Royal Stables (Sweden)

Last updated
Scene at the Royal Stables in Stockholm Estpresident 1c300 8347.jpg
Scene at the Royal Stables in Stockholm

The Royal Stables (Swedish : Kungliga Hovstallet) is the mews (i.e. combined stables and carriage house) of the Swedish Monarchy which provides both the ceremonial transport for the Swedish Royal Family during state events and festive occasions and their everyday transportation capacity. The Royal Stables date from 1535, and were originally built on Helgeandsholmen, close to Stockholm Palace. The Royal Stables are today located just behind Strandvägen in Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. The head of the Royal Stables is the Crown Equerry.

Contents

The Royal Stables are open to the public through guided tours. Around 50 horse-drawn carriages, sleighs and coaches are kept there, together with the cars of the royal family and about 20 horses.

History

Early history

The first royal stables were located on Helgeandsholmen, close to Stockholm Palace. The first known buildings dedicated to the horses of the King were built in 1535 during the rule of Gustav Vasa. [1] [2] Relatively quickly, however, these stables became inadequate and were moved to larger premises not far from Saint James's Church on the site of the present Royal Swedish Opera house. During the reign of King Charles XI, however, the stables moved back to Helgeandsholmen. The new stables were built to the design of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and included an armoury, a riding hall, and a coach house, in addition to stables for the horses. In 1696 the building was destroyed by a fire, and Tessin designed a new building that was built on the same site soon thereafter. These stables had room for 150 horses and were significantly more modern and spacious than their predecessor. The stables would remain in this location for almost two centuries. [1]

Modern history

In the 1870s, plans were made to build a Parliament House and a National Bank on Helgeandsholmen. The owner of the stables, King Oscar II offered to give the land for this purpose if another location could be found for the stables. The Swedish government offered a substantial sum of money and proposed to build the new stables at their current location. Architects of the new buildings, built in a Medievalist style, were Ernst Jacobsson and Fritz Eckert. The present buildings were finished in 1894. [1] [2] They originally contained space for 90 horses and 160 vehicles. [2]

Duties

The main duties of the Royal Stables are to provide the Royal Family with transport. [3] Horse-drawn carriages are used for ceremonial occasions, but the stables also contain cars for the royal family. Apart from these duties, the stables also have the responsibility of displaying its cultural heritage to the public, e.g. through guided tours. [3]

Horses and carriages

The stables contain around 20 horses, all bay in colour. While their physical appearance is important — the horses must also be around 170 centimetres (5.6 ft) tall and "with an attractive gait" — they also need to have a steady temperament and are trained substantially to be able to cope with working in a busy city environment. They receive two years initial training after they are bought by the stables (at an age of between five and seven years) and are thereafter also trained daily on Djurgården. [4] The stables contain around 50 different carriages, sleighs and coaches. The State Coach, also called the Glass Coach, dates from 1897 and is the most elaborate of these. [2] It is used at the ceremonial opening of the parliament and on formal state visits by other heads of state during bad weather (in fair weather an open carriage is used). The coaches at the stable range in age from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. [5]

Cars

The stables also contain about 20 cars used by the royal court. Among these are a 1950 Daimler Limousine DS420 and a Cadillac Fleetwood from 1969. The other cars are mostly modern and intended for daily use; around 6,000 transport missions are carried out with cars by the Royal Stables every year. The Royal Stables has a pronounced ambition to invest in cars with a low environmental impact. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carriage</span> Generally horse-drawn means of transport

A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are informal and usually owner-driven.

<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 on 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">Helgeandsholmen</span> Island in Stockholm, Sweden

Helgeandsholmen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the Riksdag Building and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, and is connected to neighbouring islands through three bridges: Riksbron, Stallbron, and Norrbro.

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

The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm is near the capital Stockholm. Built on the island Lovön, it is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 17th century, and it served as a regular summer residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is a popular tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Mews</span> Grade I listed transport museum in City of Westminster, United Kingdom

The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British royal family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and then within the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mews</span> Type of housing above stables

A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential areas, having been built to cater for the horses, coachmen and stable-servants of prosperous residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tre Kronor (castle)</span> Castle in Stockholm, Sweden

Tre Kronor or Three Crowns Castle was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century. The name "Tre Kronor" is believed to have been given to the castle during the reign of King Magnus IV in the middle of the 14th century.

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

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">Daimler DS420</span> Motor vehicle

The Daimler DS420, also known as the Daimler Limousine, is a limousine made by the Daimler Company between 1968 and 1992. The car was designed for official use and it was popular with chauffeur services, hoteliers and undertakers. It was used as an official state car in many countries. No other limousine model has been delivered to more reigning monarchs than the DS420, and the car is still used by the royal houses of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, and Luxembourg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooper (coachbuilder)</span> British coachbuilding business

Hooper & Co. was a British coachbuilding business for many years based in Westminster London. From 1805 to 1959 it was a notably successful maker, to special order, of luxury carriages, both horse-drawn and motor-powered.

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

Stallbron is an arch bridge located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching some 20 meters over Stallkanalen it connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget on Stadsholmen from where Västerlånggatan extends it further south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riksbron</span> Arch bridge in Stockholm, Sweden

Riksbron is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden, leading from Drottninggatan on Norrmalm 44 metres (144 ft) over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Södra Bankohuset</span>

Södra Bankohuset or Gamla Riksbanken is a building in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, together with Norra Bankohuset the location of the Bank of Sweden until 1906. Since December 2018, the building is housing Embark Studios, a Stockholm-based games studio.

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

Slottsbacken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carriage house</span> Outbuildings separate from the living quarters

A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two stories, with related staff quarters above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landau (carriage)</span> Four-wheeled open carriage with two doors primarily for passenger transport

In coachbuilding, a landau is a four-wheeled carriage with a roof that can be let down. It was a luxury carriage. The low shell of the landau provides maximal visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau still a popular choice for Lord Mayors in the United Kingdom on ceremonial occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Stables (Denmark)</span> Stables of the Danish royal family

The Royal Stables is the mews of the Danish monarchy which provides the ceremonial transport for the Danish royal family during state events and festive occasions. The Royal Stables are located at Christiansborg Palace on the island of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1789, the number of horses reached a peak with 270 horses stabled. Nowadays, there are about 20 horses in the Royal Stables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State and royal cars of the United Kingdom</span> Official royal street vehicles in the UK

The state and royal cars of the United Kingdom are kept at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace, where a wide range of state road vehicles are kept and maintained. The vehicles also are stored at other royal residences as required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Stables (Netherlands)</span> Royal Stables (The Hague)

The Royal Stables is a collection of equestrian stables of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. It is a Rijksmonumental building that is part of the royal palace grounds located in the city center of The Hague in the Netherlands. The Noordeinde Palace and the Palace Gardens are also part of this same palace complex. The Noordeinde Palace and its grounds are the official workplace of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "History, The Royal Stables". Swedish Royal Court. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kungliga Hovstallet" [Royal Stables] (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden . Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The Royal Stables". Swedish Royal Court. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Horses, The Royal Stables". Swedish Royal Court. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Carriages, The Royal Stables". Swedish Royal Court. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cars, The Royal Stables". Swedish Royal Court. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

59°19′58.3″N18°04′43.32″E / 59.332861°N 18.0787000°E / 59.332861; 18.0787000

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.