Press release -
Gripsholm Castle reopens for the season
Gripsholm Castle reopens on Wednesday 15 May and will be open daily from 10am to 4pm until 30 September. Guided tours of the castle in Swedish and English will be available daily. From 16 June visitors can enjoy Music at Gripsholm, a series of concerts.
Construction of Gripsholm Castle started in 1537. Since then, the castle has undergone many renovations, so the interior is a glorious mix of different periods. However, several original rooms typical of the Vasa Renaissance have remained intact. Among the unique rooms open to the public are Duke Karl’s chamber from the 16th century, and King Gustav III’s private theatre from the 18th century. One of Gripsholm’s finest treasures is the National Portrait Gallery, which includes portraits of prominent figures from Gustav Vasa’s time to the present day. Royalty shares the walls with famous Swedes such as Carl Michael Bellman, August Strindberg, Greta Garbo, Dag Hammarskjöld, Birgit Nilsson, Benny Andersson and Magnus Uggla.
From 15 May until the end of summer, the castle is open daily from 10am to 4pm. Visitors can explore at their own pace or join one of the guided tours, which run daily in Swedish at noon and 2pm and in English at 3pm. For families with children, special guided tours designed to fire the imagination start at 3pm. These family tours run on Saturdays and Sundays between 15 May and 30 September, and daily from 15 June to 15 August. The season ends on 30 September, but the castle will remain open from noon to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays until 30 November.
The Music at Gripsholm concert series begins on 16 June. This year’s line-up of musicians includes the Academy of Music and Song, the Royal Swedish Army Band and Bellman of the year. Concerts take place in the Hall of State, Gustav III’s theatre, the castle gardens on Slottsholmen island or the former deer park, now a nature reserve. Tickets are available at the tourist information centre in Mariefred.
Gripsholm now has its own app, so you can easily plan your visit and get information about opening hours, admission prices, guided tours and access. The free app is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and can be downloaded from the App Store under “Kungliga slotten”.
During the fall, the program about the castles as a historical scene continues, with experts lecturing in the castle’s unique rooms about the royal heritage. On 5 October the subject is The Romanticisation of the Vasa era in the 18th century, 19 October The Royal Banquet and 26 October Music from the Vasa Court at Gripsholm.
For more information please contact Timmy Cox, First Supervisor of Gripsholm Castle, +46 8 402 8570, or Hanna Tottmar, press officer at Nationalmuseum, hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4390.
Find out more at www.gripsholmsslott.se and for press images go to www.nationalmuseum.se/press.
Gripsholm Castle is one of the Royal Palaces and falls under the remit of the Royal Court. Nationalmuseum has been responsible for the National Portrait Gallery at the castle since 1880.