History
 
Svaneholmīs history goes back to about 1530, when the castle was built on a islet in the Svaneholm lake. It was first built in gothic renaissance style, but has been rebuilt several times through the centuries.
The castleīs four square rows were built at different points of times. The southeast row, with the gateway, seems to be the oldest. Itīs planning concurs with other Swedish castles from the Middle Ages, as an example Glimmingehus. The other three rows were built shortly afterwards. Svaneholm has few renaissance adornments, the only decorations is the stepped gable and a white frieze.
 
Interior
The cellar is a rectangular room, where the castleīs garrison was stationed. On the first floor is the Hall of Knights, and on the second floor is the Women's Hall. In the garret there were loopholes for defense.
 
Rebuilding
Svaneholm and most other castles in Skåne have been modified several times. In the 17th century the castle was owned by the nobleman Axel Gyllenstierna (1653-1705). Gyllenstierna had traveled a lot in Europe and got inspiration from the Italian baroque style. Home again, he decided to change Svaneholm into this style. The southeast row got two blind floors and all rows got new, symmetrically placed windows. Likewise the interior of Svaneholm was rebuilt at this time. The external stairwells were pulled down and replaced with indoor staircases in the northwest and southeast rows. Gyllenstierna planned further changes, but all work stopped when he suddenly past away.
 
Changes during the 19th century
The efforts of later generations in the history of Svaneholm have not been that extensive. Rutger Macklean had the moat filled and transformed the former islet to a peninsula. He also lay out an English park.
Late in the 19th Century some additions were made, which was not in accordance to the present architecture; a terrace was built and the southeast row got French windows. The castle has later been restored in accordance to the original plans.
During a renovation in 1876 an older ceiling was found under the present one, in the hall of Knights. It had beams and intermediate vaults. According to old descriptions the vaults were decorated with paintings of fruits and foliage. Sadly it has been impossible to restore this ceiling.
 
The most recent restorations
In 1933-34 Svaneholmīs last private owner, count Carl Augustin Ehrensvärd, made a major restoration of the castle. Some modern facilities, for example central heating, were installed at the first and second floor. Ehrensvärd also restored some wall paintings and decorations that had been subjected to mismanagement.
Shortly after these restorations, count Ehrensvärd passed away and the castle became a museum.
 
(The facts above are from the book "Svaneholms Slott" by Eric Mårtensson, ISBN 91-630-8507-0)
Litterature about Svaneholm (in Swedish)
H. Joachim Bech-Friis: Svaneholms slotts historia, Wemmenhögs härads fornminnes- och hembygdsförening 1:2. Skurup 1939. Andra upplagan 1964.
Henry Christensson: Ett besök på Svaneholm. Kapitel ur: Svaneholm, Årsskrift 1985 utgiven av Vemmenhögs härads fornminnes- och hembygdsförening. Skurup 1985.
August Hahr: Svaneholm. Kapitel ur samlingsverket Svenska slott och herresäten vid 1900-talets början. Del 1: Skåne. Sthlm 1909.
August Hahr: Skånska borgar i uppmätningsritningar. Sthlm 1914 - 1922.
Gert-Åke Johansson och Eric Mårtensson: /red/: Enskiftet i Sverige 200 år. Svaneholms slott 26-27 maj 1985
Göran Johnsson: Svaneholms slotts park och trädgårdar - nu, förr och i framtiden. Kapitel ur: Svaneholm, Årsskrift 1990 utgiven av Vemmenhögs härads fornminnes- och hembygdsförening. Skurup 1990.
Sven T. Kjellberg: Svaneholm. Kapitel ut samlingsverket Slott och herresäten i Sverige. Skåne. Band II: Malmöhus län, södra delen. Malmö 1966.
Gustaf Ljunggren: Svaneholm. Kapitel ur Skånska Herregårdar. Lund 1852-1863.
Rutger Macklean: Lärobok i landtbruket för Skurups socken. Lund 1945. Nytryck 1985 med inledning av Eric Mårtensson: Rutger Macklean 1742 - 1816.
Eric Mårtensson: Rutger Macklean - Om den stora jordrevolutionen och den nya skolan. Kapitel ur Svaneholm i årsskrift1997. Se sidan 16!
Eric Mårtensson: Svaneholms slott. Kort kulturhistorisk vägledning. Skurup 1966. Elfte upplagan 1999. - Svaneholm castle. A short historical guide. Fjärde upplagan 1990 - Schloss Svaneholm. Ein kurzgefasster historischer Wegweiser, 1994.
Eric Mårtensson: Vandring kring Svaneholm. Kapitel ur: Sommarhälsning till Skurups och Hassle-Bösarps församlingar 1986. Särtryck 1987.
Nils Olsson: Svaneholms slott med Wemmenhögs härads fornminnes- och hembygdsförenings samlingar. Skurup 1950.
Pär Axel Olsson: Skånska herreborgar. Ur synpunkten av de fortifikatoriska anordningarnas betydelse för arkitekturen. Lund 1922.
H. H von Schwerin: Skånska herrgårdar under svensk tid. En konsthistorisk undersökning av den skånska herrgårdarkitekturens utveckling efter provinsens övergång till Sverige och fram till det nittonde seklets inbrott. Lund 1935. (2 000 numrerade exemplar såldes till förmån för Svaneholms slott).
H. H von Schwerin: Några blad ur Svaneholms historia. Kapitel ur Skånes Hembygdsförbunds årsbok 1938. Lund 1938.
Gunnar Wallin (utg.): Axel Gyllenstiernas Svaneholm Anno 1706. Skurup 1959.
Bror-Magnus Vifot: Wemmenhögs härads fornminnes- och hembygdsförening. Vägledning/ till Svaneholms slotts museum/. Skurup 1935.
 

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