Vik Castle

Uppland · Sweden · Castle

Vik Castle — Uppland · Sweden · Castle

A White Lady who drowned on the lake ice in 1612 drifts here — and when the castle clock strikes thirteen, a lady wakes from 700 years of sleep.

Wik Castle in Uppland is one of Sweden’s best-preserved medieval castles and holds several ghost legends. The White Lady is said to be Anna von der Grünau, who died on the ice of Lake Mälaren in 1612; she appears as a white-clad woman drifting through the mist, leaving wet footprints behind. There is also talk of a Black Lady and of old Lady Ramborg, who by legend wakes from her 700-year sleep and shows her pale face at a window on nights when the castle clock strikes thirteen. The castle houses a folk high school and conference venue and can be visited.

Viks slott, in older spelling Wik or Wijk, stands in Balingsta parish in Uppsala municipality, on Lårstaviken, part of Ekoln in Lake Mälaren, some twenty kilometres south-west of Uppsala.

The castle was originally built as a defensive stronghold around 1450. It was modernised inside in the 1670s, when new timber wings and a park were laid out to designs by Mathias Spihler. Its present exterior comes from the architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander's restoration of 1858–1860. The building has been protected as a listed monument since 1982. It is owned by Region Uppsala and used for courses and conferences.

Building facts: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA).

FAQ

Where is Vik Castle located?

Vik Castle is in Uppland, Sweden.

More haunted places in Uppland

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: ArildV · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons