Torup Castle

Torup Castle (Swedish: Torups slott) is a castle in Svedala Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. It is situated approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of Malmö and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Bara. It was constructed in 1537 by Görvel Fadersdotter (Sparre) for her son and its current Renaissance design dates back to the early 17th century. Since the 19th century, the castle and its grounds have been a destination for Malmö residents, leading to its purchase by Malmö municipality in 1970 to preserve its value as a recreational and natural resource. The castle is a three-story brick building. It forms a square with an octagonal tower in the northwest and a round one in the southeast corner. It is located within the Torup beech forest (Torups bokskog), a 340 hectares (840 acres) recreational area, of which 180 hectares (440 acres) have been a part of a nature reserve since 2019. The castle's grounds are freely accessible to the public, while guided tours of Torup Castle are available to the public on a limited basis. Studies have highlighted the recreational value of Torup's grounds. Research on willingness to pay for access to the area indicated an annual average value of approximately kr 2,000 per visitor in 2014, emphasizing the importance of Torup as a cherished local resource.