13/06/2025
📍 Welcome to Malmöhus, the old brick building you see in the foreground of this photo. Beautifully located near the centre of Malmö, it's the oldest preserved Renaissance castle in the Nordic countries.
Since 1937, Malmöhus has been part of Malmö Museum – open to visitors! It's a listed building, with architectural traces of Dutch–Italian Renaissance, late medieval Gothic and some classicism.
There's a lot of history in these walls. Here are some glimpses:
🏰 The first origins of the castle can be found in 1434, when Eric of Pomerania – King of the Nordic countries – had a citadel built here. Traces of that building can still be found in the walls.
🏰 In the 1500s, after the citadel had been ravaged by fire and then partially torn down, Christian III – King of Denmark – ordered the people of Malmö to build him a new castle. (This part of Sweden belonged to Denmark at the time.) The castle was finished in 1542 and Danish kings then stayed here when they visited.
🏰 In 1658, Malmö became Swedish and the castle became a national fortress, used primarily as defence against the Danish on the other side of the water.
🏰 Between 1828 and 1909, the building was used as a prison.
🏰 In the 1930s, extensive renovation works were undertaken before it opened to the public as a museum.
Psst! Can you spot the slightly more modern Turning Torso building in the background?
Scrollable photo: Jann Lipka