Kastelholm

Kastelholm is a castle on Åland, the island group between Sweden and Finland. Originally surrounded by water, it guarded a strategic part of the routes across the Baltic and became the seat of the governor of the surrounding district. Its stone buildings were enlarged over generations, with walls and a bailey protecting the castle and its harbour.

First mentioned in 1388, Kastelholm endured repeated struggles for control of the islands. In 1507 the Danish commander Søren Norby attacked the castle. Gustav Vasa later used it as a royal hunting residence, and in 1571 the deposed Erik XIV and Karin Månsdotter were held there. A fire damaged it in 1619; after its administrative district was abolished in 1634, the castle gradually lost its importance. Another fire in 1745 left much of the old fortress ruined.