White castle
On the rock.
L.G.foto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nicklas Sjölund Larsson — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jonas Bohlin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kateryna Baiduzha — CC BY 4.0 · ThomasLendt — CC BY-SA 4.0
Läckö Castle is a large white palace with towers capped by red domes, standing on a rock at the tip of an island in Lake Vänern, Sweden's largest lake, surrounded by neat gardens and wide blue water. The Bishop of Skara laid the foundations of a fort here in 1298, two or three houses enclosed by a wall, and a later bishop enlarged it after a fire in the 1470s. After the Reformation in 1527, King Gustav Vasa took it over. In the 17th century Field Marshal Jacob De la Gardie and then his son Count Magnus enlarged it, adding floors and bringing in artists to paint its walls and ceilings. You tour the painted rooms in summer and walk the kitchen garden and the gardens above the lake; visitors arrive by car or, in summer, by boat. It is about 19 km in a straight line north of Lidköping. The interiors are usually open from May to September.
On the rock.
Inside.
By the lake.
Kållandsö island, Lake Vänern, north of Lidköping
Usually May to September.
One and a half to three hours.