's Christmas celebration December 11, 1317 at the Nyköping Castle in Sweden...

 which took place here in 1317.

Construction

Construction on the castle began in the end of the 12th century, when it began as a fortification. It is thought Birger Jarl

Birger jarl

, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...

 expanded the building to a larger castle. During the reign of Albert of Sweden

Albert of Sweden

Albert was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412.-Background:...

 the castle was held as a fief by the German knight Raven van Barnekow, who made important improvements on the building, and later by Bo Jonsson Grip. Further reconstructions and expansions were done during the late Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. Gustav Vasa strengthened the castle further for defensive purposes and a round gun tower from that time remains today.

The mediaeval castle was rebuilt in the end of the 16th century by Duke Charles (later Charles IX of Sweden

Charles IX of Sweden

Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...

) into a renaissance palace. The palace burned down with the rest of the city in 1665. It wasn't reerected; in fact some of its bricks were used in the construction of Stockholm Palace

Stockholm Palace

The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...

. However, parts of the castle were sound enough to be used as county residence until the 1760s.

Parts of the castle were refurbished in the 20th century. Kungstornet (the King's Tower) and Gamla residenset (the Old Residence) currently house the permanent exhibits of Sörmlands museum

Sörmlands museum

The Sörmland Museum is the county museum of Södermanland County in Sweden. The institution is responsible for preservation and conducting research in the area of the cultural history and archaeology of the county, including the medieval city of Nyköping....

 (the Museum of Södermanland

Södermanland

', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...

). A restaurant is located in the banquet hall and Drottningkällaren (the Queen's Cellar).

Important events

• December 11, 1317: the Nyköping Banquet
  Nyköping Banquet
  The Nyköping banquet was king Birger of Sweden's Christmas celebration December 11, 1317 at the Nyköping Castle in Sweden...
  
   took place in the mediaeval castle, a Christmas
  Christmas
  Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
  
   party that ended horribly for the two dukes Eric and Valdemar, brothers to King Birger of Sweden.

• September 20, 1396: the signing of Recess of Nyköping which is one of the most important events of the Nordic Middle Ages since it was a prerequisite for the formation of the Kalmar Union
  Kalmar Union
  The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
  
   the following year.

• March 3, 1538: wedding between Svante Sture the Younger och Märta Eriksdotter Leijonhuvud.