ULRIKSDAL PALACE

Description

Essentials about Ulriksdal Palace in brief

Ulriksdal Palace, located on the western shore of the Edsviken arm of the Baltic Sea, is one of Sweden’s ten royal castles. The castle is not only worth a visit because of its beautiful location and architecture. With a carriage and sculpture museum and the oldest theater in Sweden, Ulriksdal Palace also has plenty of art and culture to offer visitors.

The history of Ulriksdal Palace

Ulriksdal Palace was built between 1643 and 1645 under the name “Jacobsdal” for Imperial Marshal Jakob De la Gardie. In 1669 it was acquired by Queen Hedwig Eleonora. In 1684 it was renamed Ulriksdal after a deceased brother of King Charles XI. Ulriksdal Palace was still inhabited by King Gustav VI Adolf until 1973.

The garden of Ulriksdal Palace

In the middle of the 17th century, one of Sweden’s most beautiful baroque gardens was created on the castle grounds, which has changed again and again over the centuries, combining different styles. The park is open all year round with free admission and is beautifully situated by the water. If you wish, you can also visit the castle gardens by boat.

The stable at Ulriksdal Castle

Queen Kristina’s coronation carriage from 1650 can be viewed in the former stables, now the Museet för drottning Kristinas kröningsekipage. The coronation carriage is not just any royal vehicle, but the most expensive and largest royal carriage in the country’s history.

The Orangery

Today’s Orangery at Ulriksdal Palace was built in the late 1600s by Nicodemus Tessin. It was used as a winter place for the exclusive and expensive tropical fruit trees that adorned the palace gardens in summer. At the beginning of the 21st century, the orangery was converted into a sculpture museum and today displays works by various Swedish sculptors from the 17th to 19th centuries as well as plaster casts of famous classical works of art.

The rococo theater at Ulriksdal Palace

The highlight of Ulriksdal Palace is Sweden’s oldest theater, “Confidencen”, which was inaugurated in 1753. It was once used by King Gustav III and the Swedish national poet Carl Michael Bellman, but then fell into oblivion and was finally brought back to life in 1976 by the Swedish opera singer Kjerstin Dellert. Today, the Confidencen is a popular summer theater that hosts operas, ballets and early music concerts.

The Palace Chapel

Ulriksdal Palace Chapel was designed by Swedish architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander and built between 1863 and 1865 on a promontory south of the castle. The chapel was originally Queen Lovisa’s chapel and is in the Dutch Renaissance style with Moorish, Oriental and Venetian design and color elements.