Throughout the ages Kalmar Castle has been a focal point of dramatic historical events in northern Europe. With its location near the south coast the castle has been embroiled in a number of military skirmishes but is also noted for being the site of peaceful cooperation, significant both politically and economically to the nation. As a collection point for tax paid in kind the castle has also served as a larder visited by both king and royal court.
The Defence Tower
Kalmar Sound was in earlier times a thoroughfare for seafarers frequented in the transportation of people as well as livestock and trade goods. Along the southern coast of Småland where the sound is most narrow there were many natural harbours. These harbours can be described as rock formations surrounded by water; the term that is believed to refer to them, and from which the name of the sound is derived is “kalm”. Next to the harbour a significant centre of commerce developed as early as the 12th century.
According to the Islandic poet Snorre Sturlason, King Sigurd Jorsalafarare moored his fleet in Kalmar in the year 1123 and travelled inland to convert the population of Småland to Christianity, a crusade which became known as “Kalmare ledung.” The Christian faith had not yet been widely accepted in what was to become the Kingdom of Sweden. During the 12th century all of Sweden became Christianized and a monarchy with more distinct contours emerged. In various places throughout the Kingdom fortifications were constructed from which the central power administered the collection of taxes, a bailiff being the representative for the monarchy. Cities were built and developed into centres of commerce and this provided the King with tax revenue.
The latter part of the 12th century was a tumultuous period in the north. The eastern seaboard was often subjected to enemy artillery from, among others, the expansive Danes as well as fleets of pirates from pagan areas in the east and southeast. Estlanders, Karelians, and others carried out raids and looted all along the Swedish coast. In defence against these raids various types of fortifications were built in strategic places. Another quite usual type of defence fortification was an individual stone tower, usually with either round or square levels. These watchtowers and coastal bulwarks were generally surrounded by other constructions such as wooden palisades and moats. They were most advantageously placed at the mouth of important waterways. Many of the existing defence towers are well known and have been more or less restored, such as the square tower which grew into becoming “Nyköpingshus” at the mouth of the Nyköping river. Yet another tower was erected at Stegeborg blocking the entranceway to Söderköping. During the 13th century the foundation was laid for a defence tower for the protection of Mälaren. The tower later served as the ‘core’ of Stockholm Castle which was constructed on a promontory in the southernmost part of the harbour area. A similar defence tower was built in the countryside on the island of Öland where the ruins of Borgholm Castle stand today. The system of defence also included a number of fortified churches on both sides of Kalmar Sound. On the mainland notable churches of this type are those in Hossmo, Hagby, Voxtorp south of Kalmar and Kläckeberga Church in the north.
The Medieval Castle
The city of Kalmar evolved in the 13th century on the mainland west of the castle. Over the course of the century the importance of the city increased and it soon included convent, mint, and ring-wall.
In Kalmar Castle there resided at this time a judge named Magnus Bengtsson of the Folkunga lineage. In a letter to the bailiff and councillor of Lubeck he names himself “prefectus Kalmarnensis”. The letter is sealed with the oldest official seal in the north and with the words “Sigillum inhabitantium Kalmarniam” (the seal of the inhabitants of Kalmar). The seal depicts a crenulated tower that rises out of the water; it may in fact be the earlier reputed defence tower. Kalmar was at this time period and throughout medieval times one of the foremost commercial cities with lively connections to Lubeck and other Hansa cities on the Baltic Sea.
Due to its geographic location Kalmar was often chosen as the meeting place for political negotiations. In the summer of 1266 one such meeting took place. A papal legate, Cardinal Guido, was received by Birger Jarl and his sons as well as a great number of church and secular leaders. The negotiations were principally about Swedish conditions as concerns church and state. A hundred years later, in the midst of raging war with Denmark, Magnus Ladulås celebrated his wedding to Helvig av Holstein on the 10th of November 1276 in Kalmar.
During the reign of Magnus Ladulås (1275-1290) work was begun on the modern day castle surrounding the old defence tower. The new castle was to replace the rather primitive castle dating from the 12th century. Both the defence tower and the stone building from the 12th century were left within the castle walls. The ring-wall of the castle enclosed an irregular square courtyard with round towers in each corner. At the western section of the ring-wall the square “Kuretornet” was built and became the strongest section of the castle comprising living quarters, concealed apartment, annex and main entrance to the castle. Along the northern ring-wall two housing sections were erected, “Salsbyggnaden and “Frustugan”. In front of the castle facing the town there was an outer wall called “Svenemuren”.
The new castle was built wholly of limestone which had been transported across the sound from Öland. The stone in the facades was either dressed or chiselled using a mattock. The details, among other things the door, window frames and tracery were carefully chiselled. The castle and the town were from the standpoint of defence to be considered as a unified front so that the town with its ring-wall and towers was an outer fortification of the castle. An enemy had in this way first to conquer the town before the castle itself could be overtaken since the only way to access the castle was from the town. The exception to this would have been if there had been ice around the castle in winter.
The earlier medieval castle was, when completed, Sweden’s strongest fortification. At the same time it was not only the strongest defence post in all of Sweden but also the strongest in the entire northern region. It is evident with regard to the extent of the work carried out, the sophistication of building techniques which characterize the castle, and the attention to detail that it was both planned and constructed in a period of great national economic wealth. The reign of Magnus Ladulås was a period of such wealth which gives one reason to believe that construction was begun at the end of the 13th century, in the 1280s to be more exact. With regard to the amount of stone that had to be transported from Öland quite some time must have passed before completion. Work must therefore have continued well into the reign of Tyrgyl Knutsson and his regency government and reached completion around the year 1300. During the skirmishes between King Birger and his brothers, the Counts Erik and Valdemar at the beginning of the 14th century the castle was of great strategic importance. Count Erik succeeded in taking over the castle through compromise and when terms were agreed upon between the King and the Counts on the 3rd of March 1308 the castle was already in Count Erik’s control.
The Union Period
Medieval fortifications were as a rule often rebuilt and Kalmar Castle was no exception. The ring-wall and towers were however left intact for centuries. New houses were built inside the ring-wall and during the 14th century the castle courtyard was extended along the southern ring-wall to include an outer section which came to be known as “Bagaregården”.
Kalmar Castle was during medieval times frequently visited by royal personages. King Magnus Eriksson and his queen, Blanka av Namur stayed there often. In the year 1336 Magnus declared the castle “our mightiest house” and was obliged to pawn it in order to pay the sum of 34 000 silver marks as compensation to Count Johan and Count Gerhard av Holstein after the capitulation of Skåne in 1332 to the Swedish King.
At the end of the 1350s the name of Bo Jonsson Grip began to figure among the nation’s most powerful men. He had close ties to King Magnus Eriksson and in 1359 became lord of Kalmar Castle as well as the nation’s most powerful war lord in his capacity as Lord High Constable. Bo Jonsson Grip became one of the most significant landowners of all times. His wealth was however built upon rather dubious tactics and inheritance.
The most important event at the castle in medieval times had a woman at the helm. On the 17th of June 1397 the Danish born Queen Margareta, daughter of Valdemar Atterdag and widow of King Håkon saw the crowning of her nephew Erik av Pommern as King of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. At the meeting in Kalmar a coronation letter was issued in which King Erik was praised. A much discussed Union document was also issued in which the conditions for the Union were established. The Kalmar Union was a union of all three countries under the same regent and with unified foreign policy. If a subject was accused and declared an outlaw he would have the same status in any one of the three countries. In other matters the laws of each country applied separately. Despite the fact that Erik av Pommern was crowned King, the Union was nevertheless ruled by his foster mother, Queen Margareta, until her death in 1412. During the 1400s Kalmar Castle was to be the venue for many important meetings of the Union.
Extraordinary taxation and decommissioning of soldiers were just two causes of general discontent within the Kalmar Union which nevertheless increased its power during the 15th century. The latter part of the century is characterized by political anarchy and a number of Union skirmishes between Sweden and Denmark. Kalmar Castle fell alternately into the hands of both Swedes and Danes until the end of the Union when Sweden gained sovereignty under the rule of Gustav Eriksson Vasa.
The Vasa period
When Gustav Eriksson Vasa became King in 1523 and took over Kalmar Castle it had been ravaged by war and as a fortress it was outdated. In renovating the castle technical expertise had to be enlisted beyond Sweden’s borders to ensure defence against improved types of artillery. Due to lack of funds and materials as well as a lack of qualified labourers only a limited amount of work could be carried out in the first few years. It was not until the 1540s that a reconstruction period could begin and work continued on and off during most of the latter part of the 16th century. Kalmar Castle was in this process transformed from a medieval castle to a Renaissance castle.
In the year 1542 a peasant revolt, the so called “Dacke revolt” broke out and initially Nils Dacke and his cohorts were quite successful. During the year 1543 Kalmar was under siege and blocked both by land and by sea, but Gustav managed during the period to triumph over his opponents and regain power. The “Dackefejd” served as a lesson to Gustav Vasa who thereafter increased efforts to protect both town and castle from attack.
The castle was given a new fortified moat in front of the western façade with a canon tower, a so called “postej” at each end. These fortifications were in main completed by 1553. During the reign of Erik XIV and Johan III further expansion of security was implemented with moats north and south of the castle. The work was completed finally in the first decade of the 17th century with yet another moat and two corner posts on the eastern side.
Kalmar Castle is from several points of view a monument which is symbolic of the late 16th century Renaissance in Sweden. In the year 1553 Gustav Vasa Richter from Freiberg was engaged as building master at Kalmar Castle. Richter was active at the castle until his death in 1571. Richter was a key figure in the transformation of the castle into a Renaissance castle of continental ranking. He was as artistic leader open to Italian influences as exemplified by the roman portals, the originals of which are to be found in Sebastian Serlios book “Regole Generali di Architettura”, first published in 1537.
After the death of Richter Johan III employed the Italian architect Johan Baptista Phar who had previously been building master at the royal court of Duke Johan Albrecht av Mecklenberg-Schwerin. His two brothers Dominicus and Franciscus accompanied him to Sweden as they also were architects.
In the beginning of the 1570s Johan Baptista Phar developed, together with Johan III, a comprehensive building plan for Kalmar Castle. Johan III had a keen interest in architecture and the basic idea of the plan was to embody the symmetry and the regularity of Renaissance ideals; the King was for example discontented with the windows in the castle “which with archways constructed are” and ordered that they should be made square “in architectural manner”. The King also required the outer walls of the castle to be white as marble and the roof red. After a conflict with the governor of the castle, Arvid Svan, Johan B P left his post at in 1574. His successor was his own brother Dominicus Phar who completed the work that Johan had begun. Dominicus remained at the castle as building master until his death in 1602.
The Period of Power
A period of war began again at the end of the 16th century. During the Kalmar War 1611-13 the castle was repeatedly subjected to ambush and fell into the hands of the Danish through capitulation in August of 1611. The city was burned to the ground. Both the city and the castle were however restored during the reign of Gustav II Adolf, but planning had begun to relocate the city further from the castle. When a fire began anew in 1647, this time through carelessness relocation was the inevitable result. The new city grew in size on Kvarnholmen with a strictly geometric network of streets protected by strong fortifications. Moving the city took many years and the old embattlements remained until the end of the 1670s.
The Period of Decline
When the Swedish national border was moved to Öresund the period of glory for Kalmar Castle was over; no longer did the castle hold the key position it had once held. During the 17th and 18th centuries the castle was visited sporadically by royalty. Until 1676 when the residence on Kvarnholmen was completed the castle served as the residence of the county governor and was the seat of the county administrative board. After this a period of decline began. The strongest bulwark and the stately castle of the Vasa period became in the 18th century a crown storehouse, a crown jail and for a few years under Gustaf III a crown distillery. The distillery which did not prove lucrative was closed down in 1787 but regrettably not before it had caused damage to the castle. A period of continued decline followed in the 19th century, the “postej” were but rubble and livestock grazed on the embankments. In 1852 the new prison in the city was completed and there was no longer a need to house prisoners in the castle. At this time there was a renewed interest in the historical value of the castle and restoration began in the 1850s.
During the 20th century comprehensive restoration combined with research and has uncovered the history of construction at the castle and as far as possible the castle has been restored to its former glory. In order to survive the wages of age, Kalmar Castle, one of Sweden’s most important historical landmarks requires continuous renovation.
(source:web)
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