Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden

The Stockholm Palace (Kungliga Slottet) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. The offices of the monarch and the other members of the Swedish Royal Family as well as the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located there. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state.

The first building on this site was a fortress with a core tower built in the 13th century by Birger Jarl to defend Lake Mälaren. The fortress grew to a palace, named Tre Kronor ("Three Crowns") after the core towers' spire. In the late 16th century, much work was done to transform the old fortress into a Renaissance-style palace under King John III. In 1690, it was decided to rebuild the palace in Baroque style after a design by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. In 1692, work began on the northern row. It was complete in 1697, but much of the palace was destroyed in a fire on May 7, 1697.

Tessin rebuilt the damaged palace, and work continued for another 63 years. Half-round wings around the outer western courtyard were finished in 1734, the palace church was finished in the 1740s, and the exterior was finished in 1754. The royal family moved to the palace with the southwest, southeast, and northeast wings finished. The northwest wing was finished in 1760. In the north, the Lejonbacken ("Lion's Slope") was rebuilt from 1824 to 1830. Its name comes from the Medici lions-inspired sculptures that stand there.

The palace is guarded by the Högvakten, a royal guard of members of the Swedish Armed Forces. The guard dates back to the early 16th century.

Today the Royal Palace has 1430 rooms, 660 with windows and is one of the largest royal palaces in the world still in use for its original purpose. It contains several interesting things to see. In addition to the Royal Apartments there are three museums steeped in regal history: the Treasury with the regalia, the Tre Kronor Museum that portrays the palaces medieval history and Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities.

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User Reviews

Julia Spencer (18 months ago)
The best time to go is on National Holiday in June. They have all kinds of activities and festivities to celebrate. On this day admission is free to everyone. They end the day with a royal parade. However if you are not visiting in June this should still be a must see on your to do list. The Palace is still used today for royal duties. The pomp and circumstance that still thrives in Sweden is breathtaking.

Christine Doan (20 months ago)
The Royal Palace is one of the historic crown jewels of Stockholm. An absolute must visit while wandering through the big city. Carve out some time to observe the grand architecture & intricate details. Remarkably stunning & unforgettable.

S K (23 months ago)
This is a Royal Palace worthy of its name! Very nice to visit, impressive rooms and exhibits. Please don't bring your screaming small children here. They don't even understand where they are but they spoil the experience in an otherwise quiet and elegant space.

Burrito (2 years ago)
This is one stop that you probably shouldn't skip if you're in Stockholm, especially if you're trying to learn about their culture and history. Every room of the palace is a piece of art that tells a different story, from the paintings, sculptures, and wall decor, to the garments, pins and flags that have been made over the decades. A cool detail is that the Sweden still utilizes the palace to celebrate certain events, so it serves multiple purposes. Genuinely an impressive and massive architecture inside and out. We didn't have to wait in line to buy the tickets or get into the palace, but you can buy those online if you're interested. The palace itself takes a good amount of time to get around, especially if you're into Sweden's history and culture, around 2-3 hours and maybe even more.

Nadir Mawji (2 years ago)
Wonderful experience at the Royal Palace. I went on a Monday in September and there were minimal crowds which is great. Your admission ticket also includes access to other museums on site so you should go and check them out too!

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