Uppsala Castle

Castle in Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala Castle (Uppsala slott) is a 16th century royal castle in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. Throughout much of its early existence, the castle played a major role in the history of Sweden. Originally constructed in 1549, the castle has been heavily remodeled, expanded, and otherwise modified. Today the structure houses the official residence of the governor of Uppsala County, various businesses, and two museums.

Nearby Gamla Uppsala was an important religious and aristocratic center from at least the 5th century up until 1273 (when the Catholic archbishopric was moved to the area that became modern day Uppsala). It had been at the end of the 5th century that the Yngling dynasty is known to have established themselves in Gamla Uppsala. Today, large royal burial mounds are extant and traces of ancient royal manors have been discovered at Gamla Uppsala. In the Middle Ages a royal estate, known today as Föresäng [sv], existed in an area of Uppsala called Islandet. This estate was destroyed by fire in 1543. During the Protestant reformation, a medieval archbishop's castle, which stood west of Uppsala Cathedral (near the site of the present day Archbishop's Palace), was confiscated by the Monarchy of Sweden. Both this castle and the Föresäng estate were used as early royal residences in Uppsala.

Uppsala Castle was built during the reign of Gustav I Vasa, a period when Sweden was becoming a great power in Europe. After its initial construction, various monarchs remodelled and expanded the fortress into a representative Renaissance castle.

Following a peasant uprising against Vasa's rule, known as the Dacke War, it was decided to build new defensive castles in the kingdom, including one in Uppsala. Construction of the castle started in 1549 atop a large esker called Kasåsen. The newly constructed complex included royal apartments in the south west corner, and two large bastions on the western side. Both of these bastions, called respectively Gräsgården and Styrbiskop, remain a feature at the castle today, although only the foundations of the original royal apartments remain (and house Vasaborgen museum). Soon after completion of the new castle, an addition to the east of the royal apartments was constructed, adding "representation premises" such as a hall of state and church. The Styrbiskop (Bishop Controller) battery was permanently trained on Uppsala cathedral owing to the hostility between the church authorities and the king from the beginning of his reign.

During the reign of Eric XIV the representation addition was completed. Also during this period, a large garden was laid out at the base of the hill to the east of the castle. The castle's church constructed during this period included large multi story stucco reredos encompassing the entire wall behind the altar. Parts of these reredos remain a feature in the castle today. Repairs and rebuilding of Uppsala Castle took place between 1743 and 1762. A major exception is the southeast tower, which had only been reconstructed to a height of two floors during Hårleman's period–it was fully reconstructed in 1815 to be used as a county prison. The art museum opened in 1995, a few years after the regional archive had been removed. As of 2021, Uppsala Municipality is planning major changes to the south wing to better accommodate the art museum. Beginning in 1997 the art museum also displayed Uppsala University's art study collection (Swedish: Uppsala universitets konststudiesamling) containing many historic Swedish paintings. The art study collection was removed in Spring 2017, to be displayed at the university's Gustavianum museum.

Vasaborgen ("The Vasa Fortress") is a museum in the ruins of the original foundation of the 1549 royal apartments. The museum opened in 2004, replacing an older, government operated museum which interpreted the history of the castle. It is open for limited hours only during the summer season.

Between 2006 and 2019 the Peace Museum (Swedish: Fredsmuseum) was housed in the castle. It closed following the December 2019 discovery of high levels of radon in the castle.

Areas of the castle are also rented to private businesses.