Stegeborg Castle

The ruins of the castle Stegeborg situated in the swedish community Söderköping on an island in the designated as Slätbaken narrow sound of the Baltic Sea. In the south of the Vikbolandet and southeast of Norrkoping located Sund, once imprisoned a line into the water whipped piles from the passage for ships. The piles were using the radiocarbon dating in the time between the 689-1012 AD. dated, whereas the castle appears as Stækaborg the first time in 1310.

Among the still existing remains of the oldest originate from a square brick tower of the 13th century, which was located in the southeast corner. In the 14th century a simple residential castle, which has been extended with a curtain wall and a round tower in the West arose. In the following centuries the castle was further expanded. The largest building activity took place in the reign of King John III was born here. instead, as the still existing round tower received its final shape. The kings of the dynasty of Vasa lived like in the castle, which was completed by a castle church.

Between 1652 and 1689, the Count Johan Casimir and Adolf Johan leased from the House of Palatinate -Zweibrücken the castle, which was also used as the administrative seat for the archipelago of Östergötland. The subsequent decline meant that the castle is 1731 abtrug up on a few walls on the ground floor and used the stones as building material in the near Norrköping. On a nearby royal manor was built in 1806 a new castle in the classical style.