Royal Palace in Stockholm

The Stockholm Palace, or Stockholms slott, is the royal palace and official residence of the Swedish monarch, in Stockholm. The personal offices of the king and the other members of the Royal Family, as well as the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Sweden is located there. The palace is also used for representative purposes by the king in performing his duties as the head of state. The private residence of the royal family is located at Drottningholm Palace.The palace is located on Stadsholmen, literally Island of the City, in the Stockholm old town right next to the Riksdag building on Helgeandsholmen.

History

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 growed to a palace. The palace was named Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) after the core towers spire. In the late 16th century under John III much work was done to transform the old fortress into a renaissance palace. In 1690 it was decided to rebuild the palace in baroque style. In 1692 work began on the northern row. The work was complete 1697, and the row survived the fire but was damaged.

The new palace was built to replace the old palace which burned to the ground following a fire on May 7, 1697 after a design by Palace Architect Gustav IIIs antikmuseum. It contains ancient sculptures found in Italy.

Högvakten (The High Guard)

The Palace is guarded 24 hours a day by the Högvakten, which consists of conscripted members of the armed forces. The guard dates back to the early 16th century.

See also: Royal Palaces in Sweden