As I mentioned in my previous post, this summer I got the chance to show some of my dresses at Ekenäs Castle where a friend of mine work.
Next up I was planing to tell you all a little about the castle itself when it it me – whom better to do that then the warden, Maria herself.
So here’s now my first guest post, By Maria Reuterhagen, the warden of Ekenäs castle.
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The present Ekenäs castle was built in the 1630s.
There used to be a village where the castle is situated today, but the village was moved to make way for a castle, probably in the late 1300s or early 1400s. The first castle was probably built in the early 1400s and it existed until the late 1500s. No paintings or descriptions exist of the old castle so the shape and size of the old castle is unknown, but some vaults remain in the basement floor and the cellars.
The present castle has served as the home of several noble families in Sweden including Nattochdag, Sture, Banér and Klingspor families. The present owner of the castle and the estate is Wilhelm Bergengren, who made sure the very worn down castle he had inherited from his grandfather was renovated and can receive visitors once more.
The matron of the castle is Hönsagumman, translated “the chicken lady”.
She was an employee at the castle who saved the castle from being burnt down by Russians in 1719. She still looks after the castle and is one of our most beloved ghosts.
The dining room has been renovated in 1870/1880s style. The Swedish kings from Gustav Vasa to Carl Johan XIV can be seen on the walls.
One of the owners of Ekenäs castle, Gustav Banér, got decapitated in “the Linköping bloodbath” in the year 1600. In a civil war in Sweden in the late 1500s, Gustav Banér supported the king on the losing side, Sigismund. The new king, Karl IX, made sure he and tree other noblemen (plus a bailiff) were convicted and killed for treason. His son, Peder Banér, was the builder of the present castle.
The royal family’s of 16th/17th Sweden
The only original pieces of furniture still existing in the castle can be found in the countess Klingspor’s parlor – also called the blue parlour.
The still bright colour in the wall paper is the result of presence of arsenic. The countess Klingspor comes back once every year on May 2nd to have a traditional Swedish fika – coffee and cookies. On that date, the bailiff has to make sure that the countess has real coffee and real cookies in her parlor. Otherwise she will be very angry and things will disappear from the parlour – which has happened if her fika has been forgotten or overlooked…
The yellow drawing room, renovated into Swedish equivalent to regency period-style.
With two paintings showing the castle with a lake next to it. The lake has existed but was removed around 1900 – according to one story as the result of a curse…
Library with walls renovated in rokoko style, floors are from the 1880s.
Guest rooms on the upper floor. Of course with arsenic in the wall paper.
(Not the room pictured)
The room of the white lady. The person who tries to sleep here never sleeps well. The white lady shows herself when somebody living at the castle is about to die.
Bed from the late 1600s.
If you pull out the sprints, it can be turned into a flat package and can be pulled up easily at another place or another castle. 1600s IKEA!
The basement where Nisse, the stable boy, was beaten and hidden behind a brick wall because he knew too much. He is supposed to be behind there still…
The kitchen was at first situated outside the castle since so many fires started in kitchens. This kitchen is from the later half of the 1800s. The iron stove made it possible to move the kitchen into the castle. There was a sink so you could get rid of used water, but the fresh water had to be carried inside. The castle still has very little electricity, no plumbing, no running water and no heating. It is possible to visit the castle from late April to mid-November.
In action
The Castle is open for public guided tours during the summer season, the rest of the year, check website and/or contact the baili.
www.ekenasslott.se
