Kungsgården

Kungsgården

Gustav Vasa's reign brought major changes to Arboga. After the Reformation Diet in 1527, the state and Gustav Vasa seized the monastery, Helgeandsgården and Helgeandskyrkan, but also large areas of land outside the town, including Jäders holme, which had previously belonged to Julita monastery. The aim was to establish a royal breeding farm and a residence where the court could take in guests if necessary. In 1551, this major investment in Arboga was initiated, which also meant the start of the arms factory at Jäder. Here, in what is now called the Kungsgården quarter, the royal residence was built from 1551 - the center of Arboga kungsgård, one of the countless royal estates around the country. In the 1570s, Arboga was given to Gustav Vasa's daughter, Margravine Cecilia. When Cecilia finally left Arboga in 1579, her brother, King Johan III, continued the construction of the royal estate, which was also complemented by an impressive garden. The bailiff's staff at the royal farm numbered just over 25 people. Kungsgården was one of the city's finest addresses, and royalty and other aristocrats naturally came to visit. Soldiers and officers visited the manor from time to time, but it also housed prisoners of war. In January 1719, when the dead Charles XII was transported from Uddevalla, where the embalming had taken place, to Stockholm, the large entourage - some 280 soldiers and 450 horses with 200 carriages and sleighs - spent a night in Arboga. And of course in Kungsgården on a catafalque that can still be seen in the museum. Kungsgården later passed into the hands of various merchant families. In 1817, Kungsgården came into the possession of the Stenberg family. Stenberg descendants have been the owners of Kungsgården ever since.