Summer programme
Visiting the ten Royal palaces is like taking a journey through five centuries of history, art and culture. This year also marks a couple of jubilees!
Take a trip to the Royal palaces and visit the locations that have played central roles in Sweden's royal history. All the Royal sites will be open during the summer season.
During the five hundred years since the royal election in 1523, the Royal palaces and the Royal Court have been a cultural environment in constant interaction with political currents and international developments. Some are part of Swedish history, while others live on in today's cultural life.
With their interiors and collections, the ten Royal palaces encompass 500 years of history and style.
jUBILEE TICKET: 500 YEARS FOR SEK 500
A jubilee ticket will be launched this summer, including entry to all the royal sites.
JUBILEE EXHIBITION
"… standing there means, in essence, being able to touch Sweden's history." (Fokus magazine)
The jubilee exhibition 'Vasa to Bernadotte, 1523 –1973 –2023. Culture in Service of the Realm' is open every day at the Royal Palace.
Buy tickets for the exhibition in advance
Opens in new window.
The earliest history can be found at the Riddarholmen Church – the royal burial church. The church is Stockholm's only preserved mediaeval abbey.
Mediaeval history is also on display at Museum Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) and at Gripsholm Castle. Five hundred years after the royal election of Gustav I (Vasa), the spotlight will be on Gripsholm as a national monument and the Swedish castle that is most closely associated with King Gustav Vasa.
VASA PROGRAMME AT GRIPSHOLM CASTLE
The Vasa jubilee will be commemorated at Gripsholm Castle with Vasa tours, a Vasa walk, concerts and talks.
See the '500 years of King Gustav Vasa' programme Opens in new window.
Some of the country's most magnificent Baroque interiors from Sweden's Age of Greatness can be seen at the World Heritage Site of Drottningholm and the Royal Palace. There are also typical interiors from the Age of Liberty: the Rococo period.
Gustav III's Pavilion at Haga boast the country's best-preserved interiors from the Gustavian era. The stylish monarch also revolutionised furniture history.
Rosendal Palace and Rosersberg Palace showcase the Swedish Empire style, also known as the 'Karl Johan style' after the first king of the Bernadotte dynasty, King Karl XIV Johan. The Swedish Empire style has expressive symbolic content referring to the wars of the time, but despite the king's successful military background, he instead chose the diplomatic path of peace for his new nation.
Both Tullgarn Palace and Ulriksdal Palace have interiors from the reigns of 20th-century monarchs. King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria spent many summers at Tullgarn, where a 'modern' kitchen was installed. Ulriksdal Palace became the royal residence of King Gustav VI Adolf and Queen Louise. Their living room was decorated by Carl Malmsten in 1923, and is now regarded as one of Sweden's finest examples of a 20th century interior.
Contemporary history is also created at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The palace is the official residence of HM The King, and many of the Head of State's official duties are carried out here. The King is celebrating his 50th jubilee in 2023.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION
'King Carl XVI Gustaf – 50 years for Sweden'
A photographic exhibition will be displayed on Slottsbacken outside the Royal Palace from June onwards, featuring images from The King's 50 years as Head of State. Just like The King's motto, 'For Sweden – With the Times', the photographs also depict Sweden over the course of five decades.
There is also a digital version of the exhibition Opens in new window.
Royal sites
The Royal sites include ten Royal palaces, together with their museums, cafés, shops and parks. The Royal Stables and the Riddarholmen Church are also Royal sites.
Find details of the Royal sites here Opens in new window.
Top image: The Chinese Pavilion in Drottningholm Palace Park is one of the royal summer palaces that will be open this summer. The Chinese Pavilion is part of the World Heritage Site of Drottningholm. Photo: Sanna Argus Tirén
This season, a Jubilee ticket will be available. The ticket gives free entry and unlimited visits to all the Royal sites during 2023.
Discover the summer palaces and enjoy the palace parks. This season, two new areas will be presented in the Royal Walks park app. The project to recreate the historic park at Rosendal Palace will be shown on guided park walks (in Swedish) on Wednesdays all summer. Photo: Jonas Borg
"I hope that the jubilee exhibition can contribute additional knowledge about Sweden's rich cultural history, and can lift the lid on all the exciting stories that these objects have to tell." These were The King's words during the opening ceremony for 'From Vasa to Bernadotte', the most extensive exhibition to have been arranged at the Royal Palace. Photo: Jean Baptiste Beranger
"I imagine I have returned to the time of King Gustav I." This is a quotation from King Gustav III, who loved spending time at Gripsholm Castle. According to 18th-century claims, the iron chair once belonged to King Gustav Vasa. It was made in the 16th century, and is seen here in a window recess at Gripsholm Castle with its décor from the Vasa period. Photo: Bruno Ehrs
The Royal summer palaces will be open during the summer, including the Chinese Pavilion in Drottningholm Palace Park, Rosendal Palace on Royal Djurgården and Gustav III's Pavilion in Haga Park. Photo: Gomer Swahn