Day 1 in Stockholm
When you stay in the Pearl Cottage, we recommend you take the commuting boat into Stockholm. You pass the inlet to the city and end up at the Gamla stan (the Old Town) where you start your first day. The trip is breath-taking regardless of the weather!
In the Old Town, you start-off with the beautiful Royal Palace – one of Europe's largest. Probably, you need to take a break on your tour to see the changing of the guard ceremony at the mid-day. Take a lunchbreak very close to the Palace, for instance at the restaurant Tradition to eat a Swedish dish. Continue your visit in the Palace if you feel unfinished with it.
After the Royal Palace, you experience the Old Town's narrow and cobblestoned streets and small shops. You might be able to squeeze in the marvellous Stockholm City Hall on the nearby island Kungsholmen (the King's Islet). Or wait with this visit until tomorrow for more time in the Old Town.
The Emergence of Sweden
As other nations, Sweden’s borders have not been fixed. During 1100–1500s Sweden began to take shape. The country became a great power in the northern Europe in the 16- and 1700s, the era is visible in the buildings of the Old Town.
Sweden hasn’t been in war since 1814 when Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden as a peace settlement. This followed the wars that started after Napoleon's attack on Russia in 1812. The Swedish-Norwegian union lasted until 1905, when Norway peacefully gained independence from Sweden.
Sweden was non-aligned with other nations from 1814. Avoiding war and having a balanced policy of neutrality was difficult, especially during the 20th century's clashes between nations: the World War I and II as well as the Cold War.
In March 2024, the Swedish unique two-hundred-year era of nonalignment and neutrality ended. The country became a full member of NATO as a needed response to Russia's full scale war in Ukraine (February 2022).
Click on the button below to read more about the emergence of Sweden that you’ll “meet” in the Old Town.
Kungliga Slottet (the Royal Palace)
In the mid-13th century, Birger Jarl built a fortress with a core tower to defend Lake Mälaren. It grew to a castle, named Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) after its core tower's spire top. It was destroyed in a fire on 7 May 1697.
The new Royal Palace was put on the same ground as the old one. It was designed by the Swedish city and palace architect Nicodemus Tessin (the older). After he died 1728 his son Nicodemus Tessin (the younger) continued. It has a Baroque style and formed it as a Roman palace.
The Palace was first ready to use in 1754, when King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika moved in. A large part of the interior was designed by the Swedish architect and nobleman Carl Hårleman (1700–1753) in Rococo style.
Today, His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf has his official residence in the palace, though he and Queen Silvia live in the Drottningholm Palace.
Much of the Palace, its three museums, and the chapel is open to the public year-round. If you buy the tickets on internet the price is better. Note: you need a separate ticket for the guided tour in the Royal Apartments.
The Royal Palace of Stockholm is owned by the Swedish State through the National Property Board of Sweden.
The West and East Wing of the Royal Palace
The Palace is built of brick and sandstone with copper-clad roofs. More than 600 rooms are spread on seven floors. The Palace is rather unchanged since its completion.
It has four wings (façades), which were given different designs, and two courtyards (an inner and an outer). The eastern and western façades were given magnificent central sections in typical Baroque style (pilasters, herms, and statues).
The western wing represents the male or the King. It adjoins the outer courtyard and the two separate curved wings, the the Main Guard Wing (the north) and Commandant's Wing (the south). On the façade are stay medallions depicting nine Swedish monarchs and ten sandstone caryatids. The French artist Charles Guillaume Cousin made them in 1744.
The eastern wing represents the female or the Queen. Below this façade is the Palace's park Logården. On the barrier (baluster) towards the Baltic Sea are four sculptures that represent music, religion, poetry, and mercy. The Swedish sculptor Johan Axel Wetterlund designed them in 1903. They were cast in bronze by the Swedish art caster Otto Meyer.
The two smaller wings end with two waterfalls and busts of the artists who, among other things, were responsible for the Palace’s interiors.
The Leader of the Defence of Stockholm
The statue of Kristina Gyllenstierna (c.1494–1559) in the outer courtyard was designed by the Swedish sculptor Teodor Lundberg and cast in bronze by the Swedish art caster Otto Meyer. It was unveiled on 16 November 1912, which was the 400th anniversary of her marriage to Sten Sture the Younger.
Kristina was a famous at her time. She married to the regent of the realm Sten Sture the Younger. He died after a battle with the Danish King Christian II in 1520. Then, she led the Swedish liberation struggle against Denmark, organised the country's defence, and led the defence of Stockholm against the heir to the throne – the King Christian II (as the Kalmar Union established).
When Kristina finally surrendered after a four-month siege in September 1520, it was against the promise of amnesty and a fiefdom in Finland. The amnesty was promised for Kristina, her dead husband, and all their assistants in a letter by the King.
Three days after the King was coronated as king over Sweden in November 1520, he accused the rebels for heresy when they deposed the Danish-loyal bishop Trolle in 1517. No amnesty for heretics. This breach of promise was manifested in the Stockholm bloodbath. Kristina survived it.
The North and South Wing of the Royal Palace
The northern wing represented royal power. The artistic decoration on the façade is sparse; a bronze figure group above the balcony door showing the Swedish coat of arms Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) which is carried by the two goddesses of rumour.
Lejonbacken (the Lions’ Slope) is below the wing with the two lions as a royal symbol of power. They were designed by Bernard Foucquet the Elder and the King Karl XII approved them in 1700. The bronze for the lions came from a castle well taken during the King Karl X Gustav's campaign in Denmark.
The southern wing is to represent the nation. It has a triumphal arch in magnificent Baroque style with three Corinthian columns in colossal order on each side. Along the façade there are several niches containing sculptures of notable Swedes, such as Carl von Linnaeus and Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. They’re made by Johan Axel Wetterlund in the end of the 18th century. All art here meant to reflect Sweden's greatness, society, and prominent people.
The four sculptures at the South Gate illustrate the abduction of women (enlevering) and were created by Bernard Foucquet the Elder. Behind the South Gate, the stairs lead to the Royal Chapel to the east and to the Hall of State to the west. The wordly and the divine powers are gathered at the same place.
The Changing of the Guard Ceremony
The Royal Guards have been protecting the Royal Palace in Stockholm since 1523. Until the mid 19th century, the Royal Guards comprised of between 100 and 200 men from guard units, who also maintained law and order in the city, as well as providing fire-fighting services. Today, around 50 to 60 soldiers serve in the Royal Guards: approximately 35 at Stockholm Royal Palace, and 25 at Drottningholm.
Changing of the Guard takes place every day of the year in the Royal Palace outer courtyard. However, the ceremonial march through central Stockholm, accompanied by a full military band, is usually only possible from May to August.
The cermony lasts about 40 minutes. Get there early if you want a good spot in front to watch as it gets busy.
Gamla stan (The Old Town)
The Old Town dates from the 13th century but most buildings are from the 16–1700s with a strong influence of the North German architecture. It's a glorious labyrinth of charming, cobbled streets, alleyways, faded mustard and rust-coloured townhouses, and squares.
For several hundred years, the Old Town was the actual city (the city between the bridges). Some 3,000 people live here, and it is packed with cafés, restaurants, tourist shops, studios, galleries, and museums. If you only see Stortorget (the Big Square) and the street Västerlånggatan (the Eastern Long Street), the Old Town may seem very touristy. But enter one of the narrow alleys and experience a different atmosphere.
We give some information about the buildnings and history in seven stops: the Slope of the Palace, the Great Church, the Big Square, the Iron Square, the Square of the Knights, the Islet of the Knights, and the Islet the Holy Spirit with the parliament buildings. If you want to see all stops, it'll take a whole day, but you can easily split them to different days.
The Stockholm City Hall
The Stockholm City Hall with the golden Tre Kronor of the spire is one of Stockholm's most famous silhouettes. It is an incomparable house for joy, sorrow, celebration, and seriousness.
The Swedish architect Ragnar Östberg's (1866–1945) lavish masterpiece was built at a time when modern Swedish democracy was born. He created his very own National Romantic style of Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, Nordic Gothic, Islamic art, and the history of Stockholm. After 15 years, it was inaugurated on Midsummer's Eve June 23, 1923. The date was set as a commemoration of King Gustav Vasa's entry into Stockholm on the same day in 1523.
Behind the grand façade are magnificent halls, workplaces for the government of Stockholm municipality and unique Swedish art. The City Hall is also the venue for the big Nobel banquet in the airy Blue Hall and astonishing Golden Hall with its 18 million gold mosaic pieces.
Do go on a guided tour! Buy tickets online and separately for the tower with a magnificent view of the city (open during spring to autumn).