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

Gripsholm Castle in 2004.

Catherine Jagiellon with her husband and son in Gripsholm

Gripsholm Castle (Swedish: Gripsholms Slott) is a castle in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. It is located in the town of Mariefred by the lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Mariefred is a small idyllic Town in Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with a population of 4800 Lake Mälaren ( (historically occasionally referred to as Lake Malar in English is the third-largest Lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Strängnäs Municipality ( Strängnäs kommun) is a municipality in Södermanland County in southeast Sweden, located by Lake Mälaren ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the

A fortress was built at the location around 1380 by Bo Jonsson (Grip), and belonged to his family until the confiscation of mansions and castles by King Gustav I (Gustav Vasa) in 1526. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for Bo Jonsson (Grip (early 1330s &ndash 20 August 1386) was head of the royal council and marshal under the regency of Magnus IV of Sweden. Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson (Colloquial 15th century Upplandic Gösta Jerksson) and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September The King tore it down, and built a fortified castle with corner towers and a wall, for defensive purposes. Of the original medieval fortress, only the façade of a wall remains.

Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged to the Swedish Royal Family, and was used as their residence until 1713. The Swedish Royal Family consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, immediately related to the King of Sweden, Year 1713 ( MDCCXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In the years 1563-1567 King Eric XIV imprisoned John III Vasa and his wife Catherine Jagiellon in the castle. Eric XIV (Erik XIV (13 December 1533 &ndash 26 February 1577 was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568 John III (Johan III Juhana III (20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592 was King of Sweden from 1568 until his death Catherine Jagiellon (Katarzyna Jagiellonka Katariina Jagellonica Katarina Their son Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Sweden, was born there in June 20, 1566. Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza ( 20 June 1566 Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun.

It was briefly used as a prison between 1713 and 1773. In 1773 it was renovated by King Gustav III, on behalf of his wife. Gustav III ( – 29 March 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death A theater was also added at this time. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one

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 part of the castle houses the National Collection of Portraits (Statens porträttsamlingar).