Swedes stationed in the region began the castle around 1280 as a fortress and outpost. The medieval keep is a square fort with two square gateway towers and was finalized in the early 15th century. The Renaissance bailey was begun in the late 15th century and finished in the 16th.
The 16th-century expansion followed Gustav Vasa's accession, when his son John III was duke of Finland. Renaissance work heavily modified nearly all rooms in the old part and added the King's and Queen's halls and a tower at the southeast corner. The walls are 16 feet (5 m) thick at the base.
A great fire in 1614 destroyed the wooden parts of the old structure, and the castle was mostly abandoned and used as storage. Restoration began before World War II and was halted by war, including damage from Soviet incendiary bombardment, and the castle was fully restored in 1987.
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