Rockelstad Slott stands on Lake Båven in Södermanland, near Sparreholm, about an hour from Stockholm by car. The castle and its wings host conferences, kick-offs, weddings and parties. Groups of up to about 80 can stay overnight in 33 bedrooms, and the largest meeting room holds about 150 people in theatre seating.
Seminars and company events
Rockelstad describes itself as an unusual conference venue: a family-run estate where the castle and its original wings are used for conferences and kick-offs. The service level is yours to choose, from self-catering to full service. Groups of at least 25 people can have the place to themselves, so no other guests share the buildings.
The largest meeting room is in the Yellow Pavilion and holds about 150 people in theatre seating, with technology on site. Several other meeting rooms are available. Smaller management teams and boards can book a more exclusive package where most of the program takes place inside the castle itself, with more privacy and the best bedrooms.
The estate also runs a farm and stables, so activities are organized in-house. The team specializes in team-building with groups that rotate between stations. Options listed on the site include radio-controlled cars, segway and cross-kart courses, archery, an antique quiz in the castle, bowling in an alley from the 1880s and canoe races on the lake. If the weather turns, the large riding hall can often host the whole program. A guided tour of the castle before dinner, with a welcome drink, is a common start to the evening, led by a member of the owning family.
Weddings and receptions
The site has a wedding section and presents the castle and wings as a setting for weddings and parties. The Brewhouse can be rigged with sound and light for a party, and a group of about 25 or more can end the day with a dance. Past events listed on the site include a 1920s-style New Year party, a pirate party and a Halloween party.
Rooms and capacities
The Yellow Pavilion is the largest room, at about 150 people in theatre seating. Lake Båven offers a floating sauna for 10 to 12 people with a deck, popular in the afternoon and evening. The castle tour is limited to 55 people at a time.
Accommodation
There are 33 bedrooms. Most are in the four wings, the Yellow Pavilion and the Brewhouse, and the castle itself has a few. Each room is different, and the owners state plainly that Rockelstad is not a hotel and that standards vary widely. A bedroom guide on the website lets organizers take part in deciding who sleeps where.
Catering
Catering ranges from self-catering to full service, and the site has a page on food and drink and a conference package. A shared meal before or after the castle tour is a regular part of the program.
History and setting
People have lived on the site since at least the 1300s. The oldest part is a house from the 1640s, whose dining room has grisaille ceiling paintings made for a wedding around 1670. The castle was rebuilt in brick in the 1880s with four corner towers, and the explorer and ethnographer Eric von Rosen later rebuilt much of it, with the architects Hjalmar Andersson and Ivar Tengbom. The Birgitta Chapel dates from 1909. A wine cellar sits in a medieval vault, and the Turkish room dates from the towers. The family von Post has owned the estate since 1973. A park with an apple orchard surrounds the castle.
Getting there
The estate is in Sparreholm, between Eskilstuna and Nyköping, a little over an hour from Stockholm. The site has a page with directions.
