Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [74]
style, depicts this monarch’s militaristic exploits, though the ceiling shows classical battle scenes. The highly ornamented State Bedchamber of Hedvig Eleonora is Sweden’s most expensive baroque interior, decorated with paintings that feature the childhood of Karl XI. The painted ceiling shows Karl X and his queen, Hedvig Eleonora. Although Lovisa Ulrika’s collection of more than 2000 books has been moved to the Royal Library in Stockholm, her library here is still a bright and impressive room, complete with most of its original 18th-century fittings. The elaborate staircase, with statues at every turn, was the work of both Nicodemius Tessin the Elder and the Younger. Circular Drottningholms Slottskyrka (admission free), the palace chapel, wasn’t completed until the late 1720s.
DROTTNINGHOLMS SLOTTSTEATER & TEATERMUSEUM
Slottsteater (Court Theatre; 759 04 06; www.dtm.se; admission by tour adult/child Skr60/40; tours hourly noon-4pm May, 11am-4pm Jun-Aug, 1-3pm Sep) was completed in 1766 on the instructions of Queen Lovisa Ulrika. Remarkably untouched from the time of Gustav III’s death (1792) until 1922, it’s now the oldest theatre in the world still in its original state; performances are held here in summer (see right) using 18th-century machinery, including ropes, pulleys, wagons and wind machines. Scenes can be changed in less than seven seconds!
Illusion was the order of the day here, and accordingly the theatre makes use of fake marble, fake curtains and papier-mâché viewing boxes. Even the stage was designed to create illusions regarding size.
The fascinating guided tour takes you into other rooms in the building, where highlights include hand-painted 18th-century wallpaper and an Italianate room (salon de déjeuner) with fake three-dimensional wall effects and a ceiling that looks like the sky.
KINA SLOTT
At the far end of the gardens is Kina Slott (402 62 70; adult/child Skr60/30, combined ticket incl royal palace Skr110/55; 11am-4.30pm May-Aug, noon-3.30pm Sep), a lavishly decorated Chinese pavilion built by King Adolf Fredrik as a birthday surprise for Queen Lovisa Ulrika (1753). Restored between 1989 and 1996, it boasts one of the finest rococo chinoiserie interiors in Europe. There’s a cafe on the premises serving good waffles, and the admission price includes guided tours, which run at 11am, 1pm and 3pm daily from June to August (the schedule is reduced in May and September).
On the slope below Kina Slott, the carnivalesque Guards’ Tent (admission free; 11am-4.30pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug) was erected in 1781 as quarters for the dragoons of Gustav III, but it’s not really a tent at all. The building now has displays about the gardens and Drottningholm’s Royal Guard.
EATING
Bring a picnic with you and nibble in the gardens, or munch away at one of the two restaurants by the palace. There’s also a small kiosk by the driveway entrance.
Drottningholms Paviljongen (759 04 25; light meals Skr45-100, mains Skr155-225) Close to the boat dock, this cafe peddles light meals like sandwiches and heartier mains, as well as coffee and cakes. Outdoor seating lends the place a garden-party vibe.
Drottningholms Wärdshus (759 03 08; mains Skr150-260) Opposite the palace grounds, this more upmarket option has a predilection for meaty mains, from roast lamb to seared cod.
ENTERTAINMENT
Drottningholms Slottsteater (660 82 25; www.dtm.se; Drottningholm; tickets Skr165-410) The royal palace’s whimsical 18th-century theatre stages mostly opera productions in summer that are well worth an encore.
Ekerö & Munsö
These long and narrow islands in Mälaren lake are joined together and have a main road running most of their length. The free car ferry to Adelsö departs from the northern end of Munsö.
The two churches of Ekerö and Munsö both date from the 12th century. Munsö kyrka is a particularly fetching structure with a round tower and narrow steeple.
Buses 311 and 312 frequently run out here from T-Brommaplan in Stockholm.