The party-loving lord of the manor Oskar Axel Reuterskiöld gallops towards the royal capital in his four horse carriage. The gold coins clinking in his pocket will soon be put to use. New horses are waiting every ten kilometres as the current four become weary. If there are not enough horses, he sends the coachman back to Rånäs to fetch a new team.
The history of Rånäs actually began in the 18th century, when the area became a Walloon ironworks, but the foundations for the manor were not laid until 1833. Axel Didrik Reuterskiöld, a Marshal of the Court, hired the most influential court architect of the era, Per Axel Nystrom, who trained in France and Italy, to design a Second Empire-style manor.
Rånäs Slott was magnificent right from the time construction began, using the best craftsmen and the most beautiful decorations. Renowned Italian artists worked on the colourful paintings for the ceiling and walls of the manor. It was magnificent, but Axel Didrik never had the chance to enjoy its beauty, as he died before it was completed. Later, it was 16-year-old Oskar Axel Reuterskiöld, grandson of the manor’s founder, who took on the role of lord of the manor.
Oskar Axel loved life at the manor and all its glamour. He threw extravagant parties, transporting his guests from Östra Station in Stockholm. He often went to the Grand Hotel to drink and gamble away his family fortune. He is known as an ambitious man who built Rånäs Station, a dairy and a distillery, among other things, but he was also a harsh employer who kept a tight reign on his 40 staff. The manor stayed in the Reuterskiöld family until 1929, when it was sold to the city of Stockholm.
Almost 70 years later, in 1998, the manor was renovated as a hotel and modern meeting venue. Six months of long, intensive work were required to recreate the original feel of manor, with a floor for dancing, dining rooms for royal dinners, ornate stucco and heavy crystal chandeliers.
Today, Rånäs Slott is a magical and majestic venue for conferences, weddings, parties and weekends.