Mariefred

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.

Background

Mariefred lies roughly 50 kilometres west of Stockholm in Strängnäs Municipality and had 7,121 inhabitants in 2023. Before taking the name of the Carthusian house, meaning "Peace of Mary", the place was called Gripsholm. It is still often called a city, though Statistics Sweden counts only localities above 10,000 people as cities. Next to the castle lies Gripsholms hjorthage, a nature reserve and deer park. The castle's old barn, Gripsholms kungsladugård, held Grafikens Hus, then the largest centre for fine arts printmaking in Sweden, until fire destroyed it in 2014. The railway keeps a museum in town with a noted collection of 600 mm narrow-gauge passenger railcars, and the German author Kurt Tucholsky lies in the town cemetery.

Source: Wikipedia, "Mariefred"

What to look for

• 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.

Practical notes

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.

Key facts