Fortress
Birger Jarls Tower
🇸🇪 Sweden · 16th century
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.
Birger Jarls Tower ranks #147 of 6,412 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #7 of the 196 mapped in Sweden. Founded 1530, it is older than 46% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 532 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. See how Sweden compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Birger Jarls Tower?
Birger Jarls Tower stands in Sweden, at 59.32592°, 18.06167°.
When was Birger Jarls Tower built?
The atlas dates its founding to 1530. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Birger Jarls Tower?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #147 of 6,412 worldwide, and #7 in Sweden. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Birger Jarls Tower?
Wrangel Palace, about 1 km away.
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