Västerås

Västerås stands on the northern shore of Lake Mälaren, where the Svartån enters the lake. A bishop's seat and trading town, it connected the metal-producing districts of Bergslagen with the waterway to Stockholm. Its cathedral and castle marked the town's religious and royal importance, while merchants brought the products of the interior to its harbour.

In 1527 Gustav Vasa summoned an assembly to Västerås that became a turning point in the Swedish Reformation. Meeting at the Dominican friary, representatives agreed to measures that transferred much of the Church's political and economic power to the crown. Bishops lost their former authority, and the king gained control over extensive church property. The meeting strengthened the monarchy at the expense of an institution that had held considerable land and influence throughout Sweden. Gustav often stayed at the castle during his visits to the town.

Another assembly met at Västerås in 1544 and accepted Gustav's proposal for a hereditary monarchy, making his heirs successors to the Swedish throne instead of leaving each succession to an election. His young son Erik, later Erik XIV, was named heir at the gathering. The meeting was held outdoors in a meadow west of the castle, with festivities afterwards inside its walls. These decisions tied a lakeside town to changes in both the faith and government of the kingdom.