Gripsholm Castle

Gustav Vasa began Gripsholm in 1537 on the site of an older fortified house, and the four round towers and red brick are essentially his, though Gustav III drove a small theatre into one of the towers in 1782 and it survives complete. What fills the castle now is the Swedish national portrait collection, started in the sixteenth century and still adding - the largest sequence of its kind in the country, with over four thousand pictures, hung through the rooms in something like chronological order. Two runestones flank the entrance. The steamboat from Stockholm takes three and a half hours each way and is a common way to arrive in summer.

What you actually see

• Four round brick towers of 1537 - Gustav Vasa's building.
• The national portrait collection - thousands of pictures, still growing.
• Gustav III's theatre of 1782 - built into a tower, intact.
• Two runestones at the gate - older than the castle by centuries.

When to go

May to September for full opening; limited in winter. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Winter opening is restricted. The portrait hang is dense and tiring without a plan. The steamboat is slow and weather dependent. Mariefred is small with few services out of season.

Nearby

Mariefred town is next to it; Taxinge and Strangnas are along the lake.