The history of Visingsborg castle on Visingsö

Visingsborg, a castle on Visingsö island, has a history associated with Braheätten. Built in the 1570s, it was initially a four-towered castle with a moat. To build the first part of the castle, bricks were taken from the monastic buildings in Alvastra and a newly-established brick factory in Gränna.

The castle underwent renovations and was expanded by members of the Brahe family. It was completed first in the 1660s, its four towers adorned with gilded spires shining above the rooftops of Visingsö.

In 1654, Per Brahe d.y. received judicial powers over those living on Visingsö. The castle was abandoned in 1680 after the county was taken into the crown. From 1715, Visingsborg was used as a place of detention for prisoners of war, primarily those from the Great Northern War.

The number of prisoners of war at Visingsborg soon rose to well over a thousand. They were kept under the watch of the island's common people. Farmers on the island could take prisoners into their service in exchange for food and clothing.

The prisoners suffered from food shortages, particularly in the spring of 1717, which caused a revolt. A few hundred prisoners broke through the guards and escaped from the island. King Karl XII took action against the responsible landshövding, Generalmajor Georg Reinhold Patkul, who was later tried and convicted for his negligence in not providing necessary maintenance for the prisoners in a timely manner and for not informing the king of their suffering.

In 1718, a devastating fire destroyed Visingsborg. The prisoners were relocated to Jönköping, Eksjö, Gränna, and Växjö. The peace of Nystad in 1721 marked the end of the period when the prisoners were held. Per Brahe d.ä. built the western range, while Magnus Brahe, his son, built the southern range, which included its salons and living quarters, as well as the eastern range containing kitchen and economic spaces.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons