We didn't do much after the rugby game as I was pretty sore and Kris had a headache, so we grabbed a take-away dinner and headed back to the apartment. After the kids were in bed I had a nice hot shower (well tried to, the kids used all the hot water so I managed tepid at best) and then sat on the deck, read my book and watched the hares.
The next day we got up early, cleaned the apartment and packed the car. We had to check out by 11am so we had some time to see some of the sights before we handed the key back. Our first stop was the Borgholm castle ruins.
Borgholm was built in the second half of the 12th century and rebuilt many times over the years. It was destroyed by fire (a common occurrence for castles) in 1806.
It is believed that the castle was built to defend Sweden from enemies across the Baltic sea, somewhere in 1167-1195 under King Canute I. It was damaged during the constant battles with Denmark and repaired after the alliance in the Kalmar Union.
In 1611, during the Kalmar war between Sweden and Denmark, Borgholm was surrendered to the Danes and then recaptured the same year. It was forced to surrender again the next year after a two week siege. It returned to Swedish hands after the Treaty of Knäred.
It was repaired in 1654 and turned into a Baroque palace for Charles X Gustav and completed in 1709 under King Charles XII. It was damaged by fire in 1806 and left as a ruin.
The castle stands on the edge of a rocky precipice, 30m high.
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| Details of the castle |
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| Walls leading up to Borgholm |
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| Borgholm Castle Ruin |
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| Southern Tower |
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| The kids demonstrating the height of the outer walls |
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| Kids at the wall |
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| Archer slots |
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| Kalkungen (The Lime Kiln) |
The Lime Kiln was used to make mortar by burning the limestone. Over 40,000 barrels of lime were burned on site when the castle was converted in the 16th century.
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| Details of the Lime Kiln |
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| Borgholm from the south |
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| Path down the precipice behind Borgholm Castle |
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| Borghom from the Southwest |
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| Flowers in the gardens |
Unfortunately the castle tours didn't start until 10:00am and we needed to keep moving so we could get the key back in time, so we moved onto our next stop - Solliden Palace.
Solliden is the summer residence of the Swedish Royal Family and property of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Unfortunately it too was closed, but we did get to walk around the grounds:
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| Flags on the approach |
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| Looking out at Borgholm from Solliden |
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| A cafe on the property with a grassy roof |
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