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visible from the Upsala boat. Farther on, we observe to the right
the recently restored chateau of Steninge, once the property of
Marshal Fersen, who was murdered by the populace at Stockholm
in 1812. The park contains a monument to his memory. We now
enter the Sigtuna-Fjärd, in which, to the right, lies —
Sigtuna (no hotel), once one of the largest and handsomest
towns in Sweden, but now containing 555 inhab. only. It was
founded at the beginning of the 11th cent, by King Olaf Erikson,
and was destroyed by the Esthonians in 1187. They are said to
have carried off the two massive silver doors of the choir of one
of the churches, which now adorn a church in Novgorod. All
that remains of the ancient buildings of Sigtuna consists of the
scanty ruins of the churches of St. Peter, St. Lawrence, St. Olaf,
and St. Nicholas. The present church once belonged to a
Dominican monastery. The place is prettily situated, and commands
a tine view of the lake. Route to Märsta, 11 Kil., see p. 355.
To the left we next observe the Signildsberg, the site of a still
more ancient town of Sigtuna (För-Sigtuna or Fom-Sigtuna), the
scene of the saga of Haghart and Signe. On the same hank lies
Håtunaholm, with the church of Hdtuna. where dukes Eric and
Valdemar took their brother King Birger prisoner in 1306 and
compelled him to grant them extensive privileges. The following
year Birger revenged himself by inviting them to Nyköping, where
lie caused them to be thrown into prison and starved to death , an
act of barbarity which cost him his throne. The three brothers
are interred in the choir of the Storkyrka at Stockholm. Beyond
Erikssund, Finstaholm (stations), and the church of Häggeby, the
arm of the lake expands into the Skofjärd. on the left side of
which rises the — v
* Skokloster (properly Skogkloster, ‘forest monastery’; station),
an imposing chateau, on the site of a monastery which originally
belonged to the Dominicans and afterwards to Cistercian nuns.
The convent was suppressed by Gustavus Vasa, and was presented
by Gustavus Adolphus to Marshal Herman Wrangel, whose son
Charles Gustavus Wrangel erected the present chateau in the style
of that of Aschaffenburg in Germany and filled it with treasures
captured during the Thirty Years’ War. After his death it passed
into the possession of Count Brahe, his son-in-law, and still
belongs to the same family. The building is square in form, each
side being 140ft. long, and encloses a court in the interior. At
each corner rises a handsome tower roofed with copper.
A great part of the ’"Interior is still in ’an unfinished condition.
Tlie handsome Vestibule is horne by eight Ionic columns of white marble,
which were presented by Queen Christina. The Kungssal has a richly
decorated stucco ceiling. The staircases and vestibules are embellished
with numerous portraits (including those of several of Marshall Wrangel’s
Scottish auxiliaries!, pictures by Ehrenstrahl and others, and rich tapestry.
The very valuable Collections preserved here comprise a Library
containing 30,000 vols. and numerous MSS., and an Armoury with 1200 guns
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