Läckö Castle

Time has been a funny thing since Dad passed, it has gone fast and slow at the same time. Mum and I feel like we are living in some kind of void. In a way we have been busy, with lots of things to decide and sort out. I guess that has given some purpose to our days, but on the other hand it feels like everything is so trivial, nothing really matters. 

Today was a beautiful day, so we decided it was time take a break from all the decision making and go for a bit of an excursion. I wanted to go visit Läckö Castle, as I actually think I had never been before, even though its so close to us.
This caste has a very long and interesting history. It was originally a fort, founded back in 1298, but its heyday was during the 17th century.

We started with coffee at the restaurant down by the water, outside, as the weather was glorious.

They are currently working on giving the castle its original colours back. In the 1960s the castle was  given a grey cement-based stucco coat, which turned out not only not to be historically correct, but was also damaging to the building! So now, the cement is getting replaced with new lime stucco.

The souvenir shop, always the place to start, to get an idea of what to focus on inside:

The original fort was ruined by an accidental fire in the 1470s and later rebuilt on a considerable larger scale by the Bishop of Skara at the time, Brynolf Gerlakson.

At the time of the Reformation, in 1527, the castle became crown property but the heyday of Läckö Castle was the 17th century.
The King's Hall, the most elaborate of the halls in the castle. It celebrates the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf, who was celebrated as a hero during the 17th century, considered by many to have made Sweden one of the great powers of Europe.
The paintings here are showing famous battles from the Thirty Years' War, in which the king fought, and Sweden won.

Here in the Peace Hall, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 is celebrated. The portraits in the room are of the delegates taking part in the negotiations.

In the Austrian Hall, the opponents in the Thirty Years War are honoured. In Baroque times, this was a symbol of respect. The ceiling features the Austrian double-headed eagle, surrounded by coats of arms for the Habsburg hereditary kingdoms.

A portrait dating from 1752 of Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, perhaps the most celebrated owner of the castle and estate. He was a great favourite with Queen Kristina, who entrusted him with a number of high positions; and he married Maria Eufrosyne, sister of Karl Gustav, later Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden. Once his brother-in-law ascended the throne he was entrusted with the office of Lord High Treasurer.

This was the private dining room for the De la Gardie family, and Gobelins from France, in The French Hall:

The Trojan Hall is also the Audience Hall. The ceiling paintings here are all depicting the destruction of Troy, as there was a great fascination during this time with ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
This summer, this room and floor was used for exhibiting sculptures by Cecilia Jansson. 

It's a well-worn approach to place one's works in dialogue with museum collections, and that worked really well here installed in this castle environment. These works take possession of both the space and mind. Past and present merge into some kind of creative mindfulness.

These sculptures and installations by Jansson created a creative clash between visual perspectives and eras. Beautiful!

Hello!

There was also an exhibition that celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Gustavsberg porcelain factory, by presenting on of the factory's most beloved and versatile designers, Stig Lindberg:

Lindberg began his career in Gustavsberg and worked there for over 40 years. He designed timeless classics and changed the way Swedes viewed design. Many, many Swedes own items with his clever designs.

This portrait of Magnus De la Gardie and his wife from 1653 is one I studied during my art course at Uni! It is filled with symbolic details, f.e the fact that he is standing lower than his wife as she is the sister of the king, her pregnancy is announced by the bean that she is holding, and much more. 
It is regarded as one of the finest baroque paintings in Sweden.

We also had a look at the castle treasure, which in the 17th century could house a wide range of objects. Magnus De la Gardie supposedly sang his own praises as the one who introduced luxury into Sweden.

The armoury:

The castle church:

The castle kitchen garden: