Mariefred
A wooden town on Lake Malaren beside Gripsholm castle, with a narrow-gauge steam railway still running.
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The town grew round a Carthusian monastery - Pax Mariae, which gives it its name - dissolved at the reformation, and it was chartered in 1605 beside Gripsholm castle. What survives is a low wooden town on a grid of small streets running down to the lake, with a town hall of the 1780s, a church on the hill and jetties along the shore. The Ostra Sodermanlands Jarnvag runs 600 mm gauge steam trains from the town station out to Lager on the main line, worked by volunteers since 1959, and it is one of the reasons people come. The steamboat Mariefred, built 1903, still runs the Stockholm route in summer.
What you actually see
- A wooden grid town - running down to Lake Malaren.
- A narrow-gauge steam railway - volunteer-run since 1959.
- The 1903 steamboat - on the summer Stockholm route.
- Gripsholm castle beside it - across the inlet.
When to go
May to September; the railway and boat are seasonal. Half a day.
Honest expectations
The steam railway runs on limited days, mostly weekends. Out of season the town is very quiet. The boat trip from Stockholm is over three hours each way. Parking is tight in summer.
Nearby
Gripsholm is next door; Strangnas is north-west.
What to pack for Mariefred
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
