The Great Staircase Tower and the Wooden Bridge

Building work on the Great Staircase Tower was initiated in 1556 after the partition wall which divided the medieval main castle was demolished. At the same time, the construction of renaissance-style halls representing new architecture was also started on the upper floors of the castle.

One of the aims of these alterations was to improve access between different parts of the castle. Movement within the castle was made easier by a staircase leading from the courtyard to the upper floor, as well as by doorways connecting the rooms. A two-story wooden bridge was also built to connect the long south and north wings of the main castle. The window embrasures of the Great Staircase Tower were decorated with paintings by Erkki Paulinpoika Maalari from Lieto in 1589. As payment for his work, he received two barrels of rye and a pair of shoes.

From the wooden bridge, you can see the inner courtyard of the main castle. When you direct your gaze to the West Tower, you can see, among other things, a reconstruction of the gangway built during the restoration of the castle. In the Middle Ages, this gangway as such circled the entire inner courtyard of the castle, but it was demolished in the 16th century when the staircase towers were built. Below the gangway is a gate vault, which was built on the ground floor of the West Tower during the castle's earliest construction period, at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The gate that served as the entrance was bricked up in the 14th century, and the gatehouse was converted into a cellar. The space is still known by the name Verraton (Unequalled), which is used in 17th-century documents. The gate vault, reopened at a later date, now provides accessible access to the castle courtyard.

Right at the top of the West Tower, you can see the embrasures of the defensive floor. If you look very closely, you can see a cannonball stuck in the wall between the middle and left-hand embrasure. It was presumably shot during battles that took place in the 16th century.

If you look at the other end of the courtyard, you will see the Small Staircase Tower, built in 1549–50. There is a stone tablet built into its wall with the coat of arms of Sten Sture the Elder engraved on it. Originally, in the 15th century, it was probably attached to the courtyard-side facade of the Sture Church.

The gate vault in the East Tower has been preserved in its medieval appearance with its pointed arches and vaults. Stairs lead from the gate vault to the courtyard of the bailey and inside the main castle.