Nyköpingshus — Attraction in Nyköpings kommun

Nyköping Castle in Nyköping, Sweden, is a Mediaeval castle from the Birger Jarl era, partly in ruins. The castle is mostly known for the Nyköping Banquet which took place here in 1317.

Construction on the castle is thought to have begun at the end of the 12th century, when it was built as a sort of castellum. It is thought Birger Jarl expanded the building to a larger castle. During the reign of Albert of Sweden 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. Gustav Vasa strengthened the castle further for defensive purposes and a round gun tower from that time remains today.

The medieval castle was rebuilt in the end of the 16th century by Duke Charles (later Charles IX of Sweden) 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. 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 (the Museum of Södermanland). A restaurant is located in the banquet hall and Drottningkällaren (the...

We visited on a sunday, coincidentally there was a special activity for children where you had to find plush mice and rats. The children had a lot of fun searching and counting them. For their efforts they got a cool coloring with the image of an old print. The Museum itself is small but very nice, the information is well presented and there is a lot to discover. Sometimes the presentation is a bit dark. Lightwise as well as imagewise, so sensitive children might be a bit intimidated. On some weekends, there are theatrical tours with actors, guiding though the history of this place,...

This is an unexpected gem in the town of Nyköping. The museum is located in the King's Tower part of the old castle. We thought we would be there 15 minutes. We spent over two hours. Admission is free. English language guides are provided on each level of the tower. You can learn a lot about the last thousand years of Swedish history outside of Stockholm. For example, what crimes would put you in jail in medieval Sweden and for how long? Another plus, no...