We visited this castle on our first full day in Sweden. It was very windy, which kind of added to the dramatic atmosphere. It is a spacious and interesting castle to explore. read more

See all

This was my absolute favorite castle of the trip. Forget the more modern castles like the royal Swedish Castle in Stockholm or Christiansborg in Copenhagen, give me a really old, oozing in preserved originality, complete with moat and a turkey haunch castle and I'm sold. On our visit here, the husband and I were so smitten we decided it would do quite nicely as a meager residence and started picking out rooms for our cats. Kalmar Castle is the best preserved oldest Nordic Renaissance Castle. The first castle tower was constructed in 1180 but was mostly a fort until the 16th century when it was turned into a summer palace by Johan III. Kalmar Castle has been the site of many important historical events including the location where the Kalmar Union was signed in 1397, was constantly fought over as a key defensive point for Sweden, and was a sanctuary for the Swedish royal family (Johan III) during the plague. This history makes Kalmar truly unique. It is a strategic defensive fortress poised over the harbor complete with a moat, canon towers, multiple layers of formidable walls and bottleneck passageways to withstand a siege, and even a female prison and male dungeon chamber. Yet when it became the ideal location to hide away from the invisible invader of the bubonic plague, it took on a new face of royal apartments, gardens and pavilions, and complete with a royal chapel. The unique qualities of this castle combined with the strength of a war fortress made our visit so worthwhile. I loved learning about the secret passageways around the castle to assist in getting royalty evacuated if the need arose. The view from the entertainment room with the large windows facing the harbor was incredible. We also loved the interactive historical videos and displays that relayed information easily without the need for a guide. After we had fully explored the castle, we also took a quick walk down to the nearby cemetery to see the old gravestones and their dates which was really incredible. If you're driving through Kalmar I wouldn't miss this incredible experience. read more

See all

If you like castles, and find yourself in Kalmar, this is a good choice to wile away a couple of hours. Our tour guide was quite good- interesting, entertaining and dressed as he might have been "back in the day". It is clear he thinks we Americans may be into more fluff than form as he told us plenty of stories about toilets, secret passages and mistresses, but left out some of the more "meatier" history which I had to read on a guidebook. Oh well it was entertaining. The castle is in amazing shape and they continue to renovate it today. And the grounds surrounding it are just lovely. And as a bonus- if you are are looking for some clean restrooms- these are some of the best I have seen! read more

Kalmar Slott - Museums Near Me - Kalmar, H

Well if you have time and you like history what's not to like about this place. It is steeped in history dating back to the 13th century. They have guided tours at allocated times, in English also. They have clearly spent a great deal of time and effort into having tHe items on display and there are a lot of items on display. In the main court yard they have activities such as jousting, for both adults and children along with knightly fighting activities with the sword. Not sure the swords I saw would do that much damage though!! The view from the top of the castle is fabulous, although I was there in a clear blue sky kinda day, not sure what you will get on a cold and miserable day. There is a fee to get in and I am not sure that it includes all the activities so enjoy what you can when you can. read more

See all