Drottningholm Palace – UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Drottningholm Palace is the first World Heritage Site that I visited on this trip. The Royal Domain of Drottningholm was the first Swedish location to be placed on the World Heritage List. Other than the palace the place consists of the Chinese Pavilion and the Drottningholm Royal Theater which is one of the best preserved 18th century theaters in the world. It also has vast gardens with small ponds and lakes which were once used for receiving royal guest and special celebrations. You can reach Drottningholm by taking a boat from the quay outside the City Hall.
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The Drottningholm Palace is the residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm (”Queen’s Islet” in Swedish), built on the island Lovön. The building of the palace began in 1662, after the first palace on the site was burned to the ground. The palace is beautifully decorated in french rococo style and was inspired by the palace in Versailles. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take any photographs inside the palace or inside the theater.
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The Drottningholm Slottsteater (Palace Theater) was built in 1766 and is very unique. It’s summer opera festivals are very popular and the theater is still in use. The stage has hand-painted decorations that can change instantly with stage machinery made of wood and operated by hand. I got a chance to look at the 200-year old theater equipment which is still used today to recreate natural scenes such as thunder and lightning. There were several chambers inside the theatre for dressing/makeup. One the rooms was unique and hidden from normal view as it was used to drink coffee. The person who built the theater died in penury as he had to pay for it for building it himself as the king refused to pay him for building the theater.
Apparently, during medieval ages in Sweden, drinking coffee was illegal and looked down up but it was okay to drink alcohol (even for children).
The unique Kina Slott (Chinese Pavilion) was built by the King Adolf Frederik for Queen Lovisa Ulrika’s Birthday in the 1750’s. The Chinese Pavilions had one of Europe’s best examples of rococo furnishings with chinoserie demonstrating the relations between Europe and Asia 300 years ago.
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