22092015 - I got the bus and train back to Central Station, and walked towards the Royal Palace. That was a big mistake - to visit 2 palaces in the same day. Bad choice. I was overwhelmed with the impressive furniture and intricate sculptures of Drottningholm Palace, that unfortunately, I found the Royal Palace boring. It was pale in comparison to the Drottningholm Palace. Not to mention the fact that the fee to the Royal Palace is more expensive at SEK150, but the fee covers additional two places of Tre Kronor Museum and The Treasury which did not have much visitors. The Royal Palace has its fair share of artistic sculptures in each room with its grand furniture, but somehow, they are not as appealing as the one in Drottningholm Palace. I was not wow by it.
If you ask me which palace is worth going to, I will most definitely choose Drottningholm Palace but I suppose for the convenience of most tourists, most will go to Royal Palace because of its strategic location close to train stations and Gamla Stan. In fact, I, myself know of Royal Palace only, and was not aware of Drottningholm Palace until I googled for must-visit places in Stockholm.
I got to the Royal Palace just in time for the changing of the guards. I wondered how many layers of clothings does the guards wear, because they are standing at the post for some number of hours.
The Royal Palace of Stockholm is His Majesty The King's official residence and is also the setting for most of the monarchy's official receptions. The palace is a daily place of work for The King and Queen as well as for the various departments that make up the Royal Court. The palace has more than 600 rooms divided between seven floors with a state apartment facing the city and smaller living rooms facing the inner courtyard.The palace contains many 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. (Source from Kungahuset)
In this last room I visited, there was a history of one of the royalties who got shot in a party, and died a few days later in the said room. I cannot remember the name of the royalty. He was given a warning in a party about him soon to be assassinated but he did not heed the warning.
I spent an hour in the Royal Palace and continued my walk to Tre Kronor Museum. I saw less than 5 visitors in the Museum.
The Tre Kronor Museum is a museum dedicated to the original Tre Kronor Palace in Stockholm, which was destroyed in a violent fire in 1697. As early as end of the 900s the Vikings built a wooden blockade on the spot where the palace is located today and by the 1100s a defence fort had been constructed. Featuring objects that were rescued from the fire and newly created models, the museum depicts the Tre Kronor Palace's development from defence fort to the Renaissance palace of today. The museum is located on the ground floor of the palace's northern wing, which is also the section which survived the fire the best. To access the museum you have to pass through the five-metre thick defence wall from the 1200s. (Source from Kungahuset)
Next up is The Treasury. The place is connected to one another. There are no photographs allowed in The Treasury. With all the crowns on display, I think the photos may tempt thieves. The exhibition is small and took about 30 minutes to admire all the regalia.
In dark cellar vaults at the Royal Palace the monarchy's most important symbols - the regalia - are kept in safe-keeping. Here you can see Gustav Vasa´s sword of state, Erik XIV´s crown, sceptre and orb and Lovisa Ulrika´s crown. Several of The Princes and Princesses' crowns are also on view as well as the silver baptismal font from 1696, which is still used at royal baptisms. (Source from Kungahuset)
Since I was in Gamla Stan, I decided to explore Gamla Stan again and found myself in front of Nobel Museum. You guess it right - I entered inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment