Sweden · 16th century
Birger Jarls Tower ranks #4,207 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #119 of the 209 mapped in Sweden. Founded c. 1530, it is older than 40% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,000 times in the last 60 days, more than 50% of the atlas. 30 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Stockholm, 1 km away. See how Sweden compares in the castle statistics.
Birger jarls torn (Swedish for Birger Jarl's Tower) is a defensive tower on the northwest corner of Riddarholmen, an islet in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm.
The building has been named for Birger Jarl who traditionally is attributed as the founder of Stockholm, but it was built several hundred years later and the name is mostly the product of a 17th-century myth. Stockholm literally translates to "Log-Islet", and according to that myth the city was founded where a log drifting ashore from Lake Mälar.
Text adapted from “Birger jarls torn” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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