Mariefred · Lake Mälaren
Gustav Vasa raised these round red towers on their own islet in Lake Mälaren in 1537. The walls have kept every secret since, from a brother's imprisonment to a theatre untouched since 1785.
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Every fare below is the same full castle route, arranged in your name once payment clears — choose the one that matches who is walking through Duke Karl's chamber with you.
Before you choose a fareGripsholm opens daily only from 1 May to 30 September. From October it opens on weekends alone until it closes for the winter in November, and from December to April it opens only around Epiphany and Easter.
Ages 18+
€28per person
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Students with valid ID
€25per person
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Ages 7–17
€15per person
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All three are date-only, not time-slotted — arrive whenever suits you within opening hours on the day you choose.
Four things worth knowing before you go
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From the quay to the gallery
The courtyard, inside the four towers 
Duke Karl's chamber, unchanged since the 1570s 
Gustav III's theatre, dark since 1785 
Mariefred, at the castle gate 
A runestone in the castle grounds 
Theatre machinery, still intact behind the curtain Inside the four towers
Gripsholm Castle stands on its own small islet in Lake Mälaren at Mariefred, about 60 km south-west of Stockholm. King Gustav Vasa — Gustav I, who had led Sweden to independence and founded the House of Vasa — tore down an old Carthusian monastery on the site and began building a fortified royal castle here in 1537, raised in warm red brick with four round corner towers designed by the architect Henrik von Cöllen. It has belonged to the Swedish Crown ever since, and it remains a working royal palace as well as one of the country's best-loved museums.
The steamboat crossing
The classic route from Stockholm is the historic steamboat, a coal-fired vessel that has served this route since 1903 and still runs on its original engine. It is a journey of several hours each way, seasonal from late May to mid-September, and many visitors treat the crossing as part of the day.
Every room, unlocked
Two later additions give Gripsholm its distinct character today. In 1822 the castle became home to the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, the oldest national portrait collection in the world, its rooms hung floor to ceiling with faces that trace five centuries of Swedish history. And in the 1770s King Gustav III, an enthusiastic patron of the theatre, built an intimate playhouse into one of the round towers; unused since its last recorded performance in 1785, it survives today as one of the best-preserved 18th-century theatres in Europe, seats and all.
Bo Jonsson Grip built the first stronghold on this islet in the 1370s, giving Gripsholm its name. In 1526, having founded the House of Vasa, King Gustav I dissolved the Carthusian monastery then on the site, and in 1537 began raising a fortified royal castle in its place, designed by Henrik von Cöllen.
The castle's four round towers, thick enough to hide spiral stairs and storerooms inside their own walls, were built as much for defence as for display — a working fortress for a new dynasty that had just fought its way to the Swedish throne and had every reason to make that power visible in brick and stone.
Between 1563 and 1567, King Erik XIV imprisoned his own half-brother, Duke John, and John's wife, the Polish princess Catherine Jagiellon, inside Gripsholm on suspicion of treason. Their son, born at the castle in 1566, later became King Sigismund of both Poland and Sweden.
The story turns on itself: barely four years after John's release, Erik XIV was deposed and, from 1571 to 1573, held prisoner in the same castle where he had once locked up his own brother — the jailer become the prisoner, within the very same red-brick walls he had once ruled from as king, a reversal few royal houses anywhere have matched.
Duke Karl — Gustav Vasa's youngest son and the future King Karl IX — left Gripsholm its single most intact interior. His chamber, fitted out in the 1570s, still holds its original furniture from that decade, and the painted ceiling frescoes date to 1573.
Because the fittings are too fragile for foot traffic, visitors view Duke Karl's chamber through a glass screen rather than walking inside. What you see is not a reconstruction but the room itself, essentially unchanged for four hundred and fifty years — furniture, frescoes and all, exactly as the future king left it when he moved on to a throne rather than a chamber.
Gustav Vasa began collecting portraits for Gripsholm in the 16th century — a 1548 inventory already lists 23 portraits among the castle's paintings — and his successors kept adding to it. In 1822 King Karl XIV Johan formally established the collection as the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, the oldest national portrait collection in the world.
More than 800 works hang at Gripsholm today, floor to ceiling in room after room, tracing Swedish faces from the age of Gustav Vasa to the present. A new portrait, the Portrait of Honour, is added to the collection most years, so the gallery is still growing even now, centuries after it began.
King Gustav III, a passionate patron of drama, had an intimate theatre built into one of Gripsholm's round towers between 1772 and 1781, to designs by Erik Palmstedt, who drew inspiration from Palladio's Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. The circular tower shaped a small amphitheatre seating around sixty.
No performance has been recorded in Gustav III's theatre since 1785, and it survives essentially untouched. The stage set on display is the one used for a performance of Drottning Christina before the royal court, still exactly as it was struck more than two centuries ago, seats and chandeliers included, waiting for a performance that has never resumed.
Because Gripsholm only opens daily in the warmer months, most visitors naturally arrive between May and September — and within that window, a weekday morning is the calmest time to see the state rooms and the Portrait Gallery before the busier midday hours.
If your trip falls in October or November, plan for a Saturday or Sunday and the shorter weekend hours; from December to April the castle opens only around Epiphany and Easter, so confirm your date before you travel. Booking your date in advance means your entry is arranged whichever season you travel in, without guesswork on the day you finally arrive at the gate.
Visitor info
Gripsholm is open daily from 1 May to 30 September, roughly 10:00 to 16:00. From October it opens on weekends only, roughly 12:00 to 15:00, until it closes for the winter in November. From December to April it is closed apart from a few set days around Epiphany in early January and over Easter. Hours can shift for royal or official use, so we confirm your date when we arrange your ticket.
Gripsholms slott, 647 31 Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden — on its own islet in Lake Mälaren, about 60 km south-west of Stockholm.
Around 1.5 to 2 hours for the state rooms, Duke Karl's chamber, the Portrait Gallery and Gustav III's theatre without hurrying. Portrait enthusiasts and photographers happily give it longer.
Entry is by date, not a fixed time slot. Your ticket is valid for the day you choose, within opening hours, so you arrive when it suits you that day. We book your date and email the ticket.
An English-language guided tour runs daily at 15:00 in the summer season, for a small supplement paid on site — not part of our ticket, but worth asking us about when you book.
The classic route from Stockholm is the historic steamboat to Mariefred (seasonal, several hours each way and a trip in itself), or the train to Läggesta followed by a bus or Sweden's oldest museum steam railway into Mariefred, then a short walk to the castle gate.
Read before you go
Gripsholm keeps an unusually strict seasonal calendar. Here's how to read it, and how to pick the month, the day and the hour that suit your trip.
In this guide
Two very different journeys — a century-old coal-fired steamboat, or the year-round train, bus and heritage-railway route — both landing you at the same red-brick gate.
In this guide
A room-by-room guide to the state rooms, Duke Karl's untouched chamber, the National Portrait Gallery and Gustav III's 18th-century theatre.
In this guide
From a medieval magnate's stronghold to a Carthusian monastery to Gustav Vasa's fortress — and the royal prison story that still defines the castle today.
In this guide
Two very different royal Mälaren islands — a Renaissance fortress with a prison and portrait gallery, and a Baroque UNESCO palace with formal gardens. Here's how they compare.
In this guide
Asked most often
Entry to Gripsholm Castle's state rooms and four round towers, Duke Karl's preserved 16th-century chamber, the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, and Gustav III's 18th-century theatre. We book it for your chosen date and email you the e-ticket.
A concierge. We book your ticket in your name, so you never deal with the booking site.
Before you go you get a visit briefing, and your ticket again the day before. If anything needs changing, a date, a name, a problem at the gate, a real person takes it up with the attraction for you, 24/7, in your language.
No. Your ticket is valid for the whole day you choose, within opening hours, so you arrive when you like on that date. Mid-morning after opening is usually calmest.
Daily from 1 May to 30 September, roughly 10:00 to 16:00. From October it opens on weekends only, roughly 12:00 to 15:00, until it closes for the winter in November; from December to April it opens only around Epiphany in early January and over Easter.
Around 1.5 to 2 hours to see the state rooms, Duke Karl's chamber, the Portrait Gallery and the theatre at a comfortable pace. Give yourself longer if you love portraiture or history.
Any visitor with a valid student ID card, of any age or nationality. Carry the card and show it at the entrance.
Children under 7 are admitted free with an accompanying adult, so there's no ticket to buy for them — just bring proof of age. Ages 7 to 17 need the child ticket.
No — Gripsholm's own ticketing has no family or senior tier, so we don't sell one either. Adults, students and children 7–17 are the three tiers, plus free entry under 7.
Yes — an English-language guided tour runs daily at 15:00 in the summer season for a small supplement paid on site. Ask us when you book and we'll flag the details.
After you book, our team arranges your dated entry and emails you the e-ticket, usually well before your visit. Show it on your phone or a printout at the entrance on your chosen day.
The scenic route is the historic steamboat to Mariefred, seasonal and several hours each way. Year-round, take the train to Läggesta, then a bus or the heritage steam railway into Mariefred, and walk the short distance to the castle.
Founded in 1822, it's the oldest national portrait collection in the world, with more than 800 works on display at Gripsholm tracing Swedish faces from the 1500s to today.
You view it through a glass screen rather than walking inside — it's the castle's only fully preserved 16th-century room, with its original 1570s furniture, and the fittings are too fragile for foot traffic.
No performances have been staged there since 1785, and it survives intact as one of Europe's best-preserved 18th-century theatres. You view the auditorium and stage as they were left.
No formal dress code. Photography without flash is generally allowed in the state rooms; flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not, and Duke Karl's chamber is viewed and photographed through glass.
Parts of the castle involve stairs typical of a 16th-century fortress. If you have specific access needs, tell us when you book and we'll share the current guidance and help you plan.
If we are ever unable to arrange your chosen date, we contact you to find an alternative or refund you in full. All sales are otherwise final, in line with the castle's own conditions.
For most travellers, yes — it combines a genuine Renaissance fortress, the world's oldest national portrait gallery, and a 16th-century royal prison story, all reachable from Stockholm by a memorable steamboat crossing.
On its own islet in Lake Mälaren at Mariefred, Södermanland, about 60 km south-west of Stockholm.
King Gustav Vasa began building it in 1537 on the site of an earlier fortress and monastery, with architect Henrik von Cöllen designing its four round towers.
King Erik XIV suspected Duke John of allying with Catholic Poland after John married the Polish princess Catherine Jagiellon; he held the couple at Gripsholm from 1563 to 1567.
Erik XIV himself. Deposed in 1568, he was held prisoner at Gripsholm from 1571 to 1573 — in the same castle he had used as his brother's cell.
Gripsholm's only fully preserved 16th-century room, fitted out for Duke Karl (later King Karl IX) in the 1570s, with original furniture and 1573 ceiling frescoes, viewed through a glass screen.
Founded in 1822, it's the oldest national portrait collection in the world, with more than 800 works on display at Gripsholm tracing five centuries of Swedish faces.
An intimate 18th-century theatre built into one of the round towers between 1772 and 1781, unused since its last performance in 1785 and preserved essentially intact.
No. Your ticket is valid for the whole day you choose, within opening hours, so you arrive when you like on that date.
Daily, roughly 10:00 to 16:00, from 1 May to 30 September. From October, weekends only, roughly 12:00 to 15:00, until the winter closure in November; from December to April, only a few set days around Epiphany and Easter.
Yes — an English-language tour runs daily at 15:00 in the summer season, for a small supplement paid on site, not included in our ticket.
Children under 7 enter free with an accompanying adult. Ages 7 to 17 need the child ticket; there is no separate infant ticket to buy.
No — the castle's own tiers are adult, student and child (7–17) only, so those are the tickets we sell.
Photography without flash is generally allowed in the state rooms; flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not.
Duke Karl's chamber is seen and photographed through glass.
Sources: Wikipedia · kungligaslotten.se · kungligaslotten.se · kungligaslotten.se · kungligaslotten.se Facts checked: