Gustav Vasa, royal residence, manor house, then castle.

This place has a fascinating history with stories from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Gustav Vasa, Carl Von Linné, the Swedish East India Company among many, have stories that remain in these walls One of the Swedish economy's most important sites for centuries and a world-famous place for botany and agriculture since the 18th century.

In the mid 16th century Gustav Vasa founded the Garpenberg works and established a royal farm on the estate. The estate with its extensive holdings was then taken over by the Funck family until the mid-18th century.  Carl Von Linné spent many of his Dalarna years in Garpenberg, where the soil was found to offer a mineral wealth rarely witnessed. Today, the park and its surroundings are one of the largest botanical collections in Europe with its many arboreta and pineta.

After the fire that destroyed the Royal estate, the castle building was erected on the old foundation with the help of the Von Stockenström, Wahrendorff, Sahlgren and Chalmers families. What was then called Garpenbergs Herrgård was completed in 1801 and was named as the only castle building north of the River Dalälven.

The Cornelius family took over operations and buildings in the latter part of the 19th century, leading to such marvels as Avesta Jernverk and of great importance to Swedish railways.

Until 1913, the castle was the private residence of the family, after which it was sold and became the site of the Royal School of Forestry.

Since 2001, the Castle has been operated as a conference centre and the associated buildings as a hotel. Garpenberg Castle is the largest castle in northern Sweden.