Sundbyholm Castle has a history as a monastery and royal estate. Today you can come here for hotel accommodation, conferences and weddings, but you can also come here to visit Sundbyholm's guest harbour. There is a nice parking space for motorhomes.
Table of contents
On the road: Fiholm Castle - the castle without the main building
On the way to Sundbyholm Castle we drove past Fiholm Castle, and of course we wanted to check it out. After all, we are on a "castle trip" with the motorhome! To get to the castle we had to drive through a very long avenue. Based on the GPS, we estimate that the avenue was about 1.5 kilometres long.
Axel Oxenstierna inherited Fiholm in 1617 and planned to build a castle. He hired the then 25-year-old architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, and in 1642 two grand wings in the French-Dutch Renaissance style were completed.
For the main building he commissioned the French architect Simon de la Vallée, but this building was never built. Today there are "only" two wings, but they are extremely beautiful. The owner of the castle lives in one of the wings. There is usually a café and gift shop for visitors, and tours can be organised, but the castle is currently closed.
Sundbyholm Castle - from monastic property to conference
We then arrived at Sundbyholm Castle - an old monastic estate and former royal palace that now serves as a hotel and conference centre.
Sundbyholm Castle is located on a cape in Lake Mälaren, about 12 kilometres northeast of Eskilstuna. The castle is located in Eskilstuna municipality, in Södermanland county.
Originally, the monastery property was owned by the Eskilstuna Johanniterkloster, but when it was transferred to the Crown in 1527 during the Reformation, it became a royal estate. On Christmas Eve 1774, the estate was damaged in a fire, and after that it was used for a long time as an outbuilding.
In the 19th century, the castle changed owners and the surroundings were renovated. In the 1890s, Prince Eugen painted his famous painting "The Old Castle" here during one of his summers at Sundbyholm Castle. The castle was restored when Eskilstuna municipality took over, and today it is run by private owners as a hotel and conference centre.
Sundbyholm Castle Park
A long castle park stretches between Sundbyholm Castle and Lake Mälaren. There is a statue here that Peter took a closer look at. In the nature reserve, which starts along the lake at the castle, you will find the Sigurd carving from the 11th century, one of Sweden's most famous ancient remains, located by the river Ramundsån. There is also the Ridö-Sundbyholm archipelago with 160 islands in Lake Mälaren.
Sundbyholm guest harbour
Next to the castle is the Sundbyholm guest harbour. Coming here was a pleasant surprise! We were, as they say, "lucky with the weather" and the sky was blue and the water was shiny. A very nice environment!
In the harbour there is a red wooden house (which also serves as a service house) with a lot of "news" from the past. A fun way to learn about local historical events!
Café and ice cream parlour
Sundbyholm guest harbour has a café with a simple menu of salads, pies, waffles and pizza on sourdough bread. This is also the place to go to rent a boat mooring, campervan site or sauna.
RV park at Sundbyholm guest harbour
So there is a parking space for motorhomes at Sundbyholm guest harbour. We paid 250 SEK for one day (April 2021) and that included electricity and service house with toilets and showers. The nice view was also included!
We were joined by a few other motorhome owners overnight, including a nice couple who were spending their first night in their first own motorhome. Great to meet and chat - we wish you the best of luck if you're reading! The next morning we started with a luxurious prawn sandwich. Then we were ready for a new day, with lots of new castles.
On the road ahead: Rinkesta Castle - a castle with an unclear future
As we continued our journey the next day (to a fantastic castle!) we passed Rinkesta Castle on the way. This castle has a long history and has been owned by families with names like Oxenstierna, Sparre and Wachtmeister. The castle has new owners but it is, as far as we understand, not yet clear what business will be conducted here. But, when we stopped, excavators were working!
See more around Sundbyholm Castle
In the neighbourhood of Sundbyholm Castle, you can visit Eskilstuna, but also Strängnäs with all our tips and Mariestad where you will find Gripsholm Castle. In Strängnäs municipality there are also several interesting castles. In addition, we can recommend a visit to the beautiful and colourful fabulous Stora Sundby Castle.
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Have you been to Sundbyholms Slott?
Have you been to Sundbyholm Castle or perhaps visited the car park in the guest harbour? What did you think? Do you have any other tips in the neighbourhood?
Facts about Sundbyholm Castle
- Country: Sweden:
- Landscape: Södermanland
- Municipality: Eskilstuna municipality
- Owners: Sundbyholm Castle AB
- Location: On a headland by Lake Mälaren
- Read more: More info at the castle's website and on Website of the guest harbour
Services and activities at Sundbyholm Castle
- Hotel: The hotel has a total of 109 rooms. The accommodation is not in the castle building itself.
- Restaurant: Castle restaurant with food from the castle kitchen and pastries from the castle patisserie.
- Package: Many different packages are available, such as weekend packages, romantic luxury weekends, seafood weekends and murder weekends.
- Activities: Sundbyholm Castle offers both group activities (e.g. masquerade ball, theatre murder and wine tasting) and individual activities (e.g. canoeing, spa and sauna).
- Conference: Everything from extended business lunches to mansion conferences.
- Weddings and parties: Company party, wedding party and more.
- Guest harbour: In the guest harbour (which is run by another organisation) you can rent a sauna and moor a boat or book a parking space for a motorhome.
History at Sundbyholm Castle
- Middle Ages: The Sundbyholm monastery property was owned by Eskilstuna Johanniterkloster.
- 1527: After the Reformation, the property went to the Crown and was transformed into a royal estate.
- 1627: Imperial Admiral Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm received the property by donation. Among other things, he established a school, which is considered to be Sweden's first elementary school. This school operated until 1987.
- 1639-1648: Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm built a new main building.
- 1670s: The property became the property of Seved Bååt, who added three floors to the castle.
- 18th century: The estate was run by several different tenants.
- 1774: The castle was damaged in a fire on Christmas Eve, and was subsequently converted into an outbuilding.
- 1819: Baron Salomon Löfvensköld took over the lease and built a corps de logi (the yellow manor house next to the castle).
- 19th century: Captain Gustav August Coyet improved the property with orchards, parks and plantations.
- 1890s: Prince Eugene painted the famous painting 'The old castle'.
- 1939: Sundbyholm Castle became the property of the city of Eskilstuna.
- 1952: The castle began to be restored.
- 1987: Since 1987, the castle has been owned and operated by Sundbyholms Slott AB (formerly Sundbyholms Slott & Konferenshotell).
Andelène Sjöström says:
A tip if you are in Eskilstuna is to visit Stora Sundby Castle. It is so beautiful & the castle is built like a calendar. 52 rooms, 12 small towers, 4 large towers & 365 windows.
Worth seeing indeed.
04 April 2021 - 8:09
Helena says:
Thanks for the tip! Yes, we have just visited this fantastic castle! Absolutely fabulously beautiful! Our report about it will come tomorrow here on the blog!
04 April 2021 - 16:52
Role o Carina says:
Nice pictures and so well reported by you on the castle trips you do!
I have been to Sundbyholm in the 90s but not the castle.
Now we have a reason to visit the site and the castle with the
our motorhome in the future when the opportunity arises, will be fun 🙂 .
Happy Easter to you....
04 April 2021 - 9:46
Helena says:
Thanks for the nice words! 🙂 Wish you also a continued nice Easter!!!
04 April 2021 - 16:53
Husis blog says:
Now the owners and I have seen a lot of interesting castles on your trip. Also like many of the places you have been, especially the boat harbour. A clever way to utilise space and make some money.
All good
04 April 2021 - 11:56
Helena says:
Always nice to stand at boat harbours, we think! Wishing you a nice Easter!
04 April 2021 - 16:54
bmlarstravellingblog says:
I have been to Sundbyholm's beautiful castle for training days many years ago. I mostly remember the beautiful surroundings. Prince Eugen's painting at the castle is probably one of his most famous works.
Now I wonder if Sundbyholm is not best known as a dating site for TV farmers?
04 April 2021 - 13:36
Helena says:
Glad you were here! Really nice! But TV farmers!? Well, that's very possible? Interesting! We don't know much about that kind of thing 😉.
04 April 2021 - 16:55
BP says:
Liked Fiholm Castle which is not a real castle. The buildings are lovely. Sundbyholm actually rang a bell with me. Had heard the name before. Oh yes, Sundbyholm's racecourse is one of Sweden's largest racecourses.
04 April 2021 - 18:38
Lena+in+Wales+and+Spain says:
You may have already realised that I am a castle nerd. I have worked as a guide at a castle outside Gothenburg for many years. So this post is of course interesting to me.
There are so many castles in Sweden that I haven't even heard of, even though I've done some research on the subject. I recognise some names, but have forgotten most of the places.
Good new information and some repetition, thanks!
07 April 2021 - 10:09