Sofiero Castle

Helsingborg, Sweden

Sofiero Castle was one of the Swedish royal family's country mansions. It was originally a Scanian farm called Skabelycke, bought in 1864 by Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden and his wife Sophia of Nassau. The first one-story palace was completed in 1865. It was expanded to its current size between 1874 and 1876, after crown prince Oscar had been crowned king Oscar II of Sweden and Norway.

In 1905, Oscar II's grandchild Prince Gustaf Adolf, future King Gustaf VI Adolf, and his wife, crown princess Margaret received the palace as a wedding gift. They renovated the palace and started the large Rhododendron garden for which the palace is known today. Prince Gustaf Adolf become king in 1950 and until 1973 Sofiero was his and his second wife Lady Louise Mountbatten's official summer residence. It was supposedly the King's favorite place and upon his death, which occurred in Helsingborg, he left Sofiero to the city of Helsingborg so that the general public could enjoy it as much as he had.

The main attraction today is the very large gardens with a wide range of local (and other) plant life, stretching to the shore of Oresund. The Rhododendrons are especially noteworthy, consisting of almost 500 different varieties. The park also holds a small collection of modern art. During the summer the large grass areas are sometimes used for large outdoor concerts with national as well as international stars. The castle itself is today used as restaurant, cafe and at times as a gallery.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Sofierovägen 131, Helsingborg, Sweden
See all sites in Helsingborg

Details

Founded: 1865
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Sweden
Historical period: Union with Norway and Modernization (Sweden)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.sofiero.se

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Kronborg Castle (5,5 km)
St. Mary's Church (4,8 km)
Kärnan (4,6 km)
Helsingør Cathedral (6,1 km)
Carmelite Priory (6 km)


City Hall (45,8 km)
Charlottenborg Palace (45,1 km)
Christiansborg Palace (45,6 km)
Rundetårn (45,1 km)
Trinitatis Church (45 km)
Amalienborg (44,7 km)
Caritas Well (45,4 km)
Rosenborg Castle (44,6 km)
National Museum of Denmark (45,8 km)

User Reviews

Githa Skea-Thuesen (4 months ago)
Beautiful! And great location for strolling. Will be back in spring / summer season, hoping to dine in the cafe / restaurant (closed during winter season).
Conny Gunnarsson (5 months ago)
Used to be the Swedish Kings summer-stay castle, now a magnificent garden, especially in May when the rhododendron is in full bloom! A great and truly magical concert arena, holding Toto and ZZ-top in 2017, and Sting and many others earlier.
Amado Carino (8 months ago)
An enormous magical garden built around the Sofiero Castle, offering thousands of variety of fruit trees and flowers so enchanting you can spend a whole day wandering around the grounds and absorb the beauty of the estate. Not only the variety but the way the flowers and trees were arranged is so special that it makes the ace more appealing and enjoyable. If you like flowers and trees, this is a must.
Yê Schmidt (10 months ago)
The garden is something to see absolutely ! Take your time strolling down the park, you might come across a magical forest, you never know ! Try to enter the castle. The first floor is a museum with some rooms displaying art and some rooms recreating the ambiance when the castle was still lived-in. We really enjoyed our morning there !
Carolyn Bailey (10 months ago)
Beautiful experience. Our tour guide was excellent! Very informative with lots of personal stories about the family. Delicious lunch!! And the dessert was to die for! Thanks for a wonderful experience!!
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Must-see historic sighs in Luxembourg
Photo from Flickr, copyright archer10 (Dennis) 211M Views

Historic Site of the week

Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2019 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.