Ulriksdal Palace
Encyclopedia
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken
in the National City Park in Solna
, 6 km north of Stockholm
. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie
, who had it built by architect
Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 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
. The present design is mainly the work of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
and dates from the late 17th century.
's disposal.
Several drawings by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder show a stately palace, three storeys high, with a lantern roof, furnished attic, and side wings extending the lakeside façade. Implementation of Tessin's designs began under Hedvig Eleonora in the 1670s, but was halted around 1690 due to financial problems.
When building work eventually resumed by King Frederick I in the 1720s, the palace architect Carl Hårleman
had different ideas than Tessin the Elder. Among the features incorporated by Hårleman was one of the first mansard roofs in Sweden. In the mid-18th century, the palace was occupied by King Adolf Frederick
and Queen Louisa Ulrika
. The Queen set up a theatre here, today called the Confidencen.
Relatively little survives of the 18th century interiors, since Ulriksdal served as a veterans' hospital from 1822 to 1849. The hospital was established by King Charles XIV John
for veterans of the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809
. The palace was therefore almost empty when it was acquired in 1856 by Prince Charles, later King Charles XV
. With the aid of architect Fredrik Willhelm Scholander and through extensive purchases of antiques, Prince Charles was able to design and furnish the palace at his own taste. Many of these furnishings are still on display.
In 1923, Prince Gustav Adolf, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf
married Louise Mountbatten
. Ulriksdal became to be closely associated with the royal couple. During their time, the former knights' hall was turned into a living room with furniture designed by designer Carl Malmsten.
The palace has been open to the public since 1986. The original furnishings have been relocated to the preserved rooms and parts of the former living quarters are used to exhibit items from Gustaf VI Adolf's art and crafts collection as well as Gustaf V
's silver collection.
The Palace Theatre, the Confidencen
, is situated in a building from the 1670s which was originally used as a horse riding house and later a guesthouse. In 1753, Queen Louisa Ulrika
commissioned architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz
to convert the building into a theatre. It was built in Rococo
style, seats 200 spectators and has a table à confidence, a table which can be lowered through the floor to the basement to be set. The Confidencen is today the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden.
Ulriksdal Palace had in the palace's northern wing originally a chapel, built in 1662 by architect Jean de la Vallée
. The chapel was torn down during Gustav III
's renovation of the palace in 1774. The present chapel was designed by architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander and was built in 1864-1865 in the Palace garden, in Dutch new Renaissance style with a certain influences from Venice.
Next to the palace is the greenhouse, today the Orangery Museum. The Orangery was built at the end of the 17th century by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
. Despite a number of later changes, Tessin's architecture still dominates the Orangery, which houses parts of the National Museum
's sculpture collection, including works by the sculptors Johan Tobias Sergel
and Carl Milles
.
Edsviken
Edsviken is an elongated, narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea running through the Swedish municipalities of Danderyd, Solna and Sollentuna. Edsviken ranges from Stocksund and Bergshamra in the south to Edsberg in the north. The inlet is about long with an area of approximately ; its maximum depth is...
in the National City Park in Solna
Solna Municipality
Solna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, located just north of the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the 'city' of Solna....
, 6 km north of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie
Jacob De la Gardie
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire....
, who had it built by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat. He later passed on to his son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High...
, from whom it was purchased in 1669 by Queen Hedvig Eleonora
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was the queen consort of King Charles X of Sweden and queen mother of King Charles XI...
. The present design is mainly the work of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an important Swedish architect.-Biography:Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund in Pomerania and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and worked with the architect Simon de la Vallée...
and dates from the late 17th century.
History
Hedvig Eleonora had grand plans for the palace and renamed it in 1684 Ulriksdal after its intended future owner, her grandson Prince Ulrik. The prince, however, died at the age of one and Hedvig Eleonora kept the palace until her death in 1715 when the property was transferred to the crown for King Frederick IFrederick I of Sweden
Frederick I, , was a prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and a King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730...
's disposal.
Several drawings by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder show a stately palace, three storeys high, with a lantern roof, furnished attic, and side wings extending the lakeside façade. Implementation of Tessin's designs began under Hedvig Eleonora in the 1670s, but was halted around 1690 due to financial problems.
When building work eventually resumed by King Frederick I in the 1720s, the palace architect Carl Hårleman
Carl Hårleman
Baron Carl Hårleman was a Swedish architect.Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who hade been ennobled in 1698, and began his architectural training under Göran Josua Adelcrantz...
had different ideas than Tessin the Elder. Among the features incorporated by Hårleman was one of the first mansard roofs in Sweden. In the mid-18th century, the palace was occupied by King Adolf Frederick
Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Adolf Frederick or Adolph Frederick was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach....
and Queen Louisa Ulrika
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...
. The Queen set up a theatre here, today called the Confidencen.
Relatively little survives of the 18th century interiors, since Ulriksdal served as a veterans' hospital from 1822 to 1849. The hospital was established by King Charles XIV John
Charles XIV John of Sweden
Charles XIV & III John, also Carl John, Swedish and Norwegian: Karl Johan was King of Sweden and King of Norway from 1818 until his death...
for veterans of the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809
Finnish War
The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...
. The palace was therefore almost empty when it was acquired in 1856 by Prince Charles, later King Charles XV
Charles XV of Sweden
Charles XV & IV also Carl ; Swedish and Norwegian: Karl was King of Sweden and Norway from 1859 until his death....
. With the aid of architect Fredrik Willhelm Scholander and through extensive purchases of antiques, Prince Charles was able to design and furnish the palace at his own taste. Many of these furnishings are still on display.
In 1923, Prince Gustav Adolf, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...
married Louise Mountbatten
Louise Mountbatten
Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten became Queen consort of Sweden in 1950 and served as such until her death in 1965...
. Ulriksdal became to be closely associated with the royal couple. During their time, the former knights' hall was turned into a living room with furniture designed by designer Carl Malmsten.
The palace has been open to the public since 1986. The original furnishings have been relocated to the preserved rooms and parts of the former living quarters are used to exhibit items from Gustaf VI Adolf's art and crafts collection as well as Gustaf V
Gustaf V of Sweden
Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 1907. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg...
's silver collection.
Outbuildings
Confidencen
Confidencen, or Ulriksdals slottsteater ; is a Swedish opera stage.Confidencen is Sweden's oldest rococo theatre situated in the National City Park, on the ground of the Ulriksdal Palace outside Stockholm. The building's original structure was built in 1671...
, is situated in a building from the 1670s which was originally used as a horse riding house and later a guesthouse. In 1753, Queen Louisa Ulrika
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...
commissioned architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz
Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz
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...
to convert the building into a theatre. It was built in Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style, seats 200 spectators and has a table à confidence, a table which can be lowered through the floor to the basement to be set. The Confidencen is today the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden.
Ulriksdal Palace had in the palace's northern wing originally a chapel, built in 1662 by architect Jean de la Vallée
Jean De la Vallée
Jean de la Vallée was a French-born architect, who lived and worked in Sweden. He was the son of Simon de la Vallée, who was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The father had started the planning of the House of Knights in Stockholm, and in 1660 his son finished his father's work...
. The chapel was torn down during Gustav III
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
's renovation of the palace in 1774. The present chapel was designed by architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander and was built in 1864-1865 in the Palace garden, in Dutch new Renaissance style with a certain influences from Venice.
Next to the palace is the greenhouse, today the Orangery Museum. The Orangery was built at the end of the 17th century by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...
. Despite a number of later changes, Tessin's architecture still dominates the Orangery, which houses parts of the National Museum
Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts
-External links:*...
's sculpture collection, including works by the sculptors Johan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel , Swedish sculptor, was born in Stockholm.-Biography:After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology, a colossal representation of "History,"...
and Carl Milles
Carl Milles
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...
.