Surroundings, Stockholm
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The Surroundings of Stockholm include Drottningholm Palace, the residence of the royal family, Gripsholm Castle and Lake Mälar.
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Drottningholm Palace
11km/ 7mi west of the center of Stockholm (45 minutes by boat), on the island of Lovö, is Drottningham Palace, now the residence of the Swedish royal family. The palace, based on French and Dutch models, was built for Queen Eleonora in 1662 by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. It contains pictures by David Klöker Ehrenstrahl and Johan Philip Lempke and sculpture by Nicolas Millich and Burnhard Precht. In the beautiful park with its terraces and avenues of lime-trees are various bronze sculptures brought back from Denmark and Bohemia as trophies of war. In 1774 Drottningham was given to Queen Luise Ulrike (sister of Frederick the Great) as a wedding present, and new wings were added to the palace by Carl Hårleman and Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, with rooms in French Roccoco style, notably in the Library. Adelcrantz was also the architect of the theater (1766), which is still frequently used for performances and still preserves the stage machinery of Gustavus III's reign; 18th century scenery and costumes are displayed in the theater museum.
Drottningholm Slottsteater
Attending a performance at Drottningholm takes you back in time - in more ways than one. Built in 1766, the current opera house is on an island near Stockholm on the Drottningholm Palace grounds, where the Swedish royal family lives. During the season, which runs from the end of May to mid-August, various 18th century stage sets and original instruments are used. The 18th century court theater has only 400 seats so performances are always sold out. Tickets are on sale at 600 post offices at the end of March for one month or can be ordered by mail.
Drottningholm Theater - Performances
Performances in the Drottningholm Theater are given from May to September.
Chinese Pavilion
The Chinese Pavilion (1766) in the Drottningholm Palace park was built for Queen Luise Ulrike as a summer residence; the interior shows a mingling of French Roccoco and Chinoiserie. Nearby is the little settlement of "Canton" (1750-60), built to house the craftsmen making furniture and wallpaper for the Chinese Pavilion.
Birch Island
28km/18mi west of Stockholm, in Lake Mälar, lies the little island of Björkö (Birch Island). During the Viking period Björkö was a trading station, with a population in the 10th century of some 1,000 craftsmen, merchants, peasants and slaves. Here too, about 830, St Angsbar preached the Gospel.In summer there are boat services from Stockholm and Södertälje to Björkö.
Björkö Cemetery
Outside the area of Björkö is a cemetery with some 2,500 burials, the largest in Sweden. Excavations brought to light silver coins from France, an indication of Björkö's extensive trading connections. The area around the old settlement is now protected as an ancient monument. Nearby is St Angstar's Chapel (consecrated 930).
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Mariefred, Sweden
An attractive excursion from Stockholm is a boat trip on Lake Mälar (about three hours) to Mariefred (pop. 2,600), an idyllic little town in a beautiful setting. Mariefred owes its origin and its name to the Carthusian monastery of Pax Mariae which was founded here in 1493 and continued in existence until the Reformation. It is dominated by its 17th century church, situated on a hill. Below is the oldest part of the town, with wooden houses running down to the lake. In the market square, to the north of the church, stands the Town Hall (1784), also timber-built. On the south side of the hill, below the church, is a local museum. The old royal barn of Gripsholm Castle is the House of Graphics, a centre for fine-arts printmaking. On the west side of the town, beyond Stallarholmsvägen, can be found the ruined church of Kärnbo.There are regular boat services between Stockholm and Mariefred.
Gripsholm Castle
The most notable building in Mariefred is Gripsholm Castle, on an island close to the shores of Lake Mälar. It takes its name from an earlier stronghold built in 1380 by Seneschal Bo Johnsson which was burned down during the peasant rising led by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. The present castle was built by Henrik van Göllen between 1537 and 1544 for Gustavus Vasa. Its last occupant, 1864, was King Carl XV. Gripsholm featured in Swedish history on several occasions, and was also used as a prison. In 1809 Gustavus IV Adolphus was compelled to abdicate here.With its thick walls, massive towers and fortifications, Gripsholm has a preserved medieval character in spite of extensive alteration and new building. The two bronze cannon in the cobbled courtyard were trophies of the Russian wars in the reign of John III. One of the runic stones beside the drawbridge has an inscription recording a journey to Russia by Ingvar Vitfarnes.In the interior of the castle, which is now state property, visitors can see 60 of its 102 rooms, including the Round Saloon and the pretty little theater in the Knights' Wing, built for Gustavus III in the 18th century. The collection of 2,800 portraits of royal personages and other notabilities is one of the largest in Europe. Portraits of private citizens from 1809 onwards are housed in the high folk school in Mariefred.
Emskede - Woodland Crematorium
The Woodland Crematorium (1935-40) or the Stockholm Southern Cemetery, as it is less commonly known, is unusual in that its design was the result of a winning competition entry developed in 1915, at the dawn of architect Erik Gunnar Asplund's career. Construction was completed in 1940, the year of his death. What makes this project modern is not so much its style, which is a sort of stripped down neoclassicism, but rather the way its form is integrated with landscape. The forms themselves are composed in the landscape with careful asymmetry and juxtaposition referring to the same cubist and planar influences as does high modernism resulting to form an architectural promenade of scenographic power. Its main architectural components are: a monumentally long walkway leading to the main building; the loggia serving as the entry point to the main building; a large simple cross, next to the main building; a stand of trees planted on a distant mound to form a mediation grove. As important as the building components is the large highly contoured landscape. Fittingly, Asplund was one of the first to be cremated there.
Vaxholm, Sweden
Vaxholm lies on the island of Vaxö, northeast of Stockholm on the channel used by seagoing vessels making for the capital. On a rocky island between Vaxö and Rindö, Gustavus Vasa built a defensive tower to protect this channel. During the 17th century it was developed into a powerful fortress, and in the following century Rindö was also fortified. The fortress of Vaxholm was given its present form in 1838, but immediately after this rebuilding lost any military significance, since its walls could not withstand modern artillery. It now houses a museum, with a collection of material from its days as a fortress. Until 1912 there was a ban on the construction of stone houses in Vaxholm. During the 19th century this was a favorite summer resort of the people of Stockholm, and the little summer houses with a carved decoration and enclosed verandas, are relics of that period.
Vaxholm Fortress Museum
The Vaxholm Fortress began as a blockhouse in the 16th century and then more buildings were added in 1839. The museum has been fully restored and features 35 rooms and halls. The fortress allows a glimpse of life in 1854.
Saltsjöbaden
20km/ 12.5mi southeast of Stockholm (25 minutes on a suburban railroad), on an inlet in the Baggensfjärd, is the little residential town of Saltsjöbaden, a fashionable seaside resort (yacht marina, golf course, tennis courts, etc.). Here too is the Stockholm Observatory.
Stockholm Observatory
The observatory, built in 1931, is home to the Department of Astronomy of Stockholm University. It houses 50cm refractor and 1m reflector telescopes, an antique telescope collection, astronomics library and the world's largest model of our solar system.
Nynashamn, Sweden
60km/40mi south of Stockholm, on the Södertörn peninsula, is Nynäshamn, an industrial town with a modern church. There is a boat service to Visby, on the island of Gotland.Activities of interest in Nynäshamn include swimming, kayaking, hiking and canoeing.
Lake Mälar (Mälaren)
Lake Mälar, Sweden's third largest lake (after Lakes Vänern and Vättern), lies immediately west of Stockholm. 117km/73mi long, it extends through the provinces of Västmanland, Södermanland, Uppsala and Stockholm to the Baltic, with a total area of 1,140sq.km/440sq.mi.It is irregularly shaped, its shores indented by numerous arms and inlets. Its principal tributary rivers are the Eskilstunaå, Arbogaå, Hedström, Kolbäckså, Svartå, Örsundaå and Fyriså. At one time Lake Mälar was an arm of the Baltic, but since the 12th century, because of a fall in the water level, it has been an inland lake. Since 1943 the lake has been regulated to prevent flooding and to avoid unduly low water levels which would hinder the movement of shipping. Vessels with a draught of up to 5.5m/18ft can now sail from the Baltic to Stockholm on the Södertälje Canal and Hammarbyleden.Around the shores of the lake - which are partly fertile and partly rocky - there are many castles, manor houses and estates. There are over 1,000 islands in the lake, with boat services to many of them (including Björkö) in summer. The principal towns on the lake are Stockholm, Västerås and, farther north, Uppsala.
Airports
Stockholm's Arlanda Airport (for long-distance flights) is 45km/28mi north of the city center (fast airport buses from City Terminal). Arlanda and Stockholm's other airport at Bromma handle more than half of all Swedish air traffic.
Tumba - Multicultural Center
The Multicultural Center is interested in how immigration has changed the face of Swedish society. The research is then used for education, publications and exhibitions.
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