Malmö Castle is more than just a royal Middle Ages citadel. It’s the oldest preserved Nordic castle in all of Scandinavia. It was a fortification begun in 1434 in southern Sweden. After the early fort was built as a stronghold for the taxes imposed by Danish King Erik, it was destroyed in the early 16th century during the civil war.
Danish King Christian III had the bastion rebuilt, this time with architectural features of the Italian Renaissance. The breadth of the castle meant that it was used for multiple purposes- both as a mansion and a fortress. It had guest wings and prisoner wings. It held the minting equipment, and the country’s coins were made there.
Crown Prince Frederick threw lavish parties and at night. To tell these stories, there is a light show in the upper windows of the castle. If you stand outside along the sidewalk, you can view the light show projecting shadows of parties, dances, and scandals being reflected in the windows.
In the mid 17th century, as Sweden regained control of the area from Denmark, the castle became a defensive outpost. By the mid 19th century, the castle was used completely as a prison. Justice and punishment took place there, and beheadings happened on the front lawn. The prison closed in 1909 and over the next three decades was used as a homeless shelter. Shortly before WWII the castle transitioned again, this time becoming a museum. The complex today only consists of the castle itself. Inside, there are wings for the Malmö Art Museum and the Malmö Natural History Museum.
The castle is a 20 minute walk from the central train station. As you walk across the bridge to the castle, be sure to look for the snow white swans. They are enormous. They also have a reputation. The male swan tries to scare away intruders, including his own reflection in a mirror nearby. Do not bother him!
In the front window of the castle entrance, there is a white school bus painted with a red cross and the Swedish flag. This was one of many buses used during WWII to transport prisoners out of Nazi concentration camps. The exiled governments of Denmark and Norway and the Swedish government worked secretly with the Red Cross and Heinrich Himmler to negotiate for the freedom of prisoners. They had to paint the buses white so they would not be targeted by air. Initially, Himmler refused, but he gradually allowed Scandinavian sick and elderly prisoners to assemble so that the buses could take them to freedom. Gradually, more and more prisoners were released, and the bus drivers made special efforts to take as many Jews as possible with them on the freedom runs. The rescue operations were dangerous and only happened at night. The bus drivers reported extreme anxiety at having to make the difficult choice of who to rescue and who to leave behind, as the buses were overcrowded and officially used as transportation for the sick from camp to camp, occasionally finding exit points to freedom, but nothing was assured.
My favorite part of the complex was the art museum. It showcases a collection of art, crafts, and design from the Renaissance through today’s contemporary art. They hold one of Sweden’s largest art collections with many Nordic and European pieces. Signage throughout explains how the societal era affected the artwork of the time, and vice versa. There was even a periodic display of art conservation with a showcase of materials used to make paint or preserve pieces.
Inside the castle, we paid about $9 for two people at the Senior price. They consider “Senior” as any person who is retired in their own country. On the ground level, there is a large gift shop, restrooms, and a restaurant. Upstairs, the tour of the museums is to the left, while the tour of the castle is to the right. Either way, you’ll need to backtrack to visit the other side. There are multiple museums- the art museum, the children’s museum, and the natural history museum. The castle itself is a museum with artifacts and furniture from all its eras. It has replications of the prisoner cells as well. Overall, the entire visit will take 2-3 hours.
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Bethany Miller is a writer, art advisor, and global traveler. She works on projects relating to storytelling and demystifying the art world. She writes a newsletter called Art Advisor and runs an arts education platform called Boundaryless Art. Bethany has a PhD with focus on business psychology and a Masters of Art and Culture Management. Born in the United States, she currently travels internationally full time with her husband.