Gripsholm Castle – Gripsholm Deer Field

Gripsholm Deer Field

Since the 1600s the deer field has been a pasture land belonging to the Gripsholm Royal Farm. Today it is a nature reservation with hundred fallow deer.

In the 1860's King Karl XV redeveloped Hjorthagen as a park for walking and keeping animals.

Hjorthagen was developed into a deer pasture in 1890 in order to accommodate deer from the Royal Hunting Area Hjorthagen close to Värtahamnen in Stockholm.

A hundred fallow deer

Today, the entire reserve is used as pasture grounds for approximately one hundred fallow deer.

The area is a very popular are for country rambles both for the locals and for the great number of tourists that visit Gripsholm Castle each year.

Also found in the area are the vestiges of an ancient castle, a grave-field, an order emblem in cast iron as well as old walkways and ruins. The area covers approximately 150,000 acres.

Rare beetle

The most important biological heritage of the area includes its trees - above all the oak and lime trees. They provide an important ecosphere for many rare lichens, mushrooms and insects.

The Osmoderma eremita beetle is an extremely rare insect that is found only in a few places in the county.

Endangered species

Other endangered species include lichens such as Buellia violaceofusca, Psilolechia clavulifera, Caloplaca thallincola, Sclerophora coniophaea, Schismatomma pericleum, Lobaria pulmonaria and Nephroma parile.

Rare insects that have been observed include the Corticeus fasciatus, the Larca lata, the Lymexylon navale and the Pentaphyllus testaceus.

Today it is possible to wander freely at Hjorthagen and most probably see deer up close.

Photo: Hans Thorwid

Around a hundred fallow deer roam in the reserve, which is also home to one of the county's finest eco parks. Photo: Hans Thorwid

Visit us

You can walk around Gripsholm Castle by yourself, but taking a guided tour can make your visit extra special.

Read more

Dungeons, armouries, canons, a stuffed lion. Hundreds of portraits, following you with their eyes down the winding corridors... bring you...

Read more

Events

Easter at Gripsholm 29 Mar – 1 Apr

During Easter weekend, we will be opening the gates to Gripsholm Castle. Take a trip to Mariefred and visit one of our most popular castl...

Tickets

Discover more at Gripsholm Castle

Gripsholm Castle boasts a unique collection of furniture and artworks spanning four centuries. Built in the 1500s, it was part of a new s...

Read more

Gripsholm Castle is home to the world's oldest national portrait gallery. This is also one of the world's largest portrait galleries, and...

Read more

Welcome to a boutique that is something out of the ordinary. The Royal Gift Shop at Gripsholm Castle is a unique present and souvenir sho...

Read more

A wander through the leafy castle park is like taking a walk through history. There have been many gardens over the ages here, and apples...

Read more

Since the 1600s the deer field has been a pasture land belonging to the Gripsholm Royal Farm. Today it is a nature reservation with hundr...

Read more

The palace gets its name from one of the personalities of medieval Sweden, Bo Jonsson Grip, by whom the first Castle was built in the sec...

Read more

Articles and movies

Gripsholm was originally built as a secure fortress during a turbulent time, but it was also more than that. The castle was also the roya...

Read more

In Duke Karl's Chamber at Gripsholm Castle, time has stood still. This is the castle's only fully preserved room from the Vasa period, an...

Read more

The 2022 Portrait of Honour depicts the artist Britta Marakatt-Labba, known around the world for her embroidered images of Sami landscape...

Read more