Gripenberg Castle
Coordinates: 57°59′55″N 14°53′42″E / 57.99861°N 14.89500°E
Gripenberg Castle (Swedish: Gripenbergs slott) is a wooden manor house near Tranås in Småland, Sweden. It is considered to be the biggest wooden castle in Sweden and one of the oldest that remain today as well.
Gripenberg Castle was built in 1663 as a hunting seat for the field marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel. Its architect is unknown, but there is some reason to believe that it might have been Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. It is presumed that the castle's name is derived from the name of Wrangel's mother, Margareta Grip, and that Wrangel might have chosen it to commemorate her. By the end of the 17th century the castle was bought by Samuel von Söderling and today remains in the possession of his family.
References
- Lars Olof Larsson, Adrian von Buttlar, Ulrich Kuder, Hans-Dieter Nägelke: Wege nach Süden, Wege nach Norden: Aufsätze zu Kunst und Architektur. Ludwig Verlag 1998, ISBN 978-3-9805480-9-0, p. 54 (German) (online copy, p. 54, at Google Books)
- Gripenberg castle on the website of Tranås