Strängnäs

Strängnäs stands on the southern shore of Lake Mälaren, its cathedral rising above the town and the surrounding water. As a bishop's seat, it was a centre of church authority in Södermanland. The cathedral and the bishop's brick residence dominated a town connected by the lake to the other settlements of central Sweden.

On 6 June 1523 an assembly at Strängnäs elected Gustav Eriksson Vasa king of Sweden. His supporters were fighting to break the power of the Danish union king, and Lübeck's support had brought both military help and debts. The election gave Gustav royal authority before his forces took Stockholm, marking a decisive step in Sweden's departure from the Kalmar Union. The bishop's residence beside the cathedral was later drawn into the changing affairs of crown and church.