The Royal Palace of Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous city in the Nordic countries; 960,031 people live in the municipality, approximately 1.5 million in the urban area, and 2.3 million in the metropolitan area.

The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. After the Ice Age, around 8,000 BC, there were already many people living in what is today the Stockholm area, but as temperatures dropped, inhabitants moved south.

Thousands of years later, as the ground thawed, the climate became tolerable and the lands became fertile, people began to migrate back to the North. At the intersection of the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren is an archipelago site where the Old Town of Stockholm was first built from about 1000 CE by Vikings.

They had a positive trade impact on the area because of the trade routes they created. The name Stockholm comes from the words stock meaning “log” and holm meaning “islet.” No one seems to know exactly how the town got its tag; one account claims that Vikings trying to determine the location of their new settlement used a log bound with gold, while others point to the masses of logs driven into the waters near Old Town. For more information about this article, you can  lick here.

A Visit to The Royal Palace of Stockholm

This combination of royal residence, workplace and culture-historical monument open year round to visitors makes the Royal Palace of Stockholm unique amongst Europe’s royal residences.

The palace is built in baroque style by the architect Nicodemus Tessin and is formed as a Roman palace. The palace has more than 600 rooms divided between eleven floors with a state apartment facing the city and smaller living rooms facing the inner courtyard.

The Baroque-era Royal Palace on the Old Town island has more than 600 rooms spread across seven floors and a daily Changing of the Guard at 12:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. on Sundays).

The National Property of Board of Sweden is now undertaking a great restoration project to protect and preserve the palace facade for future generations.Restoration of the palace facade which will take 25 years.

Inside the Palace:

The Hall of the Order of the Polar Star: 

The Order of the Polar Star, in three grades, was founded in 1748 by King Fredrik I, along with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim

 

The Royal Order of the Seraphim:

Sweden’s highest order, the Order of the Seraphim, in one grade, is awarded to foreign royalty and the heads of state.

The Hall of the Order of the Sword:

The Order of the Sword, in five grades, was awarded until 1975 in recognition of bravery in war-time and for outstanding military service in the Swedish Armed Forces.

Order of Vasa:

The Order of Vasa, in five grades, was founded in 1722 by King Gustav III. Awarded to Swedish and foreign men and (from 1952 onwards) women for merits in trade and industry, arts and industry of applied arts.

Meleagar Salon:

Official gifts and orders of chivalry are exchanged in this room during state visits. The woven tapestries depicting the tragic classical tale of Prince Meleager were woven in Brussels and formed part of Ulrika Eleonora’s dowry in 1680.

Margaret’s Room:

The room takes its name from Crowmn Princess Margareta, the first consort of Gustaf VI Adolf and the grandmother of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Sofia Magdalena Bedchamber:

This bedchamber was furnished by Jean Eric Rehn during the 1770’s, at the same time as Gustav III’s state bedchamber.

Lovisa Ulrika’s Dining Hall:

Advisory Council of Foreign Affairs meets in Lovisa Ulrika’s Dining Room. The King is the chairman of the Council, whose members represent the government and parliament.

Lovisa Ulrika’s Audience Chamber:

Most of the fixture’s in this room were designed by Jean Eric Rehn and hastily installed before Adolf Fredrik and Queen Lovisa Ulrika moved in 1754.

In connection with the christening of His Royal Highness Prince Oscar the throne chair was temporarily removed to give room for a cradle.

Inner Saloon and Inner Bedchamber:

The room was decorated in 1794 in so called Pompeian style, inspired by the archaeological finds in Pompeii and Herculaneum

The Empire Salon:

Duke Fredrik Adolf’s antechamber is now used as a salon. The room derives its present-day name from its chairs and sofas in the Swedish Empire Style, made for the household of Crown Prince Oskar I and Josefina on the occasion of their wedding in 1823

The Don Quixote Room:

The room derives its name from the woven tapestries which feature scenes from Cervantes story of don Quixote.

Breakfast Room:

When Oskar II and Queen Sofia moved into the apartments this room was furnished as their breakfast room between 1873-1874

Car XVI Gustaf’s Jubilee Room:

To mark the Kings’s silver jubilee in 1998, Sweden’s parliament, government and local authorities presented plans for the special refurbishment of one of the rooms in the Royal Palace. The room is a showcase for Swedish materials and craftsmanship on the theme of ‘a Swedish summer’s day’

Hall of State:

Up until 1975, the King opened Parliament every year with a formal ceremony held in the Hall of State.

Gustav III Audience Chamber and State Chamber

In the 1770’s, Gustav III enlisted the help of the architect Jean Eric Rehn to furnish this and the equivalent room on the other side of Karl XI’s gallery as two state bedchambers for himself and the queen.

Gustav III used this room for audiences. Originally, however, it was intended for use as a state bedchamber for Karl XI

Karl XI’s Gallery:

Karl Xi’s Gallery is the most magnificent room of the late Swedish baroque. When naquets are being prepared, the long table is laid up to 170 guests and decorated with late 18th- and early 19th century Swedish and French silver.

The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was the inspiration for the furnishings in the room. Just as in the Hall of Mirrors, each window has a corresponding mirror on the opposite wall.

The Great Bed Chamber:

This is the major bedchamber of the Guest Apartments, and the room has the same function today as it did when Prince Fredrik Adolf first lived here.

Bernadotte Gallery :

The Gallery was originally a reception room shared by Adolf Fredrik and Lovisa Ulrika. The original decorations in the room include the painted ceiling. The original wainscoting was removed during reign of Gustav III to make room for the kings’s collection of paintings, which later formed the basis of the National Museum of Fine Art’s collections.

The portrait collection depicting members of the Bernadotte dynasty has been housed since the 1920’s; hence the name of both Gallery itself and apartments.

Bernadotte Apartments:

These apartments are used regularly by the King for ceremonial audiences, presentations of medals and meetings of the advisory council of foreign affairs.

The Guard Room:

this room housed the lifeguards, whose job it was to protect the monarch.

The West Octagonal Cabinet:

The Bernadotte Gallery is flanked by two octagonal cabinets dating from the 1730’s, which are among the best preserved rococo interiors in the Palace.

The East Octagonal Cabinet

This is the room in which King Carl XVI Gustaf holds formal audiences for newly appointed foreign ambassadors, who are escorted to the Palace by horse-drawn carriage from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pillared Hall:

Originally, this was King Adolf Fredrik’s dining room. The ceiling was painted bi Italian artist Alessandro Ferretti in the 1730’s. It depicts Mother Svea-Sweden personified – and the seasons.

Around 1780, Gustav III made certain modernations to the room with Jean Baptise Masreliez as the architect. Additions to the room included the overdoors and the statues of Venues and Apollino by John Tobias Sergel.

The West Stairwell:

The Apartments of the Orders of Chivalry. The Halls were opened to the general public in 1993. The apartments house an exhibition relating to the Swedish Award System and the Royal Orders of Knighthood. The rooms were taken in use in 1775 as meeting rooms for the Council of State 1755-89.

State Apartments:

18th Century European porcelain from Meissen

The State Apartments are used when the King and Queen entertain their guests.

Gala banquets are held during state visits, and three or four official dinners take place each year in Karl XI’s Gallery.

17th and 18th Century Swedish and German Glasses

All the Swedish glasses were made at the Kungsholmen glassworks in Stockholm, which operated between 1676 and 1815.

You can check and book your ticket in advance, click here.