Drottningholm Palace

Last updated
Drottningholm Palace
Drottningholms slott
Drottningholmpalace.jpg
Front view of the palace
Location map Sweden Stockholm County.png
Red pog.svg
Location within Stockholm
General information
Town or cityDrottningholm
CountrySweden
Coordinates 59°19′18″N017°53′10″E / 59.32167°N 17.88611°E / 59.32167; 17.88611
Construction started16th century
Official nameRoyal Domain of Drottningholm
TypeCultural
Criteriaiv
Designated1991 (15th session)
Reference no. 559
Region Europe
Drottningholm Palace c. 1700 Suecia 1-077 ; Drottningholm detail.jpg
Drottningholm Palace c. 1700

Drottningholm Palace (Swedish : Drottningholms slott), or Drottningholm , one of Sweden's royal palaces, situated near Sweden's capital Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family.

Contents

Located on Lovön island in Stockholm County's Ekerö Municipality, it was built in the late 17th century and was a regular summer residence of the Swedish royal court through most of the 18th century.

Drottningholm Palace is a popular tourist attraction.

History

Origin

The name Drottningholm (literally meaning "Queen's islet") came from the original renaissance building designed by Willem Boy, a stone palace built by John III of Sweden in 1580 for his queen, Catherine Jagiellon. This palace was preceded by a royal mansion called Torvesund. [1]

The Queen Dowager Regent Hedwig Eleonora bought the castle throughout 1661, a year after her role as queen of Sweden ended, but it burnt to the ground on 30 December that same year. Hedwig Eleonora engaged the architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder to design and rebuild the castle. In 1662, work began on the reconstruction of the building. With the castle almost complete, Tessin died in 1681. His son Nicodemus Tessin the Younger continued his work and completed the elaborate interior designs. The Flemish sculptor Nicolaes Millich made for the great staircase and hall sculptures of the nine muses in marble, along with a series of busts of Gothic kings. [2] In addition, he also made bust portraits of King Charles X Gustav, his wife Hedwig Eleonor and both their sons, the young King Charles XI, probably also of Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and his wife Maria Euphrosyne, a sister of King Charles X Gustav. Millich and his assistant Burchard Precht also made decorative wood carvings in the Queen Dowager's bed chamber. [3]

During the period of the reconstruction, Hedwig Eleonora was head of the regency for the still-underage king, Charles XI of Sweden, from 1660 to 1672. Sweden had grown to be a powerful country after the Peace of Westphalia. The position of the Queen, essentially the ruler of Sweden, demanded an impressive residence located conveniently close to Stockholm.

During the reign of the kings Charles XI of Sweden and Charles XII of Sweden, the royal court was often present at the palace, which was used for hunting. [4] Hedwig Eleonora used the palace as a summer residence until her death in 1715, also when she had become the undisputed host of the royal court during the absence of Charles XII in the Great Northern War (1700–1721).

18th century

Drottningholm continued to serve regularly as a summer residence for the royal court during the entire 18th-century. After the death of Hedwig Eleonora in 1715, Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden and King Frederick I of Sweden held court at the palace in the summer. [4]

In 1744, the palace was given as a gift from King Frederick I to the then Crown Princess, later queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia when she married Adolf Frederick of Sweden, who became king of Sweden in 1751. [4] During Louisa Ulrika's ownership of Drottningholm the interior of the palace was transformed into a more sophisticated French rococo style. Louisa Ulrika was also responsible for having the Drottningholm Palace Theatre rebuilt in a grand style after the more modest original building burnt down in 1762. Louisa Ulrika and Adolf Fredrick continued to reside at the palace during their reign (1751–1771). In 1777, Louisa Ulrika sold Drottningholm to the Swedish state.

While it was owned by the Swedish state, the palace was used by King Gustav III of Sweden, son of Louisa Ulrika, as a summer residence, and a grand ceremonial court life was performed at the palace, which is considered to have been a great age for the palace, during which it was known for the elaborate masquerades and grand theatrical festivities and tournaments performed in the gardens. [4] During the reign of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (reign 1792–1809) and Charles XIII of Sweden (reign 1809–1818) the palace was gradually used more sporadically. In 1797, it was the place of the great festivities when the King's bride, Frederica of Baden, was received there upon her arrival in Sweden, during which the last so called carousel, or tournament, was staged in the palace garden. [4] After the Coup of 1809, the deposed Gustav IV Adolf was kept here under guard in the Chinese Drawing Room for eleven days.

19th century

The great staircase with sculptures by Nicolaes Millich Drottningholm - KMB - 16000300021335.jpg
The great staircase with sculptures by Nicolaes Millich

During the reign of Charles XIV John of Sweden (reign 1818–1844), the palace was abandoned. The King regarded it as a symbol of the old dynasty, and Drottningholm was left to decay. [4] The buildings were damaged by the forces of nature, and their inventories were either taken away or auctioned off. [4]

It was apparently opened to the public for the first time during this period: a tour was mentioned in 1819, and the public used the park for picnics. [4] Occasionally, the grounds were used for public events: in 1823, the bride of the crown prince, Josephine of Leuchtenberg, was received upon her arrival to Sweden, and her name day continued to be celebrated here. Foreign guests were received in the palace gardens, such as Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. [4]

Oscar I of Sweden took an interest in the palace, and though he preferred Tullgarn Palace as summer residence, he took care to preserve the palace by doing the first repairs in 1846. He further more used it for public celebrations, such as a reception for Pan-Scandinavian students in 1856, and in 1858, the future Gustav V of Sweden was born in the palace. [4] Charles XV of Sweden preferred Ulriksdal Palace as his summer residence and ignored Drottningholm, but Oscar II of Sweden continued the repairs. [4]

Both Oscar I and Oscar II were criticized for modernizing the palace and adjusting it to contemporary fashion rather than restoring it to its original state, and it was not until the reign of Gustav V that the palace and surroundings were reconstructed to their 18th-century appearance. [4] In 1907, a major four-year restoration of the palace was begun to restore it to its former state, after which the royal court began to use it regularly again. [4]

Royal residence

Since 1981 King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden have resided in the southern wing of the palace. The other parts of the palace are open to the public. Also during this time there has been, just like at Stockholm Palace, a unit of royal guards stationed at the palace. During the covid-19 pandemic the King and Queen carried out some of their work from their home in the palace. Otherwise their official workplace has remained at Stockholm Palace.

For the Queens 50th Birthday in 1993 she was gifted a swimming pavilion worth 9 million SEK by the Wallenberg family that was attached to the south wings courtyard. To get permission to construct the pavilion it was constructed in a way that would allow its demolition without harming the original palace. In 2018 the pavilion was renovated for a cost of 744 000 SEK, taken from taxpayer money since it is now counted as a part of a state owned building and as such it is the job of the state to maintain it. [5]

The palace

The palace and its grounds have seen many renovations, changes and additions over the past 400 years. The largest renovation, in which electricity, heating, sewage, water lines were either installed or updated and the castle roof replaced, took place between 1907 and 1913. During a 20-year-period beginning around 1977, several major areas of the palace were restored and rebuilt. The library and national hall received much of the attention and fire protection was installed throughout the palace. In 1997, work began to clean and rebuild the exterior walls. This was completed in 2002.

The palace church

Drottningholms slottskyrka.jpg

The church was designed and erected by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. It was completed by his son in May, 1746.

It is still used by the people of Lovön parish, who worship in the church on the last Sunday of every month. Inside the castle church a Cahman organ from 1730 is still in use. Another noteworthy item is the traditional church tapestry which was made by Gustav V of Sweden.

The palace theatre

The Drottningholm Palace Theatre Drottningholm June 2013 07.jpg
The Drottningholm Palace Theatre

The Drottningholm Palace Theatre is the opera house located at the palace. It is still in use, and its summer opera festivals are quite popular. At times the Royal Swedish Opera company guest performs.

The Chinese Pavilion

The Chinese Pavilion, located on the grounds of the Drottningholm Palace park, is a Chinese-inspired royal pavilion built in 1763–1770.

The gardens

View of the Baroque garden, seen from the palace MJK 54041 Barocktradgarden (Drottningholm).jpg
View of the Baroque garden, seen from the palace

The gardens and park areas surrounding the castle and its buildings are one of the main attractions for the tourists that visit the palace each year. The gardens have been established in stages since the castle was built, resulting in different styles of parks and gardens.

The Baroque garden

The oldest part of the gardens was created at the end of the 17th century under the direction of Hedwig Eleonora. The father and son Tessin led the project that created a Baroque garden right outside the main palace, [6] flanked by thick tree avenues. The many statues scattered throughout this area were created by the artist Adrian de Vries; the Swedish army took them as spoils of war from the Wallenstein Palace in Prague,[ citation needed ] while the two marble lions at the main gate of the palace were transported from the Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw. [7] The Baroque garden was neglected along with the rest of the grounds during the 19th century, but was restored in the 1950s and 1960s on the initiative of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. [8]

The English garden

Statue of Diana Drottningholm DSC 4995.JPG
Statue of Diana

Gustav III of Sweden took the initiative for the English landscape garden of Drottningholm. This lies north of the Baroque garden and consists of two ponds with canals, bridges, large open lawns, and trees in groups or avenues. Walkways are laid out throughout this large part of the park.

Throughout this area "vistas" can be seen, cleared lines of sight that are intentionally constructed to draw the eye to a particular view. Most of the antique marble statues throughout the gardens were purchased by Gustav III from Italy. The purpose of the statues is to surprise a visitor by their unexpected appearance in a green area, or as a focal point for a vista.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mainly because of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre and the Chinese Pavilion. It was added to the list in 1991. The UNESCO comments were:

The Royal Domain of Drottningholm stands on an island in Lake Mälar in a suburb of Stockholm. With its palace, perfectly preserved theatre (built in 1766), Chinese pavilion and gardens, it is the finest example of an 18th-century northern European royal residence inspired by the Palace of Versailles.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekerö Municipality</span> Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden

Ekerö Municipality is a municipality in the province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of the main island within the municipality whose name is Ekerön, and literally means "Oak Island". Its seat is located in the town of Ekerö.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of Sweden</span>

The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden, by law a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden for more than a millennium. Originally an elective monarchy, it became a hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of political families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockholm Palace</span> Official residence of the Swedish monarch

Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholmen, in Gamla stan in the capital, Stockholm. It neighbours the Riksdag building. The offices of the King, the other members of the Swedish royal family, and the Royal Court of Sweden are here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisa Ulrika of Prussia</span> Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771. She was married to King Adolf Frederick and she was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicodemus Tessin the Younger</span> Swedish architect

Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Magdalena of Denmark</span> Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp</span> Queen of Sweden from 1654 to 1660

Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, and during the minority of her grandson, King Charles XII, in 1697. She also represented Charles XII during his absence in the Great Northern War from 1700 until the regency of her granddaughter Ulrika Eleonora in 1713. Hedwig Eleonora was described as a dominant personality, and was regarded as the de facto first lady of the royal court for 61 years, from 1654 until her death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strömsholm Palace</span>

Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle, is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of Lake Mälaren. The palace has interiors from the 18th century and an important collection of Swedish paintings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulriksdal Palace</span>

Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1638–1645 as a country retreat. He later passed on to his son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, from whom it was purchased in 1669 by Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Sweden. The present design is mainly the work of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and dates from the late 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haga Palace</span> Palace in Stockholm, Sweden

Haga Palace, formerly known as the Queen's Pavilion, is located in the Haga Park, Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden. The palace, built between 1802 – 1805, was modelled after ballet-master Louis Gallodier's Italian villa in Drottningholm by architect Carl Christoffer Gjörwell on appointment by King Gustav IV Adolf for the royal children. It has been the home or summerhouse for several members of the Swedish royal family – most notably it was the birthplace of the present King – until 1966 when King Gustaf VI Adolf transferred its disposal to the government and it was turned into a guesthouse for distinguished foreign official visitors. In 2009, it was announced by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that the rights of disposal to the palace would be transferred back to the royal court to be used by Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden and her husband, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, as a wedding gift in 2010. They moved into Haga Palace after their wedding on 19 June that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confidencen</span> Theatre in Solna, Sweden

Confidencen, or Ulriksdal Palace Theatre, is a theatre in the park of Ulriksdal Palace in Solna, in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Built in the 1750s and restored from the late 20th century, it is the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm</span> Historic site in Svealand, Sweden.

The Chinese Pavilion, located in the grounds of the Drottningholm Palace park, is a Chinese-inspired royal pavilion originally built between 1753 and 1769. The pavilion is currently one of Sweden's Royal Palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosersberg Palace</span> Building in Rosersberg, Sweden

Rosersberg Palace is one of the royal palaces of Sweden. Situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, on the outskirts of Stockholm, it was built in the 1630s by the Oxenstierna family and became a royal palace in 1762, when the state gave it to Duke Charles, the younger brother of Gustav III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karlberg Palace</span>

Karlberg Palace is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630, today houses the Military Academy Karlberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Svartsjö Palace</span> Rococo palace situated in Svartsjö

Svartsjö Palace is a Rococo palace situated in Svartsjö on the island of Färingsö in lake Mälaren. It lies just outside of Stockholm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekolsund Castle</span>

Ekolsund Castle is a manor house situated at Enköping Municipality in Uppsala County, Sweden. It is a former royal château, a well-preserved baroque building with 18th-century character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz</span> Swedish architect and civil servant (1716–1796)

Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was a Swedish architect and civil servant. Adelcrantz's style developed from a rococo influenced by Carl Hårleman, the leading architect in Sweden in the early years of his career, to a classical idiom influenced by the stylistic developments in France in the mid-to-late 18th century. As överintendent, he headed the royal and public building works from 1767 until his retirement in 1795.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burchard Precht</span> German sculptor

Burchard Precht was a Swedish-German furniture maker and sculptor. He is best known for his contributions to Stockholm Cathedral and Uppsala Cathedral; he designed the altarpiece for Uppsala in 1728. Precht and his workshop also created other church furnishings, including epitaphs, and a large amount of furniture, primarily gilded tables, guéridons and ornamental frames for mirrors and pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolaes Millich</span> Flemish sculptor, architect and designer

Nicolaes Millich or Nicholas Millich was a Flemish sculptor, architect and designer of armor and ephemeral objects. He worked for most of his career in Sweden. He was court sculptor to king Charles X Gustav of Sweden and later worked for the king's widow Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. His main creation in Sweden was the execution of the sculptural programme of the staircase and hall of Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the Swedish royal family. He also worked on various grave monuments and epitaphs of prominent Swedes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordre de l'Harmonie</span> Swedish royal dynastic order

L'Ordre de l'Harmonie, also called Solfjädersorden, was a Swedish royal dynastic order, founded by Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden in 1744. It was awarded to 22 people between 1744 and 1746.

References

  1. ↑ Page 61 of the Swedish Etymological Dictionary of Svenskt ortnamnslexikon, published 2003 by the institute of Språk- och folkminnesinstitutet, Uppsala. The latter part "sund" means sound, and "torve" has to do with fishing (a prehistoric Swedish word).
  2. ↑ G. Upmark, Ein Besuch in Holland 1687 aus den Reiseschilderungen des schwedischen Architekten Nicodemus Tessin, pt. 2, OudHolland 18 (1900), p. 151 (in German)
  3. ↑ Nicolaes Millich in: Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, Volume 25, p. 516 (in Swedish)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Mårtenson, Jan (1985). Drottningholm: slottet vid vattnet[Drottningholm: Castle by the Water] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN   978-9146146599.
  5. ↑ url= https://www.svt.se/nyheter/granskning/ug/granskning-skattebetalarnas-nota-for-drottningens-poolrenovering-744-000-kronor
  6. ↑ Berman, Martha (1995). Fielding's Scandinavia. Fielding Worldwide. p. 393. ISBN   9781569520499.
  7. ↑ Marcin Latka. "Marble lions from the Ujazdów Castle". Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Setterwall, Åke; Fogelmarck, Stig; Gyllensvärd, Bo (1974). The Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm. Allhem. p. 234. ISBN   9789170040245.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.