As you probably already know, my wife grew up in a small town called Mariefred. Considering how small is this town, there are many “Polish traces” there. I wrote here about Polish submarines, interned in Sweden during the war, but now we’ll go back in time some 450 years.
In 1572 Zygmunt II August (Sigismund II Augustus) died; the last male representative of the Jagiellonian dynasty, one of the most powerful dynasties in Europe at that time. His death started in Poland the period of an elective monarchy – kings were elected by the nobility, and as we know, their choices were not always great. 10 years before the death of Sigismund II Augustus (on 4 October 1562 to be precise), his sister, Katarzyna Jagiellonka (Catherine Jagiellon), married in the Vilnius cathedral the prince of Finland, Jan Waza (John Vasa), son of Gustav I Vasa. I find history of the Vasa dynasty very fascinating (I mentioned Gustav I here), but now it’s not the time or place to write about it. Prince John’s contacts with the king of Poland and his marriage did not please his brother, Eric XIV Vasa, who accused John of treason and in 1563 imprisoned the married couple at Gripsholm Castle. For taking part in secret conspiracy with Denmark and Poland, the Riksdag sentenced John to death.
Jan and Katarzyna were held in custody for 4 years. They thought the whole world had forgotten them. The death sentence on Jan could have been carried out at any moment, Ivan the Terrible asked for Katarzyna, he had previously sought her hand. It was probably only the mediation of the Queen of England, Elizabeth, that saved Jan’s life.
Four years together, in a small space, made the couple become close. They had two children there, inter alia in 1566 their son, Zygmunt (Sigismund), was born. In Poland, we know him as Zygmunt III Waza (Sigismund III Vasa), King of Poland (1587-1632). He was the rightful king of Sweden and sat on the Swedish throne from 1592-99, when he was overthrown by his uncle. In those years, the Polish Republic and Sweden were united by a personal union, so the territorial range of these two countries was impressive. But let’s say a few words about the castle where the future king of Poland was born, Jagiellon on the distaff side, Vasa on the spear side.
Gripsholm Castle in the 17th century. It looked more or less the same when Sigismund was born. On the right-hand side is Mariefred, the visible church (in which I got married) was built in 1624.
The castle is located on Lake Mälaren, some 50 kilometres west of Stockholm. The first stronghold, supposedly richly decorated, was built on this site in 1380 by the Swedish magnate, Bo Jonsson Grip (en grip means griffin in Swedish). In the 15th century, the castle was handed over to the Carthusians, who used the castle as a monastery. At that time, the name of the town was changed from Gripsholm to Pax Marie – Mary’s Peace (this is also the meaning of the name Mariefred, en fred translates to peace in Swedish). During the Reformation, the property of the order was taken over by the state and in 1537, after the demolition of the monastery and on the remains of the old stronghold, the construction of the castle began on the orders of Gustav Vasa; it took 10 years to build and when completed, Gripsholm had four circular towers with cannons. The castle was to be part of the new defence system as well as one of the royal residences. In the so-called State Hall, Gustav hung portraits of most important contemporary rulers, among them was Zygmunt Stary (Sigismund the Old). The Swedish kings often stayed in Gripsholm (it was supposedly Gustav Vasa’s favourite castle), but it was never besieged. The next renovation was carried out during the reign of Charles IX Waza (the aforementioned uncle of Sigismund) and consisted, among others, of enlarging windows and installing a kind of a central heating system.
The so-called Duke Charles’s chamber as it looked in the 16th century.
In September 1567 John was released from prison, and after taking over the power, he placed his brother Eric in Gripsholm (in the years 1571-73). Another person held in Gripsholm as a prisoner was the widow of Gustav II Adolf, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, who was placed in the castle because of her mental health problems. She stayed at the castle in the years 1636-40, after which she fled to Denmark, by letting herself down from a window of her chamber, together with one of her ladies-in-waiting… Between 1654 and 1715, Gripsholm Castle was part of the dowry of Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden and the wife of Charles X Gustav (who is known in Poland mainly for being in charge of the Deluge). The queen often stayed at the castle with her court, she also took care of the maintenance and decoration of the castle. After her death, the castle served as a prison for over half a century. The Gripsholm’s heyday came in 1773, thanks to King Gustav III, who spent several months a year in the castle, holding balls and famous Christmas parties. It is to him that we owe the construction of the theatre in one of the towers, with the stage and its mechanism preserved to this day. Gustav III was very impressed by Gustav Vasa, and like him, he requested a room, the so-called Round Salon, with paintings of the contemporary rulers. And so we can see a painting of the Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski in the castle.
The next king was Gustav IV Adolf and he also spent some time at the castle as… a prisoner. After Sweden’s failed participation in the anti-French coalition and the loss of Finland, Gustav IV was forced to sign his abdication. This happened at Gripsholm Castle in 1809. Soon after, Gustav IV left Sweden with his family and never returned to Sweden.
At the end of the 19th century, the castle interiors were renovated, with attempts to restore their 16th-century appearance. Today the castle is a big tourist attraction, especially in summer, when sleepy Mariefred turns into one big tourist attraction. Two curiosities that you can see during the castle tour are a stuffed lion, given to the ruler of Sweden in the 18th century. And there wouldn’t be anything strange about that if it wasn’t for the appearance of this lion. Well, the Swedish taxidermist had probably never seen a real lion, so he used his creative side, and the effect is as follows:
The second curiosity are probably the most famous cannons in Sweden, Suggan and Galten, taken as a booty after the capture of Ivangorod in 1581.
And here I end my brief description of Gripsholm Castle, the birthplace of the king of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa. If you are visiting Stockholm and have a day to spare, please visit Mariefred. And a few more photos of the castle.
Bibliography:
H. Lindqvist, Wazowie. Historia burzliwa i brutalna, Warszawa 2018, pp 498.
L. Podhorodecki, Rapier i koncerz, Warszawa 1985, pp 496.
Z. Wójcik, Historia Powszechna XVI-XVII wieku, Warszawa 1995, pp 662.
Polish traces around the world 