Adelsö

Hovgården is an archaeological site on the Lake Mälaren island of Adelsö in Ekerö Municipality in central-eastern Sweden. During the Viking Age, the centre of the prospering Mälaren Valley was the settlement Birka, founded in the mid-8th century and abandoned in the late 10th century and located on the island Björkö just south of Adelsö. Hovgården is believed to have been the site from which kings and chieftains ruled the area. Hovgården, together with Birka became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

300px|right|thumb|The ruins of the old castle Alsnö hus on the island of Adelsö. Adelsö is an island in the middle of Lake Mälaren in Sweden, near Björkfjärden. The island is part of Ekerö Municipality and Stockholm County. It is about by ferry and road west of downtown Stockholm. The administrative center of the important Viking settlement Birka (on the neighbouring island Björkö) was situated at Hovgården on Adelsö. The road network is connected via a ferry link across a narrow strait to the main island of Ekerö.

Church of Sweden church building on the island of Adelsö, in Ekerö Municipality, Sweden