You may feel a French ‘je ne sais quoi‘ when arriving at the Drottningholm Palace. Is it the symmetry of its facade? Is it the gardens with the avenues of trees, canals and baroque statues?
You are not mistaken, the Drottningholm Palace is considered as one of the finest example of Royal residences, inspired by the Palace of Versailles.
Clearly the style is different but some of the codes are similar.
Let’s explore!
A touch of history
As it is fairly common for exceptional places, the story of the Drottningholm Palace starts with a story of a smaller palace which unfortunately (or fortunately) burned to the ground. Blessed by an idyllic location, it was soon to be rebuilt bigger, much bigger and with all the magnificence and glory, required for a Royal family.
The 17th century debut
History is taking us back to 1661.
The small existing palace was, at the time, owned by Magnus De la Gardie who we talked about when visiting Lake Castle. The De la Gardie family was a prominent family close to the Royal family and owned thousands of castles in Sweden. But the wind was turning for them and they sold the small palace to Queen Hedvid Eleonora, widow of Karl X Gustav.
Sadly for her, the palace was entirely destroyed between Christmas and New year the same year she bought it. To add to her predicament, she would never get to see the new finished palace, she then commissioned.
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, a Royal architect, designed the new palace and the work started promptly. His plans changed along the way and wings were added to the central section. Overall the new Drottningholm Palace was mostly finished, at least externally, when he passed away in 1681.
Nether the less, his son Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (! how original!) continued his work with a specific focus on the interiors.
Meanwhile, in France, a young King was also building something grant by transforming a former hunting lodge, into a more appropriate Royal residence. Yes of course, this is King is Louis XIV and the Palace is Versailles!
Thereafter, Tessin the Younger, inspired by the new development in Versailles, perfected his father’s work at Drottningholm.
The 18th century onward
With ups and downs with the Royal family finances, Drottningholm Palace fate evolved. It is still a Royal residence today, but over centuries since first rebuilt, interest in Drottningholm changed over time.
Queen Lovisa Ulrika
Drottningholm was mostly used as a summer residence for a long time. Favored by Queens, some, like Queen Lovisa Ulrika, had major influence on the Palace.
Having received the right of disposal of Drottningholm, by the mid 18th century, the informed and modern Queen, commissioned major improvements to Drottningholm.
Addition of new floors to the wings were made, new accommodations & new social rooms were created. The library was created for her collections of coins, medals and natural history specimens.
And of course, 2 of the main features of Drottningholm Palace were commissioned by Queen Lovisa Ulrika: the theater and the marvelous Chinese Pavillon which we’ll discuss below.
One additional change made by Queen Lovisa Ulrika is Drottningholm reside in the decoration. By the time she came to Drottningholm, the dominent Baroque style had become old fashion… But let’s keep this for later as well…
The 19th century disgrace
By the turn of the 19th century, the Drottningholm Palace slowly lost its interest and splendor. It was left neglected for most of the first part of the century and time is never kind when this happens.
It is always difficult to comprehend how something like this can actually happen. Yet, it has been the fate of so many residences, castles and palaces that it really doesn’t come as a surprise anymore.
Thankfully, some minor restorations took place in the second half of 19th century and probably saved the Palace from total despair.
The 20th century revival
Luckily, the interest for the Drottningholm Palace was ‘rediscovered’ in the 20th century and waves of extensive renovation work took place over the century.
This lead to the Palace to be used as a Royal Residence again and all of it, apart from the south wing, is today opened to the public.
A touch of architecture
As mentionner above, the Drottningholm Palace was first built at the end of the 17th century and later upgraded to 18th century modern standards.
So where does the French influence comes from? Why is it compared to Versailles?
The Versailles influence
The first phase of expansion of Versailles started in 1661. Yes, the same year as the construction of Drottningholm!
It is often said that the architect of Versailles, Louis le Vau, got his inspiration for Versailles, from another of his project, the chateau de Vaux le Vicomte. If you forget about the roof, there are obvious similarities.
And when looking at rendering of Versailles in 1675, the resemblance with Drottningholm is striking.
So clearly, Tessin the Elder was inspired by Louis le Vau’s work in his own creation for Drottningholm. And Tessin the younger, was also inspired by his European studies and travel. In France, he discovered the new Baroque style!
Baroque and Rococo styles
Major trends alert!
Between the 17th and the 18th century, 2 major architectural trends developed in Europe: the Baroque style and Rococo style. Both styles are gloriously mixed at Drottningholm.
French Baroque style, sometimes called French classicism, was slightly different from the Baroque style that developed in other parts of Europe. It was created to symbolise the power of the King. It gave greater emphasis to regularity with the use of colonnades, and colossal orders of columns on facades. It combined classical elements, while avoiding exuberant decorations on facade. And it included the Royal gardens!
Drottningholm exteriors have this clear French Baroque style.
What about inside?
Inside is a slightly different story. The original style was Baroque obviously. You can see this below in the numerous pictures.
You can also see the Rococo style updates, made in the 18th century. The modernization, the more feminine and light touch.
What are the differences between Baroque and Rococo? Well that should be for a whole essay to come. In short, Baroque style is emotional, sometimes violent or at least dramatic, real and intense scenes, with a focus on light and shadows. Rococo is light, often sweet and cheeky with a focus on nature, amorous encounters & entertainment.
Let’s see how Baroque and Rococo mix in our visit below!
The visit
The grant staircase prepares you for what is coming!
The Green Drawing Room above is one of the ante chamber that leads to the state rooms. Modernized in the 18th century, the walls are covered in silk panels. Louis XV is portrayed here!
Karl X Gustav’s Gallery is a memorial gallery Hedvig Eleonora established to present the military exploits of her husband and her son.
The Ehrenstrahl Drawing Room was Hedvig Eleonora’s audience chamber where she received guests. The paintings represents her regency.
Hedvig Eleonor’s Bedchamber are absolutely magnificent. Originally black, the paint was changed to blue in 1701. The bad was placed in an alcove when Lovisa Ulrika chose this room as her private bedroom.
The next most amazing room is the Library which dates from the 18th century and holds over 7000 books.
The Hall of state was the Palace’s ceremonial and assembly hall. The decoration dates from the 19th century but the painted vaulted ceiling dates from the 17th. See below!
You will find below pictures of additional galleries and rooms but there is one more I want to highlight here, for it holds one of the most unusual piece of furniture. It is the Chinese Drawing Room.
The Chinese Drawing room is located above the Hedvig Eleonora’s bedchamber and there is a concealed staircase linking the 2 rooms! You see, this room was, for a time, used as the king’s bedroom and the queen slept below.
Now, the most unusual piece of furniture is pictured below. You may think it is just a regular chest of drawers but it is actually a pull out bed! Now that is one king of a bed!
Here are some additional pictures of the glorious Drottningholm Palace. Do not hesitate to click on this gallery to get a short description of each room.
A stroll in the gardens
You can not miss going for a stroll in the gardens of the palace. You can walk all the way from the palace thought the Baroque gardens, to the Chinese Pavillon or troll trough the English Park to get some rest.
On your way, you will get to see the Guards’ tent.
Do not miss the Chinese Pavillon
Oh what I would give to be taken back in time and become an 18th century Queen…
In 1753, King Adolf Fredrik gave the Chines Pavillon to Lovisa Ulrika as a Birthday present! Tradition says it was built in Stockholm, shipped the day before her birthday and assembled in secret!
Considering how amazing it is, how beautifully decorated the interiors are, that seems like a great exploit.
In the 17th century, Europe was discovering the World and was becoming fascinated by foreign destinations and especially China and Japan. The Chinese Pavillon is a representation of such fascination and is decorated with imported porcelain and other decorative art as well as Chinoiserie.
The first pavillon had to be destroyed 10 years after being built and the pavillon we can admire today was finished in 1769.
Click on the pictures below to enlarge and get a small description.
I hope you enjoyed this tour! Unfortunately, the chapel and theater were closed when I visited but I guess this gives me a great excuse to go back!
Things to know before you go
Like a member of the Royal family or any Swede really, summer is the time to escape Stockholm city and head to the lakes. So why not go to Drottningholm to visit the palace, stroll through the park, picnic there and generally enjoy yourself.
If you are not from Stockholm, you probably won’t feel that the city is so hot that you need to escape. Do it anyway! The Drottningholm Palace is a marvelous palace to visit and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.
To plan your visit, check out the official website: https://www.kungligaslotten.se
If nothing else, do check out the virtual tour of Hedvig Eleonora’s State Bedchamber. It is amazing!
If it’s not summer, you may still want to visit as there are plenty of things to do there, all year long!
Basically, you just can’t miss such an amazing palace!
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