Runsa
Encyclopedia
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Runsa is the site of the ruins of an ancient fortification (Runsa fornborg) located in Upplands Väsby Municipality
Upplands Väsby Municipality
Upplands Väsby Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, with a population of 38,963 . Its seat is located in the town of Upplands Väsby....

 in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

History

Runsa was a prehistoric hill fortification. Runsa was strategically situated on a 30 meter high rock promontory in Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...

, with views towards Sigtuna
Sigtuna
Sigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 18 inhabitants in 2005. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta....

. The ancient fort covers an area of 200 x 100 meters. The site was excavated first in 1902 with the participation of Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...

. It was later investigated by archaeologists in 1992.

Below the ruins is a stone ship burial area (Runsa skeppssättning) with some 30 graves. The burial ground is made up of round stones estimated to date from 400 - 500 AD. It is 56 feet from the bow to the stern and is one of the best known stone circles in Sweden.

Runsa manor (Runsa herrgård) is surrounded by the ruins of Runsa and other monuments. In 1313 the estate was sold to the Archbishop of Uppsala
Archbishop of Uppsala
The Archbishop of Uppsala has been the primate in Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church.- Historical overview :...

. It was suppressed by King Gustav Vasa, but was sold by his grandson Jacob De la Gardie
Jacob De la Gardie
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire....

. The main building, from the mid-1600s, and was most possibly built countess Ebba Brahe
Ebba Brahe
Ebba Magnusdotter Brahe was a lady-in-waiting in the Swedish court, countess, and the mistress of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden...

, who was the mistress of King Gustavus Adolphus.

Sources

This article is fully or partially based on material from Nordisk familjebok
Nordisk familjebok
Nordisk familjebok is a Swedish encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957.- History :The first edition was published in 20 volumes between 1876 and 1899. The first edition is known as the "Iðunn edition" because of the picture of Iðunn on the cover...

, Runsa, 1904-1926.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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