Vadstena castle (Vadstena slott)

Vadstena is a small town, with several historical sites. We stopped to see Vadstena Castle, which was started to be built in 1545 by King Gustav I Vasa to defend against attacks from the south, in particular from Denmark.

The castle is beautifully preserved and is definitely one of the largest and most significant castles in Sweden.


The best way to see the scale of the castle is from above. It is not just a castle, but also a palace, a royal residence. And the palace is built on the side of the lake, from where it can't be seized. Outside the protective walls there is quite a wide moat, filled with water. To get inside you can only by a narrow bridge, and therefore it is almost impossible to capture such a castle.


The castle ramparts began to be restored only in 1994.


We did not visit the palace itself inside and learned later that the living rooms had not been rebuilt since 1620.


There is also a small old town near the castle, where we also took a walk. After Sweden took over the entire Scandinavian Peninsula, the danger of attack has passed and the castle was completely transformed into a royal residence. Therefore, you can find a lot of service buildings around it.
















Getting there: The nearest train stations are Motala, Mjölby and Linköping, then by bus. There are Swebus Express buses to Vadstena.