The Marble Under the Castle

Tre Kronor Museum, located in the cellar vaults beneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, opened its doors on December 28, 1999. The oldest rooms date back to the 1300s, with the museum residing in the preserved cellar areas of the castle. The museum's entrance lies through the thick 1200s defense wall from Lejonbacken. Visitors can see models showing the appearance of Stockholm Castle at various times from fortress to the castle fire of 1697.

Among the exhibited objects is the lower part of marble columns with hardware ornamentation. These pieces were in Johan III's castle church in the 1570s, which was located in the northern range. The museum explains the 13th century fortifications that underlie the Royal Palace.

From the museum's entrance hall, a staircase leads down to a partially preserved underground passage. This passage went over a wooden bridge across the water to the stables on Helgeandsholmen. It was Karl XI who had the passage built so that he could walk unseen from the castle to the stables.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons