# Marsvinsholm Castle

- **Country:** Sweden
- **Condition:** Private residence
- **Year Built:** 1648
- **Location Text:** Scania

Marsvinsholm Castle is a historic estate located in Ystad Municipality within the Scania region of southern Sweden, situated approximately twelve kilometers from the town of Ystad. The current structure was built between 1644 and 1648 by the Danish nobleman Otte Marsvin, who named the property after his family; the name translates to Porpoise Islet. Constructed on beech poles driven into a small lake, the castle features a distinctive four-storey square design with five-storey towers at the northeast and southwest corners. Following extensive renovations in the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, the building currently exhibits a Dutch Renaissance architectural style, often associated with the era of King Christian IV of Denmark.

The site holds significant historical depth, originally known as Bosøe and serving as Danish royal crown land under Kings Valdemar Atterdag and Queen Margaret I during the fourteenth century. It later passed to the Ulfstand family before Otte Marsvin developed the present castle. Its ownership history reflects the turbulent political shifts of the region, particularly during the Scanian War in the late seventeenth century, when the pro-Danish owner Holger Thott lost the estate to the Swedish crown. Over subsequent centuries, the castle changed hands through inheritance and sale among prominent Swedish families such as von Königsmarck, de la Gardie, and Wachtmeister, illustrating its enduring status as a prestigious property.

Today, Marsvinsholm Castle remains in private ownership, currently held by Tomas Iacobaeus, whose family acquired the estate in 1978. Unlike many historic Scandinavian castles that have been converted into public museums or hotels, Marsvinsholm is not open to the general public. Despite its private status, the castle stands as a well-preserved example of seventeenth-century architecture in Scania. Its unique construction on water and its continuous occupation by various noble and wealthy families for over six hundred years make it a notable landmark in the cultural landscape of southern Sweden.

![Photo of Marsvinsholm Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Swedish_castle_Marsvinsholm.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsvinsholm_Castle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)