Tidö Castle
Encyclopedia
The former castle
The first building on the site was a medieval house built by the Gren family in the 15th century. In 1537, the Gren family sold the castle to the Queen consort, Margaret LeijonhufvudMargaret Leijonhufvud
-Children:#John III , Duke of Finland, King of Sweden 1567-1592#Catherine , wife of Edzard II, Count of East Frisia#Cecilia , wife of Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern...
. In 1540, her husband, king Gustav Vasa, traded the castle to Ekolsund Castle
Ekolsund Castle
Ekolsund Castle is a castle in Sweden. It was in 1578-1611 the residence of Princess Sophia of Sweden....
and Tidö came to the Tott family.
Today, minor ruins of the former house can be found next to the present building.
The present castle
The present castle at Tidö was built by the Lord High Chancellor of SwedenLord High Chancellor of Sweden
The Lord High Chancellor was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from 1561 until 1680, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Privy Council of Sweden...
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...
in 1625–1645. The castle was built around a rectangular court yard with the main building to the north and the three linked wings to the east, west and south. The main entrance is through a vault in the south wing.
In 1889, the von Schinkel family bought Tidö and they still own it today. Today visitors may see the Toy Museum. Tidö is one of Sweden's best preserved Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
palaces, in the Dutch Renaissance style.