Haunted by ghosts, remarkable Ängsö Castle, sits in the middle of Lake Mälaren west of Stockholm. The estate has only passed through a handful of families since around 1160, starting with Erik Jedvardsson or Erik the Holy who ruled Sweden between 1156-1160. The entire castle is built like a tower over four floors and surrounded by a large park. Due to its height and its dominant position in the landscape it can be seen from a great distance. 

“Engsyo” is mentioned in a royal document in 1185 and again in 1272 as part of the the nunnery Riseberga in nearby Närke County. It was later traded to Knight Greger Birgersson who allegedly was the illegitimate son of none other than Birger Jarl himself. In 1307 it belonged to Knight Abjörn Sixtensson from the Sparre family. Through inheritance it stayed in the larger Sparre family until 1521. For 200 years, the Sparre family had been in very top of Swedish society and many had been close to the King of their time. 

When Gustav I (Vasa) became King it was believed that Knut Bengtsson Sparre was an enemy. The castle was therefore besieged by Vasa’s men for a number of years before it in 1538 once again became the property of Sparre through Knut’s daughter Hillevi. It then passed through the hand of the Trolle, Sparre and Posse families before the King’s Councillor Carl Piper’s wife Christina Törnflycht  acquired the estate in 1710. Her husband was at the time a prisoner of Peter the Great of Russia. She never actually lived at Ängsö but she made it an entailed estate to the great joy of the future generations of Pipers.

Their son Carl commissioned Carl Hårleman to restore the estate between 1740-1747 to its current state. One floor was added and two wings. At the end of the 1700s the estate started to fall in to a state of decay and during the 1800s it was popularly known as “the ruin”. It stayed with the Piper family as an entailed estate until Eric Piper died in 1968. In 1971 it was sold to the city of Västerås and a foundation was created (Westmannastiftelsen) to care the castle and grounds. The Pipers are still there and today it is being leased by Carl Piper. The castle is a museum and has not been lived in since 1959. It is possible for the public to visit the main house during the summer.

Photo: Mnystedt, Wikimedia