Tullgarn Palace, Vagnhärad, Sweden

Tullgarn Palace is a royal summer palace built in the 1720s. The palace offers a mixture of rococo, Gustavian and Victorian styles. The interior design is regarded as one of Sweden's finest.

In 1719, the old Renaissance castle from the late 16th century was demolished. The newly appointed Privy Councillor Magnus Julius De la Gardie commissioned architect Joseph Gabriel Destain to design the present palace, built in the 1720s. The courtyard is open to the sea and took on its present appearance in the 1820s. It is modelled on the garden of Logården at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

In 1772, Tullgarn was acquired by the crown and became a royal residence. Occupancy was granted to Duke Fredrik Adolf, youngest brother of King Gustav III. Between 1778 and 1793, Frederick Adolf resided there with his lover Sophie Hagman, and many episodes from this period are preserved as the Tullgarnsmminnena, The Tullgarn memories. Frederick Adolf modernized the palace in neo classical style, adding another storey to the wings, giving the palace a flat Italian-style roof. Fredrik Adolf's interiors are some of the finest examples of Gustavian style in Sweden. Among the designers involved were Louis Masreliez, Jean Baptiste Masreliez, Per Ljung and Ernst Philip Thoman. Many of the interiors created at that time remain today in their original form.

King Gustaf V (then Crown Prince) took over Tullgarn in 1881 and together with his consort Victoria, implemented extensive changes. The main building was decorated more like a modern functional summer home then a royal pleasure palace. Much of the present interior dates from the time of King Gustav V and Queen Viktoria, including the vestibule, whose walls are covered in hand-painted Dutch tiles. The breakfast room is furnished like a south German Bierstube, possibly reflecting the fact that Queen Viktoria came from Baden in Southern Germany. The royal couple used the palace as their summer residence.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Aviva Katz (2 years ago)
Love this place. On the shore of the Baltic Sea, you can just hang around and watch the birds, walk your dog. We didn't actually go inside the museum but I am sure it is well worth the visit.

Deividas Visockas (2 years ago)
Beautiful Castle, free to walk around.

Miro Ankerman (2 years ago)
A magnificent English garden around a lovely building. Worth a stop if you are driving by, but I wouldn't make this your sole travel destination.

Amer Jabbar Malik (4 years ago)
Amazing Beautiful

Omkar Joshi (4 years ago)
This is a show for all audiences - families, couples, singles, friends meetup, senior citizens. The gardens are not only having a considerable variety of trees but is also well maintained - even a novice like me could spot the efforts taken by the landscape architects on the aesthetic appeal. The brygga and the fågeltorn(a worthwhile place for birdwatchers, at least, I could spot 3-4 species) are pleasant spots to sit and relax. The amenities are impeccable - ample parking space, clean and numerous toilets, signboards and informational boards, etc. There were only two dampeners for me: 1. While I agree that the place is a bit far away from main cities and towns, the cost vis-à-vis the taste of foodstuffs in the värdshus didn't impress me. 2. The guided tours and the palace internal viewing was suspended due to the COVID situation, thereby, I cannot provide any feedback about the same.

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