Guides – Touring The Nordic Countries

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind 3 Nordic Estates

Picture Credit- Unofficial Royalty

Gjestestuene at Norsk Folkemuseum

Gjestestuene at Norsk Folkemuseum- commons.wikimedia.org

Gjestestuene –Gjestestuene is beautifully situated at the Norwegian Folk Museum in Oslo. Gjestestuene is surrounded by old farmsteads and a stave church from the 1200s. Gjestestuene was built in 1917 by the renowned architect Magnus Poulsson. His style was was quite popular in the early 1900s.  Today you can host a dinner party or a wedding at Gjestestuene, as they cater to groups as little as 15 and as large as 250 people.

Gjestestuene selskapslokaler
Strømsborgveien 2, 0287 Oslo, Norway
+47 488 91 603

Bakkehuset-( Bakkehusmuseet ) is a historic house museum in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Dating from the 1520s, this building has been used for a number of functions. It was used as a farmhouse, inn, a home, as well as a hospital and orphanage. Today, it functions as a museum has a beautiful small park will be located next to the museum.

Bakkehusmuseet.dk

Rahbeks Alle 23, 1801 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
+45 33 31 43 62

Bygdø Royal Farm –Bygdø Royal Farm is located in Oslo, Norway and today is owned by the state but at the  King’s disposal. Bygdø Royal Farm has been owned or used by Norwegian monarchs since 1305.   The farm dates back to the Middle Ages.  King Christian Frederik resided here during his reign in 1814. In 1837 King Carl Johan bought Bygdø Royal Farm from the state.  He had the French gardens re-landscaped in the more natural English style, and enlarged the lake to its current size. The property remained in royal hands until 1863, when King Carl IV sold it back to the state. In 1905, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud began using the farm as their permanent summer residence and enabled the Queen to be able to pursue her interest in gardening.

Bygdø is one of the best examples of an upper class 17-18th-century country houses in Norway. At that time it was the custom in all the Scandinavian countries for the upper classes to spend the winter in the city and move to estates in the surrounding countryside during the summer. The estates were actively farmed in the summer to supply during the winter months in the city.

The present main house was built by Count Christian Rantzau, from 1731 to 1739, as his summer residence. By 1734 the house was complete and the property had been redesigned in the contemporary Baroque style.  The house is a fine example of Norwegian early Baroque panel architecture.  The main building and garden are designed to complement each other. The development of the garden reflects the history of Norwegian landscape gardening from the early 18th century to the first decades of the 20th.  After the death of King Olav the park was somewhat neglected, but in 2003 restoration work begun that was completed by summer 2007, when the King and Queen resumed the tradition of using Bygdø as summer residence.  Source royalcourt.no

Bygdøy Royal Farm

Bygdøy, 0287 Oslo, Norway
+47 22 04 87 00

Bakkehusmuseet

Bakkehuset- en.wikipedia.org

Bakkehuset- Swedish Estate Tours

Bakkehuset bakkehusmuseet.dk

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The BEST Antiques Fair In Sweden THIS August- 80 Dealers! Preview The Goods ONE DAY In ADVANCE With A Pass

Are you interested in seeing the best antiques Sweden has to offer?

The highest quality finds will be at the Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair, August 27 – 30th.

Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair is the third largest antiques fair in Sweden, with 80 antiques dealers from all over the country and the Copenhagen area, offering depth of knowledge and reputation of quality Swedish antiques.

Considered a trade secret among Swedish dealers, making the event a “must-visit” destination for the international trade as well.

Experience Swedish antiques, folk art, design and collectibles in the perfect settings of Katrinetorps buildings and gardens.

Here is how you can access to this first-class event ONE DAY EARLY:

Contact Daniel Larsson, as tickets are only accessible with an invitation.

Daniel sits on the advisory board of Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair, which allows him all-access pass. He will be able to prepare badges and passes for those who are interested in viewing the advance preview.

The fair opens at 08.00 on Thursday FOR DEALERS the 27th of August, one day before the general public which enters at three a clock on Friday the 28th Aug.

There will be a transport company at the fair that can help you with delivery of purchased items.

For a one of a-kind-look before the fair opens, contact Daniel.

Daniel Larsson
International Trade Marketing / Advisory Board
Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair

D.Larsson Interiör & Antikhandel
Wrangelsgatan 13
254 39 Helsingborg
Sweden

Tel: 0046 734 38 18 43

Mail: info@dlarssoninterior.com

Address Of The Fair:

Katrinetorplanderi.
Katrinetorps allé 1,
215 74 Malmö.

Google Map

Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair 3Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair 2Malmö Dekorativa Antiques Fair 1

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Living In Norway- Norwegian Life In The 18th & 19th Centuries By Elisabeth Holte

Living In Norway- Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

Living In NorwayLiving in Norway by Elisabeth Holte, is a book you need to look though. This book features 250 lovely photographs of Norwegian interiors which specialize on folk motifs, and countryside homes.  The book is divided into the four seasons: fall, winter, spring and summer.

When it comes to antiques, this book shows them in their historical natural settings.  View homes that look untouched from the 18th and 19th centuries.  Many of the “hytta” or cabins found in Norway have been now turned into bed and breakfasts or museums which have kept much of the traditional interiors intact.

Look through many examples of traditional rosemaling on the walls and on the outside of the shadow box beds that show you the sheer talent of country people in the 19th century.  In this book you will find a rich selection of Norwegian homes, interior and exteriors images, focusing on mostly historical homes, with the exception of one home set in the modern style.

214 pages show a variety of pictures, with a special section at the back featuring a visitors guide.  While this book was published in 1999, this book is breathtaking, and be a classic example of the interiors found a long ago that we never get tired of.

The Kristiana- An Elegant Club in Denmark- Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

The Kristiana- An Elegant Club in Denmark

Quotes I found most interesting:

On The Style Of Houses In Scandinavia “As Far back as ancient times, the Swedes usually constructed lightweight buildings with wooden facades, while the Danes, who claim practically no forests, built their (hatched cottages in stone and clay: the Norwegians built their solid valley farms of logs, one farm often made up of twenty buildings for different uses”

On Dragon Viking Style In Norway – “It was only in 1005 that Norway became a monarchy again with the coronation of the Danish prince Charles (the grandfather of the present King Harald), who came to the throne under the name Haakon VII. A renewed national consciousness was expressed in architecture and furnishings by the adoption of the Dragon style, inspired by a pseudo-Viking nationalism. As a people, therefore, we are both old and young, which explains the dominant rural trait in Norwegian culture”

On The Popularity Of Dragon Style “Dragon chairs that had been banished to the attic are now being brought down for a fresh look. The style originated in Sweden at the beginning of the 19th century and spread to Norway. The Swedes and the Danes tired of it in the 1880’s but Norwegians maintained the Dragon style and used it as a symbol of their ongoing struggle to leave the threadbare union with Sweden, which ended in 1905. Considered a pure Scandinavian tradition, totally independent of what was happening on the continent, the Dragon style was an expression of the pride of the Viking age”

On The North Summer Nights “As the days get longer, nobody wants to go to bed. In the south, it is possible to read outside in the garden until eleven o’clock at night and the sun is already up again by four in the morning. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn’t set at all, creating an almost unreal atmosphere. During those ‘white’ nights of the midnight sun. time seems to stand still. In enjoy the beauty of the midnight sun at its most breathtaking”

On Rose Painting Artists “Rose Painting was distinguished as any of the country’s more widely known cultural representatives. Rose-painting was a rustic art made by local masters who traveled from farm to farm, often spending months in one place carving and painting the most magnificent interiors. The tradition of rose-painting started at the beginning of the 18th century and reached a peak towards the beginning of the l9th, surviving until the middle of the 19th century. For the owners of the houses, rose-painting was a way of expressing new-found prosperity, and farmers and peasants wanted to show off their wealth and their improved social status, much as the prosperous merchants and civil servants in the towns displayed theirs”

Norway’s Coastlines “Along Norway’s southeastern coast the climate is sometimes so mild that even herbs like thyme, cultivated on the terrace to flavour summer meals, survive the winter . One of summer’s highlights on the Sorlandet is the Trebatfestivalen (Wooden Boat Festival)
which takes place in August in the fine little sailboat town of Ris0r, whose harbour is lined with white wooden houses. Timber trade with Holland led to the creation of Risor in the 17th century, and it grew to become an important trade and ship-building port in the 18th century without ever losing its charming small-town atmosphere.”

On Rose Painting Art “Rose-painting was an amalgam of local tradition and personal style. Artists generally knew of the major artistic trends and skilfully incorporated this knowledge into their designs. Although rose-painting lagged behind stylistically in relation to the major artistic trends that were evolving on the continent, you can nonetheless find elements drawn from all the major styles—Renaissance, baroque, rococo and Empire. The leitmotif of rose-painting, the elegant, sweeping baroque tendril, could play different roles within a design, in conjunction with flowers, in elaborate geometric patterns or as a structure for other motifs;. Popular motifs included human figures (the artist might paint the farmers wife if he found her pretty enough), flowers, trees, religious scenes, and soldiers on horseback with little dogs running at their feet. Artists chose pure, bright hues to produce vivid but harmonious effects”

On Popular Antique Furniture “For two or three generations, there has been a craze for antique farm furniture and objects in Norways towns, ranging from fine and costly 18th-century tables and dressers to a more basic lyed farm table or the antique wooden bowl. It is only recently that urban antiques have started to attract attention. Mainly of these come from Sweden, Denmark and Norways southern coast, and are made From birch or old English mahogany in the Empire style. However, bondemobler, or old farm furniture, remains the most sought after type of antique”

On Artist Peder Aadnes “One of the most renowned 18th-century painters in the lowlands to the east was Peder Aadnes.  He created delicate, baroque, floral designs in soft blues, but his style tended to be more urban than that of his fellow masters. When rose-painted furniture attributed to Peder Aadnes or his fellow masters appears on the antique dealer’s circuit in Norway today, you have to be prepared to pay enormous sums for a major item such as a sideboard.  The colors and forms are so beautiful that you could put that sideboard in an empty room and need little else”

On Antiques In The Countryside “Even in the most modern Norwegian homes, it is unusual not to find at least one small remnant of the countries rural heritage —a bowl, a table, a rose-painted chest of drawers, or a painted dresser. (It would also be unusual not to find an example of Norway’s innovative contemporary handblown glass or pottery.) Up until the middle of this century, there was little appreciation of antique farm furniture in the rural areas and much of it was bought up cheaply by city dwellers dealers. These days, most farmers value their heirlooms—their painted beds, massive tables, rose-painted or stenciled walls—and take good care of them. On some farms, whole interiors can be works of art. Because craftsmen not only made furniture but also carved and painted entire rooms, including the bonded timber walls and the ceilings. Baroque tendrils and rococo shells adorn the massive wooden walls and beamed ceilings, while carvings of soldiers or king- with sabres drawn, brings doors to life. Many of these 18th century rooms still survive intact in farmhouses in the valleys and on the lowlands of southern and eastern Norway. Some are still used by the descendants of their original owners. Often, though, the present-day owners have made themselves modern houses next to the old ones, with luxuries such as electricity and plumbing”

Rugs Made From Scraps Of Cloth “Yli farm in Telemark is one of Norway’s finest folk art interiors, with 1797-1807 richly carved box beds and exquisite rose-painting. The lush, colourful rose-painting, rosemaling, by renowned local masters, involved far more than mere flower decorations and usually did not include any roses at all. In many valley’s dialects, rosut (rosy) simply meant decorated; rose-painting was the general name for the luxuriant rural decorative art in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the old days, weaving cotton rag rugs (left) was a way to make use of worn household textiles and clothes.”

Get the book  Living In Norway, By Elizabeth Holte, Photography by Solvi Dos Santos from $12 dollars on Amazon

William Jensen Kilm Cushionside sofa in the bedroom in his Oslo Apartment- Keywords Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

William Jensen displays his Kilm Cushion-side sofa in the bedroom in his Oslo Apartment


Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Swedish Council Of America Articles

Swedish Council Of America Articles

DECORATIVE ARTS

FOLK ART

FABRIC ARTS

MUSEUMS

WOODWORKING

PAINTING AND DRAWING

CRAFTS AND DECORATIVE ARTS (book reviews)

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Behind The Rundale Palace in Latvia

Behind The Rundale Palace in Latvia
This week we’re visiting Rundale Palace in Latvia, newly restored to former glory. I can’t wait to go there.

This summer, New York-based photographer Christopher Flach discovered this world-heritage Latvian palace, Rundale. I had been aware of this baroque treasure, and knew it was undergoing major restoration. Chris was there just at the right moment.

Rundale, built between 1736 and 1740, is important because it paints a vivid portrait of the period from 1730 to around 1812. Rundale graphically embodies the world of an international coterie of eighteenth-century architects and craftsmen who traveled from one job-site to the next in Europe. These talents worked on palaces and museums for the Russian and Swedish and Latvian kings and czars and queens and empresses and nobles in the late eighteenth century.

Rundale Palace is one of the most outstanding monuments of Baroque and Rococo art in the Baltic region.

Read more at the thestylesaloniste.com

Louis XV Suite 19th Century Rococo Settee and 4 Armchairs Gilded Ranavalona 2

Louis XV Suite 19th Century Rococo Settee and 4 Armchairs Gilded Ranavalona

Blue Lotus on ebay is selling a stunning 19th century suite of one settee and four armchairs.  The set is originally from the residence of Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar.

They are unable to determine which of the two last queens of Madagascar this belonged to.  Judging from the quality of the workmanship, carving, and gilding, this came from a fine Paris workshop.

Graceful and light in overall composition and ornamentation.  The settee measures 54″ x 28″ x 40″, and four armchairs, 27″ x 24″ x 36.5″.  Blue Lotus is selling this set for $2,500

Dutch Valley has a stunning Neo-classical painted commode for sale on ebay. The commode is finely carved with extravagent gilt details and has a green veined marble top. The credenza was originally made by French Heritage, and has two deep center drawers flanked by half round side cabinets with shelf space on turned and fluted legs. Dutch Valley has this listed for $5,499  Consider buying a Demilune cabinet for your home.

Sheila Bridges’ Neoclassical Apartment Featuring Swedish Dressers Chairs ANd A Mora Clock PLUS French Louis XVI Furniture- Demilune WHite Chest

See Sheila Bridges’ Neoclassical Apartment On New York Social Diary

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind Skogaholm Manor

Skogaholm Manor

Skogaholm Manor, Jane Nearing

Skogaholm Manor is a large mansion built in the Caroline style in 1680,  located at Skansen in Stockholm.

Skogaholm Manor, forms part of the open air museum at Skansen where it stands as an example of an 18th century Swedish manor house.  The manor’s main building was donated in 1929 to the Nordic Museum and moved from Svennevads parish in southeast Närke.

The manor house was built around 1690 for Catherine Rosenberg and her husband Anders Wennerberg Manor, who inherited Skogaholm after her parents Simon Rosenberg and Margaret Larsdotter, and had visible colored red timber with white trim.

Skansen Air Museum is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) as a way to show life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. Hazelius bought around 150 houses from all over the country, and had them shipped piece by piece to the museum, where they were rebuilt to provide a unique picture of traditional Sweden. Only three of the buildings in the museum are not original, and were painstakingly copied from examples he had found.

All of the buildings are open to visitors and show the full range of Swedish life from the Skogaholm Manor house built in 1680, to the 16th century Älvros farmhouses. Skansen attracts more than 1.3 million visitors each year and many of the exhibits cover over the 75 acre (300,000 m²) with a full replica of an average 19th-century town, in which craftsmen in traditional dress such as tanners, shoemakers, silversmiths, bakers and glass-blowers demonstrate their skills in period surroundings.

  • Skansen Air Museum,Djurgarden 49-51, Stockholm 115 93, Sweden

Other Interesting Links:

Skogaholm Manor – The Interior Archive

Skogaholm Manor, Madame Berg Blog

The Skogaholm Manor – Skansen- Bittelitens Blog

The Skogaholm manor – Skansen – Cision

Skansen, Skogaholm Manor Panorama Pictures – 360Cities

Skansen- Johan Schuisky Pinterest

Skansen – Traditional Sweden in Miniature – PBase.com

 

Interesting Reviews:

“I have visited Skansen some times some years ago, and I enjoyed this revisit. The guides are excellent providers of information, and the interiors are cleverly reconstructed along with matching dresses of the guides. Statarlångan, Helsingslandsstugan, the ironware shop, Konsum shop … every house and shop have its past and worth while a visit. Petissan is a small, picturesque cafe where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and a variety of cakes. The carpenter’s workshop and the knowledgeable guide made me especially happy.” kanute07

“We made the mistake of not preparing for our visit. We had no idea of the size of the property, 75 acres, or of the number of historic buildings, 150! Thus, we did not leave enough time to properly watch the artisans at work, or talk to the interpreters in their traditional dress. Our hour and a half just skimmed the surface of what there was to see. We also made the mistake of not arriving at the main gate, and had to take a funicular railway. Thus, we missed the 15 shops in The Town Centre. The best time to visit is obviously not in mid-week in September, when activity is winding down, and the buildings begin closing at 5 pm. The free map is also essential!” Billitchyfeet

“This open-air museum is a collection of Swedish stuff. Swedish animals, Swedish housing across time and places, Swedish traditional clothing, everything. They even have real-size replica of a traditional old Swedish village from the 17th century. The Swedish animals are awesome! Make sure to go around 3:00 PM, it’s the animals’ feeding time.” John J

Summerhouse of Swedenborg Source- Wikipedia

Summerhouse of Swedenborg Source- Wikipedia

Graeme & Ann's 2010 Trip Stockholm

Graeme & Ann’s 2010 Trip: Skogaholm Manor

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The History Behind Jean Bernadotte Otherwise Known As Karl Johan

Pair of Karl Johan MirrorsPair of carved and gilded wood mirrors from the Karl Johan, or empire, period, Sweden circa 1830. Original brass candle holders on each. Original gilding, mirror glass, and backs. $8,500

He was born by the name Jean Bernadotte in France,  and later in life became the ruler of Sweden.   Here is how the history unfolded…..

Napoleon I  – On The French Front

In May of 1804, the French people voted to change the consulate to an empire and to make Napoléon the Emperor of France.

In 1805, Austria, England, Russia and Sweden became united in a new Third Coalition to move against France.  It was in September of 1805, when Austria attacked the French controlled Bavaria.   Napoléon moved his army into Germany in September, and by October, Napoleon  captured the Austrians at Ulm and occupied Vienna.  It didn’t stop there, in December, Napoléon won his most brilliant victory which decimated the Austro-Russo armies at Austerlitz.

In June of the following year, Napoléon named his brother Louis as King of Holland, and within each following each victory, Napoléon enlarged the French Empire.

On the other front, Prussia and Russia joined together to mount a new campaign against France.  In  October, of 1806, Napoléon’s army decimated the Prussian army at Jena and at nearby Auerstadt.  Napoléon was interested in preventing his enemies, especially the British, from trading with continental Europe.  In November, he declared a new administrative law, which banned English ships from all ports under French control.

Napoléon was on a roll, in June of 1807, Napoléon eliminated the Russian armies at Friedland, which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, by Napoléon and Tsar Alexander.  Under the treaty, King Frederick William III, of Prussia, became a vassal to France and lost half of his territories.  Russia was forced to recognize the yet-to-be-created Grand Duchy of Warsaw which was to be carved out of Prussian Poland.  Russia was also forced to make other territorial changes.   Napoléon then turned to defeating Sweden, which he did with the help of Russia, in 1808.

The Start Of Things Falling Apart For Napoleon

The Peninsular War began in 1808 when Spanish and Portuguese forces rebelled against French rule. Tens of thousands of French soldiers died in the war, and the loss of Spain and Portugal greatly damaged Napoléon’s prestige.

Napoléon divorces Josephine, aged 46 years old in 1809, because she had not produced an heir.  Worried about the continuity of the empire, he had the senate pronounce his divorce from Josephine in December of 1809.  It was because of this that Pope Pius VII excommunicated Napoléon.  Retaliating, Napoléon had the Pope arrested on July 6.  On February 17, 1810, the Papal States were annexed to France.  The pope was then forced to sign an additional concordat and to annul Napoléon’s marriage to Josephine. It wasn’t too long after that that Napoléon married Marie Louise, in April, 1810, the 18 year old daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria.

On July 9, 1810, Napoléon again increased the size of the Empire by annexing Holland and much of Germany to the Empire.

Jean Bernadotte – On The Swedish Front….

Bernadotte joined the French army and after the French Revolution, he advanced quickly and was in 1804 appointed as a Marshal of France by Napoleon I, even though the pair had a tumultuous relationship. When his service to France ended in 1810, he was voted the heir to the Swedish throne.

In August of 1810 Swedish Parliament had their eye on him for the Swedish throne.  In October the same year, Bernadotte arrived in Sweden, and quickly took over as the real head of state, as the reigning King Karl XIII was in poor health. The Swedish royal family was dying out with King Charles XIII, so Baron Carl Otto Mörner (a Swedish courtier), advocated for his position for leadership.

Karl Johan had good relations with France however, Swedish foreign policy led Sweden into alliance with Russia and Britain against France. Sweden was then promised to Norway, which meant going against Napoleon.  In 1813 led Karl Johan Swedish troops in the sixth coalition war , which was successful against France.  After the victory against French, he forced Denmark to cede Norway by the Treaty of Kiel . Norway declared its independence after having hosted a national assembly at Eidsvoll, but after a short war in late summer 1814 the Norwegians surrendered, and  entered into a union with Sweden.

A few facts about Karl Johan:

  • He was originally named Jean Bernadotte, but was also named Jean Baptiste after John the Baptist
  • He converted the royal court from Roman Catholicism to the Lutheranism, and never learned to speak Swedish or Norwegian.  French was widely spoken by the Swedish aristocracy.
  • He married in 1798 with Désirée Clary , who had previously been engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte .

Rosersberg Carl's Country Retreat - Featured in Neoclassicism In The North On Amazon Rosersberg Carl's Country Retreat - Featured in Neoclassicism In The North On Amazon Rosersberg Carl's Country Retreat - Featured in Neoclassicism In The North On Amazon

Rosersberg Carl’s Country Retreat – Featured in Neoclassicism In The North On Amazon

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

10 Of The Best Tours In Sweden

Gripsholm Castle- Ground Floor Corridor Coutiers Wing Built 1780-82

Gripsholm Castle- Ground Floor Corridor Coutiers Wing Built 1780-82, Neoclassicism In The North

If you have never been to Sweden, here is a guide of what tourists have found to be the best and not so worthy sites to visit….

Best Places To Visit………..

1.  Monteliusvägen Is Totally Worth Finding According To Many –Is a scenic walkway along the heights of Södermalm.   This is one of the most captivating viewpoints in Stockholm, as it overlooks the Old Town and Norrmälarstrand.  Plan a lunch or get a latte and enjoy looking at the view from many of the benches that are available.  Plan something really special for your significant other here.  Tourists have said it is tricky to find, yet definitely worth the search. Many mention that many of the locals don’t even know the place exists or very  surprised tourists can find the place on their own.

2.  Take In A Free Walking Tour Of Downtown Stockholm– Enjoy a free 90-minute walking tour of Stockholm’s Norrmalm district with a guide who works only for tips, so all you need to pay is what you feel the tour was worth at the end!- Links- Get Our Guide.com, Trip Advisor.com

3.  Fotografiska Museum – (The Swedish Museum of Photography) -Fotografiska presents four unique large exhibitions and about 20 smaller exhibitions annually.  The photos will range from powerful and thought-provoking to creepy.   This museum will certainly be a very interesting tour!

4. The Vasa Museum is an absolute must for any tourist!  The Vasa Ship Museum features one of the most complete and best preserved shipwrecks in the world.   The ship sank a few hundred meters from its first sailing in the 1650’s.  It was then discovered at the bottom of the harbor was painstakingly brought back to the surface and reassembled. In the museum, you can see this ship up-close, and truely is a work of art.

5.  The Ghost Walking Tour In Gamla Stan– This tour isn’t your every day tour.  Get the inside story behind stories of legends, diseases, murders and of course, ghosts. The old town is charming. Get lost in the atmosphere of walking down cobbled streets and winding avenues. The buildings are colorful, and the narrow lane ways are very interesting to see. Mårten Trotzigs Gränd is the narrowest alley. Take time out to leisurely visiting the shops, eating at the local eateries, enjoying the architecture and simply soaking it all up.  There is a lot to see and do, however, don’t arrive early, as many shops don’t open until 11:00 a.m.

 6.  Royal Palace, Riddarholmen, Stockholm, Sweden- Amongst all European palaces, many people report that this one is the most interesting.  It’s beautiful Baroque architectural style took 63 years to finish. This palace is proper and formal but far from pompous. The collection of costumes, uniforms and jewelry are kept in the main museum, while the basement museum features the architectural fortifications and underpinning of the “new” palace.

This palace has over 1400 rooms and many are still in use today.The tour takes about one hour but you can go at your own pace through the many rooms.  Your ticket would cover the State and Guest apartments, the treasury, the Kroner Museum and Museum of Antiquities.  They stamp your ticket at each venue, which allows you to visit once, over 7 days if you so wish.  You can’t take any photographs inside, but the gift shop sells books and post cards.

The changing of the guard ceremony has been a daily tradition since 1523.  The change happens at 12pm and lasts for approximately 40 minutes.

Pictures

– Throne room, Drottningholm Royal Palace, Sweden.- Corbis Images

-Chinese Style Interior at the Royal Palace of Drottningholm – Corbis Images

Helpful Comments On Trip Advisor

Pay Attention To The Tapestries “The tapestries in the palace are most interesting. Some depict the lavish lifestyle of the Swedish Royalty. There is one in particular that shows famous people from around the World including The Beatles and Bob Dylan plus many Heads of State.”

You Can Walk Through At Your Own Pace, Or Take The Tour “The Tre Kroner museum gives a history of the palace, we nearly missed it we were on way out when we spotted sign leading down some stairs.You can do the Palace on your own as we did but there were guided tours.”

“The Tre Kronor museum takes you into the Medieval history of the palace which I found fascinating”

“There is so much to see, but no photos are allowed–fair warning! The crown jewels/Treasury museum was my favorite, but the apartments were by far the coolest thing to walk through.”

“There was a very interesting temporary exhibition about the life of today’s king. Among the old baroque palace halls you can see the room which is designed nowadays, for various state meetings – it’s modest and elegant. All in all the palace has modest and austere (even bordering on dull) look in comparison with other European palaces, but hey, this is probably one of the reasons why Sweden never had any revolutions, the royals were just less greedy than the others!”

Take The Tour and Then Visit The Palace On Your Own –“The Royal apartments are very dark, and you can not take any pictures. The attendants in the museum are there to make sure you don’t take pictures, not to answer questions. The only exception to this is the guard in the knights room, they are friendly and will answer questions. A few of the rooms were very nice, but most were just dark. There are many stairs. You can see the backs of some statues on the tour but are not allowed to go to see the front of the statues.”

Lack Of Restrooms Within The Palace “Two warnings. You cannot take any pictures inside the palace and WCs are at a premium. Make sure you use the one at the gift store/ticket center before you go in as there are none in the palace.”

7. Oaxen Slip in Djurgarden “Our favorite meal was dinner at Oaxen Slip in Djurgarden, which our AirBnB host recommended to us. It is the cheaper, ‘backdoor’ sister restaurant to Michelin-starred Oaxen Krog. We ordered a variety of dishes to share, and everything we ate was spectacular! In fact, this is the first time I could say I actually enjoyed the veggie dishes more than the meat dishes. The baby asparagus was absolutely divine. Our waiter also recommended the beets with mayonnaise, which sounded suspect but we went along with what he said, which ended up being the right decision- they were also divine! We also had duck, pork and char as our entrees, and then the bread pudding and glace du four desserts. Service, and our waiter in particular, was great”

8.  Stockholm City Hall has been described as a hidden gem.  This building is the seat of Stockholm city government and also contains a luxury restaurant and happens to be the site of the banquet after the Nobel Prize ceremony. The organ in the Blue Hall has 10,270 pipes and is the largest in Scandinavia.  If you intend to catch the tour, it is advised to buy your ticket in advance. One lady said that if you buy tickets at the hall, you need to buy them in the gift shop and can get crazy if you are feeling rushed to get on to the tour and someone in front of you is buying postcards. The tours last 45 mins and sell out quickly.  The views from the top of the hall are especially captivating.  So get your camera ready.

 9. The Swedish History Museum- This museum has an extensive and unique collection of Viking artifacts, some dating to 4,800 BC. The second floor has a very imaginative timeline of Swedish history and some report a  disturbing exhibit that graphically shows a medieval massacre.  The best part of this museum is their famed Guldrummet or Gold Room.   They feature over 100lbs of gold and 500lb of silver which are treasures from the Bronze to Middle Ages.  This museum is a must see.

10.  Royal Armoury  -If you are interested in learning about Sweden’s royalty, this is the place to go.  The history behind Sweden’s kings and queens from the 15th century are displayed in an ever-expanding collection of memories from the country’s different dynasties.  They give the history behind Sweden’s well-known events in a captivating way.  See objects like Gustav Vasa’s crested helmet in 1548, or the costume Gustav lll wore at the masked ball at which he was murdered.  View costumes worn in various films such as from the film “Elizabeth”

We will have to leave Gothenburg, Malmö, Marstrand, Skåne, and Visby/Gotland for another article……..

 Some Of The Less Than Impressive Sites According To Comments At Trip Advisor:

Skansen Museum “Some of the less impressive things we did in Stockholm included going to the Skansen museum… we just didn’t understand what the hype was about. At first we thought it would be cool to see the old houses and be able to go inside them, but all of the doors were locked! There was written commentary outside each of the houses, ie. “Inside the living room there are some interesting artifacts” which really didn’t help since we weren’t able to go inside” here

“As for Skansen, everyone I took there really liked it, you must have been unlucky if many of the houses were closed. High season is probably better”

Rosendal’s Garden “We also walked all the way to Rosendal’s Garden to have lunch, given the positive views on TA, but it did not live up to expectations at all! If it had been closer to the museums, then that would be one thing, but we had to walk through farms and forests to get there. To us, it seemed like a prettied-up self-service cafe, and the food wasn’t even that great. If I could do it again, I would give this place a pass”here

A Bit About Swedish Culture Before Visiting Sweden

-43 Things I Love About Sweden – blogs.sweden.se/

-Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Sweden and the Swedish –expatsblog.com

– 10 Things Not to Do in Sweden – About.com

-Party Like A Local – 10 things to know before visiting Sweden CNN.com

Additional Related Articles

–The Lavish Interior Of The Swedish Häringe Castle The Swedish Furniture

–A Look At The Castle Behind The Movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-The Swedish Furniture

–The Gustavian Style Of Swedish Interior Designer Louis Masreliez- Part 1 -The Swedish Furniture

-The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 1- Stromholm  The Swedish Furniture

–The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 2 King Gustav Vasa – The Swedish Furniture

–The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 3 Skokloster & Steninge Palace – The Swedish Furniture

–Neoclassicism in the North- The Style Saloniste

–Swedish Painted Furniture Gustavian Neo-classical Annie Sloan

Empire style in the former royal summer palace Rosersberg daserste.ndr.de

Empire style in the former royal summer palace Rosersberg – Picture Credit daserste.ndr.de

The study of duke Fredrik Adolph Tullgarn Palace -www.kungahuset.se

The study of duke Fredrik Adolph Tullgarn Palace –www.kungahuset.se

History Behind Many Of Sweden’s Palaces

Haga Palace

Since 1966 this small palace has been in the Swedish government’s hands, and used for meetings and conferences and as a guest house for prominent foreign visitors.Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt decided to return the right of disposal to the royal family.

Here is the summarized history behind Haga…….

  • The neoclassical Haga Palace was built 1802-1805 by the architect Carl Christoffer Gjörwell on the orders of King Gustaf IV Adolf. Across the road was Gustaf III’s Pavilion, which had been built by Olof Tempelman for King Gustaf III in 1787-1790.  Located behind this was the ruins of  Haga Palace, a Swedish Versailles designed by Louis-Jean Desprez.  The structure which was being built was was halted when Gustaf III was assassinated in 1792. Later when his son, Gustaf IV Adolf, found his father’s pavilion to be too small to accommodate his growing family, ordered a new building from Gjörwell.
  • Haga Palace was given to his aunt Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta, (the new queen), and it became known as the Queen’s Pavilion.   The next inhabitant was Prince Erik, the mentally handicapped youngest son of King Gustaf V. Prince Erik died in the autumn of 1918 and Haga Palace was thereafter briefly opened up to children who had lost their homes as a result of World War I.
  • Later, Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla, moved into Haga following their marriage in 1932. They raised their four daughters, Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina at Haga.
  • In 1950 the widowed Princess Sibylla and her children temporarily moved to the Royal Palace in Stockholm in which a few repairs were needed.  They fell in love with country living, and chose to remain at the Royal Palace until the renovation of Haga was completed.
  • In 1966 when King Gustaf VI Adolf transferred Haga to the disposal to the government, it was turned into a guesthouse for distinguished foreign official visitors. In 2009, it was announced by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that the rights of disposal to the palace will be transferred back to the royal court to be used by Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and her husband, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, as a wedding gift in 2010.

Haga Pavilion

Haga Pavilion built in the 17th century by Gustav III. Located in Haga Park, King Gustav III used the pavilion year round and had grand plans for the park, which included a new residence. He was murdered in 1792 and his vision was never completed.

When King Gustov III made his way through the grand courts of Europe, it made a lasting impression. Upon his return to Sweden he along with architect Olof Templeman, designer Louis Masreliez and Swedish craftsmen were responsible for creating the pavolion that adapted to the style and grandness seen in the European courts.

Sweden’s Drottningholm Castle

Drottningholm Castle is located in Lake Mälar, 12 kilometres from Stockholm. The construction of this regal residence began in 1662.  Baroque and Rococo influences largely comprise the  characteristic features of the park that surrounds the castle.  Drottingholm Castle has managed to retain the regal atmosphere of the Swedish royal families as it was during the 18th century.

Work on the castle began at the end of the seventeenth century under the architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and was completed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. The interior was decorated between 1665 and 1703.  Nicodemus Tessin the Younger also laid out a garden design that reflected a baroque appearance according to what was modeled in France.  Gustav III also added an English park in 1777.

Drottningholm Theatre is one of the most well preserved baroque theatres in all of Europe. It was built in 1764-66 and was truly magnificent in 1777, when Gustav III took over the castle. After the death of Gustav III, theatrical performances were discontinued and the theatre fell into dispair. In 1922 it was restored to its original state under the direction of Agne Beijer. A unique collection of stage sets is preserved giving you a glimpse into how wonderful it was at one time in history.

Tullgarn Palace

Built in the late 16th century, for Count Carl Sture, this is a renaissance palace was pulled down in  1720 and replaced with the present building which was designed for the French officer Joseph Gabriel Destain for the then owner, Count Magnus Julius De la Gardie.

In the 1770s the Palace was acquired by the State for Gustav III’s youngest brother, Duke Fredrik Adolf of Östergötland. He then radically re-built the Palace in the 1780s.  Wings were raised to be one story higher and the whole building was given a flat Italian roof.  Fredrik Adolf’s interiors at Tullgarn, were are among the finest of their kind in Sweden.  Credit- community.fortunecity.ws

Additional Links To Fantastic Pictures:

-Castles, Palaces & Manor Houses in Sweden Jeannine Mantooth’s Pinterest Page

-Entrance to Salon at Tullgarn Palace Corbis Images

-The Bernadotte Library – The Royal Palace Sveriges Kunset.se

-Tullgarn Palace, stable turned into a restaurant nftravel.blogspot.com

-Christian IV’s Writing Room; Rosenborg castle, Copenhagen www.flickr.com

-The 1st Floor – Rosenborg Castle dkks.dk

-Royal Arms Collection at Rosenborg flickr.com

-10 Must-See and Do Attractions in Copenhagen The Culture Map

-Inside The Rosenborg Castle tripwow.tripadvisor.com

– Tsars Palaces In Paintings English Russia Blog

-Room Interior at Digitalt Museum – Tyresö slott
Gustav III’s Pavilion at Haga Park

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors, 1650-1840' by Johan Cederlund

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors, 1650-1840′ by Johan Cederlund

Svindersvik

Svindersvik

Stora Huset

Stora Huset –www.nordiskamuseet.se

Stora Huset

A Close Up Of The Stunning Slipcovered Swedish Chairs……

WOW!

Stora Huset –www.nordiskamuseet.se

Tyresö slotDigitalt Museum – Interiör, Tyresö slot

Tyresö slot

Tyresö slot- commons.wikimedia.org

Stora Wäsby - Swedish Castle

Stora Wäsby – Swedish Castle – Found on abebooks.com

Stora Wäsby - Swedish Castle

Stora Wäsby – Swedish Castle – Found on bohemianwornest.tumblr.com

Rosendal, the former summer palace of Charles XIV - Picture Credit daserste.ndr.de

Rosendal, the former summer palace of Charles XIV – Picture Credit daserste.ndr.de

manor built between 1713-1719 in the middle of the Great Northern War- Swedish Country House Book- Kevin Sharkey Blog

Manor built between 1713-1719 in the middle of the Great Northern War- Swedish Country House Book- Kevin Sharkey Blog Found on homedesign.marthastewart.com

Stola Herrgård

Gunnebo Castle

Gunnebo Slott

Neoclassicism in the North- Seen On The Style Saloniste

Neoclassicism in the North- Seen On The Style Saloniste

Gunnebo Seen In Neoclassicism In The North

Gunnebo Seen In Neoclassicism In The North

Gripsholm interiors - Gula Salongen National Museum Stockholm's Flicker 4

Gripsholm interiors – Gula Salongen Nationalmuseum Stockholm’s Photostream

Gripsholm Castle- Princess Sophia Albertina's Bedroom

Gripsholm Castle- Princess Sophia Albertina’s Bedroom

Neoclassicism In The North

sofiaalbertinas

Princess Sofia Albertina’s rooms at Gripsholm

Original Picture Credit Costumes, Cats 18th Century Blog

The Princess’s Apartments were fitted out at the beginning of the 1780s for Gustav III’s younger sister Sofia Albertina. At the end of the 17th century these apartments were lived in by Crown Prince Karl, who later became King Karl XII. The interior decorations have remained virtually untouched ever since 1782.

The interior decorations in this room have remained virtually  untouched since 1782. The painted  wall-hangings have faded, which leaves you wondering how bright and vibrant they must have looked the day they were installed.   

Rococo ChestJonas Hultsten www.antikvarlden.se

The chest of drawers in the original room was made in about 1780, was originally purchased for Sofia Albertina and is typical of its maker, Jonas Hultsten.

Rococo ChestJonas Hultsten www.bukowskis.com

Jonas Hultsten

Jonas Hultsten  www.bukowskis.com

Rococo ChestJonas Hultsten 1700  www.bukowskis.com

plaids and checked fabric are traditional in swedish interior design

“A Visit to Gripsholm Castle in Sweden” The Martha Blog

Stunning Slipcovers In Gripsholm

every room seems to have a different parquet pattern on the floor another floor pattern another great floor-good ideas for flooring at home depot! another parquet pattern

Walk through Gripsholm with Martha Stewart in this post – “A Visit to Gripsholm Castle in Sweden” The Martha Blog

She captured the beautiful floors at Gripsholm. Each room had a different pattern.

Tour description, Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities. Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities, The Royal Palace

Tour description, Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities. Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities, The Royal Palace www.kungahuset.se

The Royal Palace

Royal Palace –www.kungahuset.se

Souvenirs from The Royal Gift Shops

Beautiful Floral Patterns

Souvenirs from The Royal Gift Shops –www.kungahuset.se

"A Visit to Gripsholm Castle in Sweden" The Martha Blog

“A Visit to Gripsholm Castle in Sweden” The Martha Blog

Slottskyrkorna - Sveriges Kungahus

Slottskyrkorna – Sveriges Kungahus

Exteriör Drottningholm Castle

Tyreso Castle Seen on nordiskamuseet dot se

Welcome to Tyresö Castle! | Nordiska museet

Rosesbergs slott, Hedvig Elisabet Charlottas stora sängkammare.

Rosersbergs slott -Karl XIII’s library. Photo: Hakan Lind. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta large bedchamber. Photo: Alexis Daflos www.kungahuset.se

Tullgarn slott (castle) Flickr

Tullgarn slott (castle) | Flickr

Swedish Wedding at Tullgarn Palace

Swedish Wedding at Tullgarn Palace

Jane (&) Haglund Photography, www.janehaglund.se

Entrance to Salon at Tullgarn Palace, Sweden

Entrance to Salon at Tullgarn Palace, Sweden

Take a trip to Tullgarn Palace

Take a trip to Tullgarn Palace kungahuset.se

Castle Tullgarn

Castle Tullgarn, Seen at Rococo Revisited

Castle Tullgarn Flickr

Castle Tullgarn | Flickr

Hässelby slott

Hässelby slott julbordsmaklarna.se

Hässelby slott

Hässelby slott sv.wikipedia.org

Svartsjö Palace, the widow estate of king Gustaf III's mother Lovisa Ulrika 1771-1782.

Svartsjö Palace, Found on sfv.se

Svartsjö palace

Svartsjö slott, interiör – Foto Åke E:son Lindman

Lindman Photography

Svartsjö Palace, the widow estate of king Gustaf III's mother Lovisa Ulrika 1771-1782 Seen On Wikimedia

Svartsjö Palace, the widow estate of king Gustaf III’s mother Lovisa Ulrika 1771-1782.

Found on upload.wikimedia.org

Drottningholm Palace

Drottningholm Palace

Stockholm Palace – Wikipedia

Frederiksborg Castle - Copenhagen

Frederiksborg Castle – Copenhagen Wikimedia

Tyresö slott Nordiska museet

Tyresö slott | Nordiska museet

A Visit to the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen www.hollandamericablog

A Visit to the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen www.hollandamericablog.com

Rosenborg Castle (Photo credit CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

Rosenborg Castle (Photo credit: Christopher Macsurak) tripideas.org

A Visit to the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen dicksandy dot org

dicksandy.org

Rosenborg Castle Venture Denmark

Rosenborg Castle: Venture Denmark

copenhagen rosenborg castle throne room

Copenhagen Rosenborg Castle Throne Room – traveljapanblog.com

Stairway at the Rosenborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Stairway at the Rosenborg Palace, Copenhagen. shuttersandsunflowers.com

-Neoclassicism in the North- The Style Saloniste

Neoclassicism in the North- The Style Saloniste

Gripsholm Castle

Gripsholm Castle commons.wikimedia.org

Olivia November 2012 2 Olivia November 2012 3 Olivia November 2012

Olivia November 2012 Outi Ranua – Fashion Models

Swedish Interiors

Unknown Swedish Home Picture Credit- Uploaded On Pinterest

 

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Buying Property In Sweden

Gård & Torp, Property In Sweden, Homes In Sweden, Renting In Sweden, Swedish Real Estate, Searching For A Home Overseas, Swedish Vacation Homes

Gård & Torp Magazine

Have you ever considered buying or renting a home in Sweden?  The prices for a cottage in the country are surprisingly affordable.  Expert Home Design Blog details the costs of real estate in Sweden:

Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia and the fourth largest in Europe, bordering Norway and Finland, within the Arctic Circle. Sweden has large numbers of newly built properties, with over 50% of apartment homes being built since 1960 with the majority being mainly rented. Freehold individual properties are largely owner occupied. Official language is Swedish with a minority understanding Finnish.English is widely spoken. Capital gains should not be charged for the sale of privately owned property.

There are no restrictions on Foreign Ownership.

Property and Real Estate Prices in Sweden
Range Varies, for example:
From around £25,000 / $37,000 for a single family home
From around £25,000 / $37,000 for an apartment
From around £40,000 / $60,000 for a villa
From around £50,000 / $75,000 for a bungalow
From around £85,000 / $125,000 for city homes
Country homes vary from around £150,000 / $225,000

Locations to buy real estate and property in Sweden Stockholm being Sweden’s capital is popular and including the suburbs represents about 20% of Sweden’s total population and with the growth of financial and technical companies around Stockholm this will likely grow. It is situated on the Baltic Sea, at the entrance to Lake Malaren and is built on 14 islands with many exceptional waterside buildings.

Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city on the West Coast of the country is a major port and industrial center. Malmo, on the south coast is expected to grow significantly over the next few years following the completion of the 16 km bridge and tunnel linking to Copenhagen in Denmark.

Living Costs in Sweden

Sweden has enviable living standards supported by high tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits.

Buying property and real estate in Sweden

It is usual for a Real Estate Agent to be used for buying and selling of property in Sweden. They will handle the necessary paperwork and communicate buying and selling prices with all parties involved. It is not contractual to have your property valued but fairly common for buyers to hire independent surveyors. When you have satisfied any questions in respect of your purchase a completion date can be agreed through your Real Estate Agent. It is the responsibility of the buyer to apply for deeds of title within three months of the sale transfer and submit for registration.

Property In Sweden, Homes In Sweden, Renting In Sweden, Swedish Real Estate, Searching For A Home Overseas, Swedish Vacation HomesCarolina Romare is a Swedish freelance photographer. After three years in Melbourne, Australia and a Bachelor of Arts in commercial photography from RMIT University, she decided to move her business back home and is currently based in Malmö, Sweden.

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Lavish Interior Of The Swedish Häringe Castle

$11M Stockholm Palace is Made for ….Curbed

$11M Stockholm Palace is Made for ….Curbed

Häringe Slott Sweden, Swedish Castles, Swedish Resorts, Historical Hotels, King Gustav Vasa, Gustavus Horn, Swedish Wallpaper, Swedish Furniture, Swedish Decor, Swedish Interiors

Häringe Castle- mogi.metromode.se

If you want to explore near Stockholm Sweden, consider visiting the Palace-turned-hotel Häringe Castle.  This stunning 17th-century baroque castle- hotel just 45 miles outside Stockholm is located near a nature reserve.   Historic lore suggests that Vikings first claimed the Häringe Peninsula as property in the 11th century.  The estate has belonged to many famous people as King Gustav Vasa, Gustavus Horn, and Axel Wenner-Gren. Häringe was a ship yard during the time of King Gustav Vasa and probably even earlier.  Häringe manor consists of the castle garden and park facilities, farm buildings, staff quarters, the farms and active farmland. Häringe is a very important link to the City’s history, and is a national tourist destination.

The main building was originally built in 1657 by Field Marshal Gustav Horn. The south wing was built slightly earlier when the castle was built. The castle got its present appearance at a major refurbishment in 1770.  Häringe sat as an estate from about 1770 until 1929, when it was bought by the newspaper man Torsten Kreuger. Kreugar added the landscaping and the swimming pool.
After Kreuger, Häringe was bought in 1934 by business and industrialist Axel Wenner-Gren and founder of Electrolux. He filled the mansion with expensive furniture, and it was said he also built the road leading up to the estate. The Wenner-Gren had Häringe many famous guests like Greta Garbo, Danny Kaye, Karl Gerhard. At one point, all the furnishings were sold by one owner, only to be researched and re-purchased by another one years later.  After Wenner-Gren’s death in 1961, the lavish furnishings disappeared.  The new owner, crab importer Olle Hartwig, pored over Wenner-Gren’s photo albums, and was able to re-purchase most of the items.

Häringe castle is located in open countryside between Landfjärden and Bobäcken. Häringe estate was in the early 1900s, one of the largest in the county. The manor house, which has its origins in the mid-1600s, is today a whitewashed two-story building with mansard roof. It has separate wings on both the north and south side. On the south side there is a large swimming pool and remnants of very old trees.  Beyond the grandeur interior, the property lead the way to feature Sweden’s first outdoor pool with a slide from the second floor bathroom, as well as a bowling alley and underground tunnels.

North and east of the castle are a dozen red-painted farm buildings of different ages, which at one time meet the housing needs of the property. These are dominated by a large barn from 1946. On the castle’s west side are the remains of a garden with statues from the Wenner-Gren at the Castle (1934-1961).

There is also a nature reserve south of the property called the Häringe-Hammersta. The land in the nature reserve owned by the Archipelago Foundation. The land immediately surrounding the castle is privately owned.  Today the palace is used for conferences, as hotel accommodation. This castle turned hotel is owned by the Ljungberg family since 1999 and is part of an exclusive hotel chain.

Information gathered from Haninge.se

Additional Links:

– A Bridal Party At Häringe Castle – 2bridesphotography.com

– Most interesting pictures tagged “häringeslott” on Flick River

– An Enchanted Castle in Sweden –remodelista.com

– An Enchanted Garden in Sweden- www.gardenista.com

– Sweden’s most haunted castle: Häringe – Network Europe

– A night at Haringe Palace –Live Like You

 

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Swedish Wreta Gestgifveri Inn

Take a trip back in time to Carl Larsson’s turn-of-the-century romanticism by dining and taking in a breath of fresh air of all things Swedish at the Wreta Gestgifveri Inn.  Lose yourself in the romance of the 17th century baroque period, and forget the tv, work, and stresses of this day.

When Owner Jim Grundstrom, one of Sweden’s most accomplished interior designers, first saw the seventeenth century building, it was empty, and lacked any sort of style.  Seeing beyond the battered interior, he saw the potential of restoring it back to it’s orginal form and opening it up as a  boutique country hotel.  This hotel gives you the choice of several different styled rooms, ranging from Gustavian, Empire and rustic folk art.

Around The Area

Only 20 minutes out of Stockholm is the Högberga farm and a magnificent view over the water. In about an hour you will find Rånäs Castle, Ulvhälls Estate and Wreta Gestgifveri.

1.5 hours north reaches you Gimo Estate in Northern Roslagen and Söderforsgatan Mansion at Dalälvens beach. Hotels Havsbaden, Chub Estate and Söderköpings Brunn are all two hours away.

The Upper Floor In The Main Building:

The Mamsells Kammare room is one of the oldest rooms in the guesthouse, showing off a country feel with a touch of red. The Kuskens Kammare is another old room, and may have been one of the rooms where the coachmen stayed. The von Fersens Kabinett room, has an elegant feel, and was inspired by the late 18th century frequent guests, Axel von Fersenis. The Bernadotterummet Room is a room decorated around the true Empire style, named after Crown Prince Karl Johan Bernadotte’s visit to Wreta in 1816.

The Gustavianska Gemaket room is a late-Gustavian-style room looking out over the apple orchard. The Hårlemanska Gemaket Room is named after the castle architect Carl Hårleman, who was a frequent guest at Wreta in olden times. The Kolonialrummet Room is an example of how the Swedish East India Company’s journeys to Southeast Asia influenced some Swedish manor houses. The Gestgifverisviten Room is where he Gustavian meets the Empire style. A warm welcome awaits you in this bedroom and lounge.

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Swedish Artist Carl Larsson

Carl Larsson Alma - 18 x 24 Premium Archival PrintCarl Larsson Alma – 18 x 24 Print $29

Guest Post- Dawn- Bella Visione Blog

Carl Larsson is Sweden’s most recognized artist who depicted his idyllic life, with wife Karin and their children, in exquisite delicate watercolor paintings.

Born in Stockholm in 1853, he grew up in less than idyllic surroundings, being left by his father for his mother to rear. She worked diligently as a laundress, but earned very little. They lived in squalled conditions and he learned to work very hard as well.

At thirteen he was urged by his school teacher to apply for entry to the Stockholm Academy for Fine Arts. He was accepted, but it took some time for him to acclimate to the new, more refined surroundings.

He continued through school, became an illustrator and later moved to Paris to become an artist. He started painting in oils, but in 1882 having moved to Grez, (a Scandinavian artists’ colony) he transitioned to watercolors, which he mastered in six short months.

This is where he met Karin Bergoo and they soon married in 1883. Five years later Karin’s father gave the couple the house Lilla Hyttnas at Sanborn. This was to be the setting for many of Larsson’s paintings, capturing his life as it unfolded with his wife and their many children.

There were two major influences, whether knowingly or not, that shaped the creativity that took place within the walls of the Larsson home.

In 1891 a major exhibition of the Gustavian Style was compiled, this was in response to the look becoming popular once again in Sweden. This happened to be within the same time frame that the drawing room at Sanborn was redecorated in the fashion it still is today. The Gustavian tenets of light, refinement and unpretentious elegance are evident.

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind The National Museum of Stockholm- 14 Pictures

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm | by Dimitry B Nationalmuseum, Stockholm | by Dimitry B

Armchair Karmstol Mahogany, gilded details, 1820’s National Museum Stockholm’s Flicker

If you plan on visiting Sweden, then don’t miss the chance to go to the National Museum of Stockholm. I stumbled across some of their pictures on Flicker, and thought you would find them as interesting as I have.  Fotograf Alex Hinchcliffe’s photostream shows a photo with a model in one of the rooms.   This museum would be a wonderful place to spend the day.

Artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Renoir, and Degas are common as The National Museum contains about 16,000 collections of paintings and sculptures.  They feature artwork from the late Middle Ages up to the beginning of the 20th century,  and the French 18th century collection is regarded as one of the best in the world. The Royal Castles Collections were owned by the State, and today many of the collections appear at the  National Museum.  Enjoy paintings, engravings, drawings and sculptures that once existed in Gripsholm, Drottningholm, Strömsholm, Rosersberg and Ulriksdal.

National Museum of Stockholm

Be Apart Of Their Guilded Tours- See Their Schedule Here

Questions about the museums exhibitions and programs etc. info@nationalmuseum.se

Address: Nationalmuseum Box 16176 S-103 24 Stockholm Sweden

Switchboard: +46 8-5195 4300 24 h Info: +46 8-5195 4410 Fax: +46 8-5195 4450

National Museum of Stockholm

Check out the beautiful wall colors and the patterned floor.  The marble pedestal and the white color of the sculpture provide a great contrast.  The classic gold paintings look terrific against the blue walls.

National Museum of Stockholm

Moving out- featured on flicker

 

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

Pride & Prejudice, 27 September 2012–20 January 2013

National Museum of Stockholm - Gold Leafing A Frame

National Museum of Stockholm – Gold Leafing A Frame

National Museum of Stockholm - Gold Leafing A Frame

National Museum of Stockholm – Gold Leafing A Frame

Trome l'oeil-målning av Johan Sylvius i trapphallen på Drottningholms slott.

Swedish Interiors From The National Museum of Stockholm-

Troms l’oeil painting by Johan Sylvius in the stairwell at Drottningholm Palace

National Museum of Stockholm - Exhibition Napoleon Karl Johan Alexander

National Museum of Stockholm – Exhibition Napoleon Karl Johan Alexander

Exhibition Napoleon

Exhibition Napoleon- September 30th 2010 – January 23 2011.

Alexander Roslin, 2007-2008 3

Alexander Roslin, 2007-2008

Alexander Roslin, 2007-2008

Alexander Roslin, 2007-2008

Gripsholm interiors - Gula Salongen

Gripsholm Interiors Featured On National Museum of Stockholm Flicker

Prinsessans sängkammare på Gripsholms slott.

Gripsholm Interiors Featured On National Museum of Stockholm Flicker

Matsal Dining hall Featured on National Museum of Stockholm

Matsal Dining Hall Featured on National Museum of Stockholm

Matsal Dining hall Featured on National Museum of Stockholm 2

Matsal Dining Hall Featured on National Museum of Stockholm

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The History Behind Empire Furniture From The Karl Johan Period -Liza Laserow

Drop leaf table made in Stockholm, Sweden. Details according to the periods highest fashion such as lion feet and lions head. The drawers keyhole is elegantly hidden behind the gilded lions head.

Authored By Liza Laserow

1810 the french officer Jean Babtiste Bernadotte came to southern Sweden accompanied by one of Napoleons marshals Monsieur Bernadotte , the man who was going to become King Karl XIV Johan. It was at this time the French Empire style came to Sweden. Napoleons architects: Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine developed the style in France during the late 1790. They took Neoclassicism and gave it heavier look. Inspired by the roman empires strong lined art and architecture warlike attributes such as eagles, shields, helmets and spears became important symbols of the period. The glory years for this period was between 1804-1814 when Napoleon I was the emperor which also gave the period its name; Empire. During 1830 the style got softer and late Empire and in southern part of Sweden it got blonder – Biedermeier.

Mahognay with gilded details dominated the periods materials for furniture and mirrors and it was during this period the wallpaper was introduced in the form of panoramic views with classical ruins. Silk upholstery with matching window treatments in strong colors such as green, lemon yellow, red or gold was the highest fashion. Sweden also got its first silk weaving mill thanks to a Swede who smuggled a weaving chair to Sweden from France.

Read more about Swedish porphyry during the Karl Johan period.

About The Author

Liza Laserow, the daughter of the mother-daughter-owned company Laserow Antiques. Born and raised in Sweden, Liza moved to New York City, where, though she had trained to be a lawyer.   Her mother, Karin, founded a showroom in Sweden 30 years ago and, in 2009, Liza helped launch a Laserow Antiques outpost in the New York Design Center in Manhattan. The exquisite gallery features furniture curated from Sweden’s most significant periods—Baroque, Rococo, Gustavian, and Empire—spanning from 1650 to 1820.

Follow Liza’s Blog, Old Is New,

Laserow Antiques Website

Laserow Antiques On 1st Dibs

Britahill
Brandstadvägen 612,
SE 275 67 Vollsjö
Sweden
Phone: +46 (0) 416 352 52
Cell: +46 708 13 52 30

1st Dibs @NYDC
200 Lexington Avenue, 10th Floor #63
New York New York 10016
USA
+1 212 988 9194

info@laserowantiques.com

Rosendal Palace- Picture Credits- Sean Munson On Flicker

Here is a clear shot of the palace’s colors

Today, Rosendal Palace looks very much the same as it did during King Karl XVI Johan  and King Oskar’s days, which makes it a unique document of the European Empire style.

The Empire style, which in Sweden is also known as Karl Johan style, is characterised by furniture in mahogany, wall-to-wall carpeting and magnificent curtain arrangements in strong colours. The Red Salon, the Blue Salon, the Yellow Salon and the Green Salon are all witness to the importance of colour for the period´s interiors.Noteworthy parts of the palace to see include the Library, in which Karl XIV Johan’s book collection is kept in mint condition and the interior of King Karl XIV Johan´s bedchamber which was moved from the Royal Palace in Stockholm to Rosendal in 1913.

A set of 6 Empire dining chairs made in Sweden during the Karl Johan
Period. Frame in mahogany with gilded flower detail on black splat.
Newly upholstered.

A pair of empire desk chairs in mahogany with gilded details in shapes of balls, flowers and fan

Pair of Russian Empire Mahogany Side Chairs

A pair of Tazzas from the late part of the Empire period. Made in Red French Marble, patinated bronze with decor of gilt bronze.

Sofa from the Empire period made in France. Frame of dark polished mahogany with gilt bronze decorations. 4 front legs ending with lion feet in gilt bronze.

A pair of French desk chairs (can be sold separately as well) made in
Mahogany and decorated with polished bronze details. Legs ending with
lions feet. Upholstered in dark brown vintage leather.

Swedish mahogany chest of drawers amde during the Karl Johan period
1820-1830. Simple carvings on drawers front and rounded corners.

A pair of Swedish Biedermeier armchairs in light birch made during the mid 19th Century ca 1840.

A Swedish Karl Johan Alder Root Tablein a very good quality. Top made by inlayed alder root standing on a blackened tripod base.

A Pair of Swedish Karl Johan Armchairs

Rosendal Palace- Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

A single Empire desk chair made during the Empire period early 1800’s in Sweden.

Rosendal Palace- Red Drawing Room  Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

A pair of candlesticks made during the empire period 1810-1830 in
France. Urn shaped candleholders and a rounded channeled body standing
on a round foot decorated with flowers.

Rosendal Palace- Library – Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

An empire game table from France made during the Empire Period ca 1800.
Veneered in mahogany and decorated with inlays and brass detailing.
Opens up to a rectangular top.

Rosendal Palace- Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

A pair of beautiful Karl Johan stools made in Birch

Rosendal Palace- Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

Rosendal Palace- Picture Credits- Faun070 On Flicker

A set of four beautiful Empire Armchairs in their original paint. A cream white with green detailing. Newly upholstered

A exquisite crystal chandelier from the early part of 19th Century and
Karl Johan period. Frame made on brass with gilt bronze details. Diamond
shaped crystals. Four arms for candles and one in the middle of lower
basket Calles “welcoming candle”. All original.

A beautiful and large Swedish Karl Johan mirror from the early 19th
century. Its made in gilt wood and decorated with a carved corniche with
a demi lune shaped top mirror. One colon on each side according to the
symbols of the neoclassisism.

An exquisite tall gilt wood mirror made during the Karl Johan period
with a demi lune shaped molding. A rectangular ending decorated with
leaves.

 Antiques In A Modern Settings By Karin Laserow

A comprehensive guide to blending beautiful antiques into a modern home.

Incorporating antique furniture and art into a modern home may seem like a contradiction, but Karin Laserow and Britt Berg show just how easy it is and how stunning the results can be. Highlighting the rich traditions of Swedish furniture and other décor, this full-color guide begins by explaining the basics of antique furniture, from style histories to the nuanced differences of Baroque, Rococo, Empire, Gustavian, Art Nouveau, and more, with striking photographs throughout. Readers are taught how to tell the difference between old and new, how to evaluate antiques, and how to determine whether repairing, repainting, and refinishing are worthwhile decisions for protecting antique investments.

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Dream Buying Tours In Sweden- Shop With A Swedish Antique Dealer For A Day

How would you like to shop for antiques with one of the top Swedish antique dealers?  The Antiques Diva® & Co is now offering Scandinavian Tours which allow exclusive opportunities to buy Swedish antiques at wholesale prices alongside a professional furniture antique dealer.  Get the opportunity to shop where the dealers shop, and see some of the off road shops and warehouses that most tourists wouldn’t know about.

Daniel Larsson -owner of D. LARSSON Interiör & Antikhandel (A Swedish antique store based in Helsingborg) is the guide for the Swedish tours.  He shares with you insider tips and tricks of the trade. Feel confident purchasing antiques with a dealer at your side.  He will share the history behind certain pieces, and explain the regional differences in Swedish antiques.  You will have an expert who can authenticate purchases and give advice on what to watch out for in spotting reproductions and fakes.

Rest assured that if you buy 1 or 2 pieces or a whole container load of furniture on the tour that Daniel can help you fill out customs paperwork and find affordable shipping solutions for bringing those rare finds to your home. You don’t pay tourist prices when you shop like a local or a dealer for a day.

The Antiques Diva® & Co is Europe’s largest antique buying tour company offering tours in 8 countries – France, England, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden. They offer Scandinavian Antique Buying Tours for both the trade as well as private individuals, offering everything from a customized 1 day buying tour to a full on 4 day tour.  Each tour is customized according to your travel dates and shopping list.

 

They can book book Scandinavian Antiquing Tours in:

– Copenhagen
– Helsingborg
– Southern Sweden
– Swedish Countryside
– Wholesale/Warehouse Tours

Contact info@antiquesdiva.com for more details or see www.antiquesdiva.com to book your European tour.

D.LARSSON Interiör & Antikhandel
Wrangelsgatan 13
254 39
Helsingborg
Sweden

Tel: 0734 381843
E-mail: info@dlarssoninterior.com
www.dlarssoninterior.com

Antiques Diva Toma Haines enjoying the Swedish antique buying tour

 Daniel Larsson -owner of D. LARSSON Interiör & Antikhandel

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Baroque Style Of Switzerland

Chesa Planta house, located in Samedan, a picturesque village 6 km northeast of St Mortitz, Switzerland featured an exhibition of Rich Owens’s exquisite furniture designs photographed by Adrien Dirand. The collection was minimalistic, evoking a sense of goth meets luxury. Owens’ minimal aesthetic contrasted perfectly with baroque grandeur of the chateau. Some of the highlights included the bone chairs with stag antler backs, and a petrified wood sofa. Built in 1595, the house had been restored to convey the look of an 18th century Engadin aristocratic home. “Engadin” or “Engadine” identifies a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in southeast Switzerland. The Engadin is protected by high mountains on all sides and is famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes, and outdoor activities.

There is a strong architectural presence of the Romanesque style in Switzerland, which can be found in the cathedrals, castles and fortresses around the country.  The Gothic and Baroque style became fashionable through the Renaissance, where a large number of architectural masters came from Italy.  The hand painting of the walls in the Chesa Planta house shows a Italian influence which is found in the region.   Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which includes three major languages, German, French and Italian which form the national languages of Switzerland, along with Romansh, spoken by a small minority. Therefore Swiss culture is characterised by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs, which also influenced the art and interior design of the country through history.

Folk art was kept alive all over the country. In Switzerland, it is mostly expressed in painting, dance, music, embroidery and wood carving. The most common form of woodcarving found in Switzerland is called chip carving. Chip carving decoration is normally found on everyday objects, such as milk stools, wooden spoons, or walking sticks. In some areas, the façades of houses are richly decorated using woodcarving. Embroidery has been a common element on historical traditional clothing in Switzerland. Embroidery has always been used for the decoration of fabric, but because the art is time intensive, it is sold for premium prices.  Embroidery was something that served as an art in the home in past centuries and today is often found in tourist outlets where vintage and antique products are sold.

Interesting Books

–Swiss Furniture and Interiors in the 20th Century by Arthur Ruegg and Arthur Rüegg– For the first time, the development of interiors and furniture in Switzerland from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day have been surveyed and documented. A fully illustrated catalogue of over 300 objects from furniture to ceramics and household objects and around 150 biographies conclude the publication.  

–Mountain Houses by Philippe Saharoff and Gwenaëlle Leprat–Nowhere is the beauty of living in the mountains more evident than in the Alps, where the spectacular landscape has given rise to equally
gorgeous homes. In Mountain Houses, photographer Philippe Saharoff takes us to 30 of these lovely chalets, farmhouses, and cottages, located in Chamonix, Gstaad, and other picturesque towns of
the Swiss and French Alps. More than 300 stunning photographs, taken in all seasons, bring the rustic charm and timeless comfort of each home to life. While wood and stone are the predominant materials,
the houses are decorated in a wide range of styles.

–Alpine Interiors (Interiors (Taschen)) by Beate Wedekind and TASCHEN–If you think that laying your hat in the Alps means having to choose between a rustic mountain hut or a log-burning ski lodge, then you’ll be
amazed when you get a glimpse of this latest inspiring volume in the Interiors series. The mountains of the Alps are a unique terrain unlike anything else in Europe, thus when constructing and decorating a place
to live, architects and designers have to be conscious of adapting to the extremes of landscape and climate. The desire to make your home a beautiful thing, to find a balance between Function and elegance,
becomes particularly significant in the Alpine region. Primarily Famous as a location for skiing resorts and muesli, the Alps straddle the borders of so many European countries, and this has allowed for a lively
interaction and exchange between many peoples and cultures. The selections in this book are impeccable. For example Reinhold Messner’s castle. There’s everything From baroque villas to farmhouses, famous
designers/ architects to the ordinary Alp-lander with very good taste.

For More Inspiration See These Posts:

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 1- Stromholm

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 2 King Gustav Vasa

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 3 Skokloster & Steninge Palace

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 4 – A Collectors Home

Europe -Switzerland- Location, Flag and Coat Of Arms-

A Picture of An spectacular estate in Switzerland

Continue Reading…

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look At The Castle Behind The Movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

If you have seen the previews for the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it features a captivating estate many Nordic lovers would instantly recognize as Swedish.  This striking castle featured in the movie is “Yxtaholms Castle”, located on an island in Sörmland, just like it is seen in the movie.  Yxtaholms Castle was built in 1753 by Baron Gustaf N. Clodt.

Released in December 2011, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, tells a murder mystery family saga, a love story, and adds political intrigue to produce a multilayered story line.

The movie sets around a charactor- Harriet Vanger, whom is from one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, and had disappeared over forty years ago. Years later in the film, her aged uncle (billionaire Henrik Vanger), continues to seek the truth of her disappearance. He engages Mikael Blomkvist (a journalist ) into his quest to find the truth, by offering to financially back the struggling Millennium magazine if the journalist will solve the mystery.

The thriller, set in Sweden, shows the beauty of the Scandinavian cold winters and elegant interiors, which are highly contrasted by a pierced and tattooed punk Lisbeth Salander, who is a computer hacker with photographic memory.  She joins forces with Blomkvist to uncover the truth about the 40-year-old disappearance.

The Yxtaholms Castle Website tells us that the castle, stables and wings were built in 1753.   Yxtaholm  began to flourish in the 17th century and today it is a modern hotel, restaurant and conference centre.  Design Guy University Blog tells us that the castle is now owned by owned by female Polish millionaire Iwona de Jong who bought the property for $35M in 2010.  Today it functions as a hotel, and has been
updated.  The conference center is now located in the large stable building. Yztaholms castle has 79 rooms and is about an hour and a half drive from Stockholm.

Additional Pictures of Yxtahoms

-A picture of Yxtaholms Castle on Flicker

–Design Guy University Blog– Historical Details on  Yxtaholms with great pictures!

–Lovisas Guldkorn Blog– Showing pictures of the suite in one of the wings, and in the hall where an amazing wooden ceiling is painted.

-Another picture of Yztaholms Exterior- Flicker

-Another look at this hotel from John Haudi’s Flicker

-Another picture of Yztaholms Exterior Halsokallan.blogg

Yxtaholms Castle – www.svenskamoten.se

Continue Reading…

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind Sturehov Manor House In Botkyrka, Sweden

Sturehov or Sturehof (also spelled Sturehov castle) is a manor house in Botkyrka, Sweden. Sturehov manor is located at Rödstensfjärden, about 3 kilometers west of the old Norsborg.

The name Sturehof, originates from the oldest known individual owner, Svante Sture Stenson whom was killed by King Erik XIV in connection with the so-called Sture murders at Uppsala Castle.  His descendants owned the farm for more than half a century. The farm was later purchased in 1778 by Gustaf II’s “Finance”, Baron Johan Liljencrantz, whom acquired the property in 1778 as a summer residence.  They say a fire burned down the main building, and only the two wings from the 1600s remained standing.  It was then that architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz draw up plans for a new main building. Adelcrantz was famous architect during the time known for his work with the Opera House in Stockholm. The two remaining wings were then modernized with mansard roof, and an update to the exterior paint color was changed from a country red to a prestigious white.

Also See -Swedish Interiors: The Chinese Pavilion

Today visitors can enjoy an afternoon out at Sturhov, where they also have a year around café called Voltaire & Vänner (Voltaire & Friends).  Take a look inside the cafe at The World According To Pia Blog

Sturehof is regarded as one of the country’s finest example in the Gustavian decorating style. While a number of skilled craftsmen worked on the house, Interior Designer Louis Masreliez and architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz were to be considered the best in design and architecture of their time.

Swedish Tile Stoves

Johan Liljencrantz owner of the newly constructed main building at Sturehof was also the owner of the famous Marieberg factory.  Today there is a very limited amount of authentic Marieberg Kakelugnar stoves known to be around today.   The stoves that were located differ from the usual 1700s ovens by its white base color, shiny glaze and their bright colors.  Sturehov houses the country’s largest collection of Marieberg stoves, a total of 17 pieces. The most magnificent of all the stoves is the “Liljecrantz ‘Fireplace’. It is located in the room upstairs, which was supposed to be Liljecrantz ‘bedroom.   The tiled stove was  so famous that it was pictured on a Swedish postage stamp.  After Liljencrantz’s first wife, Ottiliana, died in 1788 he built Norsborgs mansion, and settled with his new wife, Eleanor.

The Röhsska Museum featured this interior which was drawn by architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz (1716–1796), who was a central figure in 18th century architecture and art history.

The Röhsska Museum featured an exibit called- The Masreliez room whom was named after the artist and decorator Louis Masreliez (1748-1810), who was Gustav III’s architect. The mural was executed by Louis Masreliez in the late Gustavian (Pompeian) style. Masreliez had studied in Rome for a longer period, and seen and been inspired by the ongoing excavations of antiquity’s Pompei. The wallcovering is painted in oil on fabric.


 A late Gustavian late 18th Century console table.

Design by Louis Masreliez and executed by Jean Baptist Masreliez.

Picture Credits

-Thor-Leif Fogelberg- Photo’s of Sturehov Castle- PBASE

Additional Links & Pictures

-Sturehof Castle- View from Mälaren- Flicker

-Sturehof Castle- Close Up View Of Exterior – Flicker

-Sturehov Slott- Wikipedia

-Research Symposium:  Louis Masreliez National Museum

-A Stunning Picture of Sturehov in the winter

 

Sturehov Castle- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Swedish Interior With A Tiled Wood Stove Sturehofs Slott- boibotkyrka.s

Photo By by RRRmikko For Panoramio.com

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Here we see the chairs with modern slipcovers keeping with the Gustavian look.

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Also Featured in Neoclassicism In The North

The Green Room Wikipedia

The Green Room Wikipedia

Central Room – Wikipedia

Cafe?  Wikipedia

Close Up Look At This Sensational Tile Stove- www.alltomkakelugnar.se

This beautiful stove is in Baroness large bedroom on Sturehof Castle. In the 1700s, considered the bedrooms not particularly private, but I also perform the function of living.

Among the first thing that visitors encounter when going into the company over the floor at Sturehof Castle is the octagonal drawing room and its fireplace in column style. It is a style formation that tries to mimic the columns that held up the ancient temples. This on Srurehof is typical in that it had a square base with a cylindrical top, and tight spot that was tromp l’oeil painted. Tromp l’oeil was very modern at the time and was to be atop the tiles glaze painted decoration that would look as three-dimensional as possible to simulate the ribs and three-dimensional details. – Information From alltomkakelugnar.se

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Sturehofs Castle – cotedetexas.blogspot.com

Sturehof Castle Interior –Wikipedia

Another Spectacular Kakelugnar Stove

 

Model Sara Hammarbäck Featured At Sturehofs Slott.-

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Visit Stockholm Blog

The Gustavian Style Of Swedish Interior Designer Louis Masreliez

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Liljencrantz ‘Fireplace- Wikipedia

Sturehov Castle Featured in The Swedish Room by Lars Sjöberg, Ursula Sjöberg, Ingalill Snitt,

Previewed by Google books here

Sturehov Castle Featured in The Swedish Room by Lars Sjöberg, Ursula Sjöberg, Ingalill Snitt,

Previewed by Google books here

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Louis Masreliez- The Designer Behind Gustav III’s Pavilion At Haga Park

Masreliez was born in Paris and began his education at Ritakademien, which was a drawing academy at the youthful age of 10.  In 1769, Masreliez was given a study grant which allowed him the opportunity to travel to Paris and Bologna to study.  When he left Bologna in 1773, he decided to stay in Paris for eight years,where he then returned to Sweden in 1782 to become a commissioner of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.  He advanced the following year, when he was made a professor of art history.  Then in 1805, he bacame the director of the Academy.

He was responsible for the interior of Gustav III’s Pavilion at Haga Park.  In addition he also was responsible for the interior of Tullgarn Palace. Masreliez is remembered for its interior decorations at Haga, Drottningholm, Stockholm Palace in the classical Pompeian style. Masreliez was inspired by the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which could be seen in his interior design.

The pictures below in this post are located in Salviigränd, which is an alley in Gamla stan, old town in central Stockholm.  On the second floor -Number 1, (the only building in that block not part of the Parliament administration), is a suite of rooms created by Louis Masreliez for the bachelor Wilhelm Schwardz in 1795. Dressed up in pastel, grey, and gold, the elegant Gustavian Classicism interiors features lighted candles, cut-glass chandeliers, taffeta curtains, and friezes and medallions.

A special thanks is to be given to A Connoisseurs Quest Blog for the pictures of Wilhelm Schwardz’s Home in Stockholm- See the entire post “A Peek at the Usually Hard to See House by The Gustavian Designer Masreliez in Gamla Stan, Stockholm”  

One can see parallels between the Gamla Stan and Sturehov, particularly in the placement of furniture. Larger round tables serve as focus points in both the Gamla Stan and Sturehov.  Both of the Kakelugnar stoves also have classical columns which make the base of the stove.

We are happy to discover this designer with you….!

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Masreliez House, Stockholm

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden

Carl Gustaf Tessin

In the region of Bettna there are Manor houses abound, the most famous being Åkerö, beautifully positioned on the shores of lake Yngaren. The old mother tree to the famous Åkerö apple still stands in the gardens.    The castle has its own apple variety. The parent tree was planted in 1759 and still stands in the park and gives fruit every year.  Buildings have been on the property since the 1200s.  Several of the farm’s owners have belonged to Sweden’s most distinguished noble families;  Natt och Dag, Tott, Sture and Bielke.

In the mid 1500’s  a castle was built with turrets and towers that are depicted in Dahlberg’s “Suecia Antiqua”.  A part of the palace was burned a hundred years later and never refurbished.

The members of the Tessin family have been important in Swedish history. Nicodemus Tessin the Elder arrived there in 1636 and, alongside Jean de Vallée, became the country’s leading architect. His most famous work is Drottningholm Palace, which was completed by his son, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, an even more significant architect whose major work is the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Nicodemus the Younger’s son, Carl Gustaf Tessin, was formally in charge of completing the Royal Palace, but was more noted as a diplomat and politician than as an architect. Carl Gustaf was one of the founders of the Hat Party and became one of the 1700s most important politicians with titles such as councilors, top Marshall and the Office of the President, the latter equal to the prime minister.

Carl-Gustaf Tessin purchased Åkerö in 1748.   Carl-Gustaf Tessin was then superintendent of the Royal Palace . The architect Carl Harleman was good friends with Tessin, and when CG Tessin wanted to retire from political life, they settled on the land and hired Carl Harleman. Harleman then designed the main building and proposed two wings. The result was one of the most beautiful rococo seats were filled with art treasures of Europe’s leading artists. As ambassador in Paris and during trips to Italy and Vienna had CG Tessin acquired a sound knowledge of architecture and art.

 Åkerö manor is beautifully surrounded by water from all sides. Beautiful maples, ash and linden trees are planted all around. Wall paintings, mirrors, door lintels, floors and countless antiques fill the space of the castle. .  The National Museum has a large part of Tessin’s art collection at the Royal Library in Stockholm. Nowadays, concerts are put on at Åkerö Manor in cooperation with Södermanlands Music & Theater.

There are not many pictures of Akerö, just these three below

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 1

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 2

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 3

Books Available on Amazon:

Nicodemus Tessin the Elder: Architecture in Sweden in the Age of Greatness

Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an architect, gentleman, and founder of the artistic dynasty that was immensely influential at the Swedish court in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was architect to the crown, to the nobility, and to the city of Stockholm, and he supplied buildings for a wide range of functions, from palaces to banks, courthouses, and fortifications. His unusually extensive travels in the Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany provided him with a comprehensive picture of contemporary European architecture, which he drew on as he synthesized a new group of buildings that would attract
international attention as models for princely architecture. His productivity required a new approach to architecture, and he was part of the first generation of architects in northern Europe to develop the architectural studio, distinguishing the design process from the business of building, and in the
process recreating himself as the modern architect.

Essays on Scandinavian History

This book examines important aspects of the history of Sweden and its Nordic neighbors between the later eighteenth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Historian H. Arnold Barton has selected thirteen of the numerous essays  he has published over the past forty years on the history of Scandinavia.

This is a companion volume to Barton’s The Old Country and the New, an essay collection on Swedish emigration and the Swedes in America. Included here are studies of the special significance of the eighteenth century in Sweden’s history and culture, the relationship of King Gustaf III to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, the impact of the American Revolution in Sweden, and Gustaf III’s ambitions in the East Baltic region. Also detailed are the king’s early reaction to the French Revolution and his efforts to
organize a European coalition to crush it, a reassessment of the reign and internal reforms of Gustaf IV Adolf, and the Swedish succession crises of 1809 and 1810.

In addition, Barton examines the increasing tension between the Pan-Scandinavian movement and the rising Finnish national movement. He deals with the historians of the Danish Agrarian Reforms of 1784-1814, parallel developments in Finland and Norway between 1808 and 1917, the discovery of Norway abroad, Swedish national romanticism, and Sweden’s transition from a warfare state to a welfare
state, now exemplifying the rational and humane ideals of the twentieth century.

Essays on Scandinavian History highlights important topics in the history of the Scandinavian region, which has remained all too little known outside the Nordic lands themselves, while also offering broader perspectives on Europe since the mid-eighteenth century. Twelve keyed-to-text illustrations, a bibliography of Barton’s publications on Scandinavian history, essay endnotes, and an index augment this work.

A ‘musical’ Trompe l’oeil in one of the rooms of Akerö in Södermanland,

Sweden with a Rococo “Bonheur du Jour” Picture Credit –La Pouyette Blog

Continue Reading…

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Krusenberg Herrgård: An 18th Century Swedish Luxury Hotel

Krusenberg Herrgård is an extravagant hotel beautifully situated by Ekoln, a bay in Lake Mälaren. The estate dates back to the mid-15th century and is now a first-class hotel and conference facility that has retained its genuine style and old charm.

The manor house was built in 1802, and the wings date from the 18th century. Enjoy a walk through their large park and apple orchard with more than 100 old apple trees. The artist Gustaf Cederström, who grew up on the estate, painted his best-known work,”Karl XII´s likfärd”(The funeral transport of Charles XII) .

About the Hotel:

When staying at Krusenberg you can take the opportunity to take a tour with a canoe or rowboat which is supplied from the hotel. In winter, the situation is ideal for skating. The latest addition Sjöporten is a newly built house with exclusive sauna and spa. The building is right on the water’s edge and includes two wood-burning saunas with magnificent views of Lake Mälaren. Upstairs there is a spa area with treatment rooms and relaxdel. The house is built and furnished to suit those who appreciate “the good life”.

Manor house accommodates our renowned restaurant serving carefully prepared food in season. The kitchen is home not only cooks but also to their very own pastry chef who bakes fresh bread and pastries for every meal. Meals are served in the main building’s beautiful dining rooms. At this hotel you can also take the opportunity to relax in one of the most prestigious salons.

Manorhouse is 25 minutes from the airport and within easy reach of both the Stockholm and Uppsala. The hotel also offers a historical walking tour with a guide.  Active guests will appreciate the petanque court and the tennis court.  Meals are accompanied with wines from the manor’s wine cellar.

Krusenberg Herrgård is only 25 minutes from Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport and conveniently situated for both Stockholm and Uppsala. Uppsala city centre is 20 minute drive away. Sweden’s oldest town, Sigtuna, is 18 km from the Krusenberg Herrgård.

See the official website here

Krusenberg Herrgård Photo Credit

 

 

 

 

 

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Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 1- Stromholm

If the Renaissance history is of interest to you, chances are you will love Baroque style.  It is a design style isn’t that commonly seen in magazines, because the antiques are harder to find.  If you are thinking about a design that is different and unique, this is certainly it!  Baroque style originated in the 1600s in Italy before spreading throughout the rest of Europe. It originated in Rome, where the style was representative of the Catholic church, and was later adopted in the court of Louis XIV at Versailles.  From there, the style spread to The Netherlands and Britain, and went on for almost two entire centuries, and became a less dramatic by the time the end of the 1700s.

Baroque didn’t go out of fashion suddenly. Rococo style was adopted, beginning in France in the late 1720s, especially for interiors, but the Baroque style continued to be used in architecture and interior design until the clean lines of Neoclassicism became the dominant style in the later 18th century.

Baroque style is a very ornamented style.  Characteristics of this furniture are heavy, grand, theatrical, elaborate, and often rich in molding.  The furniture is often very heavy detailed, did we say very heavy detailed?  It is common to find baroque pieces which are intricately hand carved, such as turned legs and twisted columns. Louis XIV style is considered to the most identified example of Baroque style.

Baroque furniture is often larger in size.  Canopy post beds are a good example of this.  They were often grand with an excessive amount of carving. Cabinets, beds and chairs are all common pieces of furniture made in the Baroque style.

Sweden’s Strömholm’s yellow palace embraces the baroque style.  This palace is a perfect mix between the baroque style with a Swedish flavor that is not at all Italian.  Strömholm is located on the largest of three islands in the Kolbäckså river delta at Lake Mälaren. King Gustav Vasa had a farm on the property during the 1500’s.  In 1560 the current castle was built between 1669 and 1681 for Queen Hedvig Eleonare. Strömsholm palace is one of the countries best examples of Baroque style.  The Palace has royal interiors that are well preserved.

Additional Furniture To Admire

– A Swedish Baroque Table with Original Paintwork 1720s

-A mid 18th Century Swedish baroque drop-leaf table with its original blue paint

-A Swedish Baroque Centre Table circa 1750

-In Love With Swedish Baroque Mirrors

-Swedish Baroque drop-leaf table with original paint- Dienst + Dotter Antiques Picture 11

– Swedish Tray Topped Tea Table. Scraped to original blue paint. Beautifully shaped top with edge molding.Balustra shaped base on three legs.

A Swedish late Baroque 18th Century commode, attributed to J. H. Fürloh.

Continue Reading…

Featured - Swedish Resources

The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 2 King Gustav Vasa

Gustav I of Sweden, born under the name Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496– 29 September 1560), was known one of the most powerful kings in Swedish history.

Gustav was the son of a Swedish senator and of a noble family whom played a prominent part in aristocratic politics of 15th-century Scandinavia. He was raised in the courts of Sweden, and participated in the fighting against Denmark. In fact, the connections his family had with the royalty at the time, supplied Sweden with three regents.

Gustav fought in the army of Sten Sture the Younger against Christian II of Denmark in 1517–18. Sweden at that time was a part of a union consisting of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland), but the union was a mess in many ways. The Danish king, Christian II tried to dismantle the union by using brute force. King Christian attacked Sweden in 1520, and the Swedish Regent was killed. It was then that Gustav found himself held hostage in Denmark, but later returned to Sweden when the King promised to show leniency towards those nobles who wanted to fight back.

The Danish king, Christian II then called a “friendly” meeting with all of the officials, but Gustav chose to stay home. Gustav found himself spared because of that decision. Christian II rounded up the nobles, and bishops and had them beheaded in the Great Square in Stockholm. Gustav’s father, brother-in-law and uncles were murdered, together with about 75 other men in a mass execution known as “the Blood-bath of Stockholm”.

The Vasa family lands were confiscated, and most of Gustav’s family were imprisoned. Instead of hiding or running, he rose to the occasion and started fighting back by engaging the people of Sweden to rise up for their country. He started sowing the seeds of rebellion against Christian II . The army of Denmark pursued him, but he managed to escape which many tales of these adventures are told today. He managed to receive backing from the Hanseatic League, which also wanted the Danish king weakened. This union allowed him to gather together a sizeable army, and in 1521 he was elected Regent of Sweden. This army then attacked the Danes in several engagements, and step by step managed to oust the Danish king.

Gustav pushed through to establish Sweden’s independence, and his leadership through this time may have been what was responsible for his election as king. In 1523, at the age of 27, Gustavus was elected King of Sweden. He set about reforming the country, using methods inspired by rulers like Henry VII and Henry VIII of England.

Gustav made Sweden an independent state and gave his country, for the first time in a century, nearly 40 years of stable and intelligent government. Gustav managed to unite Sweden, and also laid the foundation for Sweden’s professional army that was to make Sweden into a regional superpower in the 17th century. He managed to shape the foundation for modern Sweden.

Beyond those great achievements, he ranks among the heroes of Swedish history because of his struggle to turn Sweden from a Catholic country to a Renaissance state with a Protestant church. This was by far some of the hardest wars many countries had to battle.

In the documentary A Lamp In The Dark: Untold History of the Bible, goes into great detail the tremendous struggle individuals had to endure throughout the Middle Ages. I highly recommend watching this documentary on You tube to gain a better appreciation for the battle against the Catholic church.

The Catholic church was against having the bible in the hands of the common man, and threatened imprisonment and death to any persons who disobeyed their rule. Valiant warriors of the faith in England such as John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, considered the cost for the sake of sharing the Gospel that salvation IS through Jesus ALONE, not through works, or anything else. They rejected the notion that the Catholic church set forth such as “sacrament” which individuals had to confess their sins to a priest instead of through prayer to our heavenly father to forgive our sins.  (1 John 2:1-2)

The Catholic church positioned itself in control of individuals souls (salvation), and even went as far to ask money from people whose loved ones had died whom could be removed from “Purgatory” (Hell), which they taught every believer goes first, which was contrary to scripture.  The Catholic church’s sheer dominance made them extremely wealthy because of the vast amount of people willing to paying money to remove their loved ones from the “Purgatory”, and this allowed the Catholic empire to throw their weight around in many countries. Believers also fought ideas brought by the Catholic church that the Pope was Yahweh himself on earth, stated by Pope Leo XIII, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Boniface VIII, which contradicted scripture.  Once the common people were able to read the Bible, through the Protestant Reformation, they could hold the Catholic church accountable by the scriptures themselves.

The Gustavian Family by Ulrika Pasch, 1785,

All the kings from Gustav Vasa to Gustav IV Adolf

Gustav fought hard to ensure the triumph of Lutheranism (named after Martin Luther), and the suppression of Roman Catholic customs. Gustav Vasa has been known as the founder of modern Sweden, and the “father of the nation”. Gustav looked up to Moses, whom he believed to have also liberated his people and established a sovereign state. Gustav I’s breaking with the Catholic Church is virtually simultaneous with Henry VIII doing the same in England; both kings acted following a similar pattern.

To understand the Baroque period, a person must take into account the religious and political tensions at the time. The Catholic church during this time was a very powerful entity and one of the biggest customers of of art. During the seventeenth century artists were being asked by the Catholic Church to create pieces of art which then could transend a message through which could be then understood by the uneducated common people.

The Catholic Church through this time was going through some major changes known as the period of ‘Counter – Reformation’ which began with institutional changes within the Catholic church as we discussed earlier. The clergy recognized that they could communicate through art by using the more theatrical ‘Baroque’ interpretation of religious themes. The Church buildings were designed and decorated in such a way which the Catholic church itself was trying to build it’s own empire kingdom apart from the Kingdom of God which we are told through the bible was the bodies of his people, not buildings and objects.

The mass amount of wealth church accumulated through using the very word of God in deceptive ways allowed them to buy thousands of paintings, thousands of statues, and buildings that were the best of the best through this time period. They owned the nicest buildings, and the most beautiful art across Europe, so it was no wonder why their style at the time became the design that many copied in architecture, interior design and so forth.

The upper classes ALSO loved to show off their wealth and saw this new style as rich, and unreachable for the common folks, so they embraced it, hoping to stand out. Wood carvings appeared lavish, and obviously was a style that many of the peasants could not afford. Baroque art and architecture was one approch they used to wave their money for the world to see.

From Italy, Baroque quickly spread to essentially every country in Europe. Each country incorporated its own customs and heritage with Baroque. Some were more extravagant and others more conservative with the design style. In Italy we saw tremendous detail in the furniture, where as in Sweden we saw more of a refinement with the style. The overblown carved details were softened, and mimimized. During the middle of the 16th century the Baroque Era gradually gave way to the Rococo, and this wave of style change hit each country at a different time in history.

Gripsholm Castle belongs to the famous castles in Sweden.

This view shows how kings slept in the chamber of Charles IX.

Gripsholm Castle, Stockholm – Home of King Vasa And The Royal Family

Gripsholm interiors – Roof decorations National Museum Stockholm’s Flicker

Swedish Baroque Style Seen in The Linnaeus House -Elmar Eye’s photostream

National Museum Stockholm’s Flicker

Antique Original Painted Swedish Trunk, dated 1848 From Scandinavian Antiques

The reign of continued with Gustav’s sons Eric XIV, John III, John’s son Sigismund, and finally Gustav’s youngest son Charles IX.

Under Eric XIV the Reformation in Sweden proceeded on the same lines as during the reign of his Gustav Vasa, retaining all the old Catholic customs not considered contrary to Scripture.

After 1544, when the Council of Trent had formally been declared, the new teachings set forth by the Catholic church became obvious to that the Christian Bible, and the Catholic church were quite different.  In fact, The Catholic Church created horrible laws at the Council of Trent that made it a death sentence for anyone who said the bread and wine used in Holy Communion were only symbolic.   Sadly this entire history of the Catholic church has been covered up.  Today the laws set forth in the Council of Trent still stand, and are upheld by the current Pope.  The Popes during Vatican II Council have accepted the entire ratification of the entire council on this decree (Council of Trent, Session 13 Chapter VIII, Contradicting Hebrew 9:27-28; 10:11,12, 15)

King Gustav Vasa went on to publish a bible in Swedish for the people of his country.  If he attended the “the Blood-bath of Stockholm” perhaps Sweden wouldn’t have Yahweh’s holy word, and perhaps never knew what Yeshua (Jesus) did on the cross for them.  The Swedish Bible was published in 1540-41. The men behind the translation were Laurentius Andreae and the Petri brothers Olaus and Laurentius. Of them, Archbishop Laurentius is regarded as the main person. However, had the work not been commissioned by the Swedish King Gustav Vasa, who had in effect broken with the Pope in Rome in the 1520s, the work would not have been possible. The Bible follows the German version by Martin Luther from 1526 closely, not only in language, but in the fonts used and the typography as a whole. The Danish version, printed a few years earlier, also did this.

Charles Spada’s Normandy Home- See Part 1 and Part 2

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The Romantic Baroque Style: Part 3 Skokloster & Steninge Palace

Swedish Skokloster Castle In the Baroque Style

King’s Hall in Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Steninge Palace, is called “Sweden’s most beautiful and perfect baroque building” Steninge, another palace located in Sweden stretches back to the 13th century. The palace has had countless owners; the Gyllenstierna (1649-1735) and von Fersen (1736-1839).  In 1667, Carl Gyllenstierna 1649-1723, inherited the Steninge estate from his mother. His close relationship with the queen allowed him to develop the Steninge estate and the beautiful areas around Mälaren.

In 1680 the well-known architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was asked to design the Palace which were completed in 1705. Tessin was strongly inspired by the Baroque architectural style of Italian and French castles. This castle has only a few very small pictures of the interior, so sadly the interior isn’t photographed at large and available to the public. Nicodemus Tessin designed Steninge Palace with a blend of the Italian and French Baroque style with Swedish taste.  It is said later that Tessin the Younger regarded Steninge Palace as his masterpiece.

Skokloster Castle is another castle in Sweden decorated in the Baroque styles, and is said to be one of the most important Baroque castles in Europe. Skokloster Castle was built as a residence between 1654 and 1676, when Sweden was a  great power. Even to 17th century people, the imposing white building with its corner towers made a fairytale, ancient impression.

Steninge Palace Photographed By Keith Samuelson.com

See Information on Steninge Palace Here

Skokloster Castle From Adventures of A Far Traveler Blog

Skokloster Hallway – Photo Credit Richard Aufreiter

Large Swedish Baroque Brass Wall Sconce

Skokloster Castle

Two Door Black Swedish Baroque Cabinet 1770

Swedish Baroque Captain’s Arm Chair c. 1750

18th Century Swedish Baroque Painted Pine Commode of 3 shaped drawers
following the design of top, raised bun feet, and original hardware.
Wonderful patina, matte black painted finish.

 Swedish Baroque Cabinet and Chairs From romantiskahem.blog

Black Baroque Cabinet

18th Century,  A Swedish Baroque Drop Leaf Table.

Drawers on each end of the center section. Split-leg support on each side.

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Sweden’s Empire Decorated Rosersberg Palace

Rosersbergs Slott From Lennatt Durehed Photography

Corridor and Niche at Rosersberg Palace From Corbis Images

Rosersberg Palace (Swedish: Rosersbergs slott) is one of the Royal Palaces of Sweden. Situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, on the outskirts of Stockholm, it was built in the 1630s by the Oxenstierna family and became a royal palace in 1762.  It was then that the state gave it to Duke Karl (later Karl XIII), the younger brother of Gustav III of Sweden.

Today at Rosersberg the rooms remain almost untouched from the 1795-1825 period.  The interior takes you back in time to the authentic royal interior from the turn of the 19th century.

The second half of the 17th century, the Renaissance Palace became to be dated.  Chancery President Bengt Oxenstierna acquired the estate, and renovated the home in the Baroque style that was fashionable at the time.  He sought out the country’s leading architect, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, and new wings were added to the building.  The tall Renaissance gables were taken down and the exterior of the building was updated with a new hipped roof.

Then in 1747, Rosersberg was acquired by Baron Erland Broman.  More alterations to the buildings were directed by one of the country’s most prominent 18th century architects, Jean Eric Rehn.  On Broman’s death in 1757, the property was acquired by the State.

The property was then placed at the disposal of the young Duke Karl (later King Karl XIII) of Södermanland.

When Duke Karl (XIII) moved in around the 1760s, he modernized the palace in late Gustavian style. The interiors at Rosersberg Palace differ from the Gustavian style interiors of other royal palaces in Sweden. At Rosersberg the style has been known to trend after the Empire style.  The palace combines the two styles: Neo-Classicism and the “Empire style”.  Get some ideas from this beautiful castle for your own home.

Sweden’s Rosersberg PalaceFrom Flicker

Pair of Louis XVI carved and painted Fauteuils. Having oval backs, carved flower crest and apron on stop fluted legs.

Pair Classical Pate-sur-pate Vases Urns & Lids From Vintage Views Ebay

A Swedish Empire Sofa with Classical Gilt Detailing Upholstered by Talisman circa 1790

Continue Reading…

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

The Most Beautiful Rococo Library In The World:The Anna Amalia Library

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library located in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, is world famous for its oval Rococo architecture. The library one of the most breathtaking examples of Rococo design.  The Rococo library houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is named for Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who arranged in 1766 for the courtly book collection to be moved into the library.

In the picture above, a photographer takes a picture of the in the middle of the room with a view of the front door. Three weeks after Candida Höfer had made ​​their shots, a fire caught in the library,  and burned about one million volumes. 50,000 volumes were saved, but many were irreplaceable, and of the 62,000 volumes that were damaged by fire or water, at least 36,000 were restored.   Even though, a substantial amount of books were lost in the fire, there has been no loss of interest in the library.

The sad part of the account was the library was scheduled for the overdue renovation when an electrical fire struck the library in September, 2004, JUST weeks before the collection was to be moved for the renovation.

Thousands of precious books which had been preserved for two centuries, were destroyed by fire by a damaged electrical cable.   The interest in preserving the library drew in almost 14 million dollars for the restoration and repurchasing of the books.

Check out this bm-online.de, link for some of the pictures of the restoration.  The library was reopened in December 2007.

The Rococo hall continues to be one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.  The hall has a narrow floor plan and an astounding ceiling height which leads the eye upward. The reading room is a lofty gilded gallery with busts of poets, paintings and bookcases set against white and blue walls.  A light parquet floor and minimal furnishings create a dramatic contrast to the Rococo Hall which can be seen through the oval opening in the ceiling.

In The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World, writer Jacques Bosser provides a vivid description of the library’s interior: “The heart of the building was open, thus creating a vast central room for reading and preservation. It was surmounted by a sizable gallery replete with bookshelves. Encircling the hall, between
it and the castle, is a wide corridor with bookshelves on both sides. Its late-Rococo décor is sober, simple, charming, and functional. The floor is a parquet decorated in dark slats shaped like a carpet. Everywhere are paintings, framed drawings, and white marble busts of the celebrated visitors to this site, which had long been renowned through-out Europe” (Laubier and Bosser, 2003, p. 54).

See additional photos at Baulinks Website, Epoch Times

holidaycheck.de

Candida Höfer

commons.wikimedia.org

vebidoo.de

gaab-weimar.de

kastl.de

germany.travel

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Museum Recreates The Look Of Century Old Swedish Interiors With Historic Costumes

Picture Credit- Skansen.se

Skansen: Traditional Swedish Style – New And Used Options from $42

Founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius, Skansen was the first open-air museum in the world; its aim to show how people lived and worked in the past in the different regions of Sweden. Hazelius was a teacher and researcher in Nordic languages who felt that traditional ways of life were disappearing with the onset of industrialization.

He started to collect an extensive collection of objects, which he put together in the form of tableau-type interiors, in a building in Drottningattan in the middle of Stockholm. Gradually, however, he wanted to show whole houses, furnished with traditional objects, furnishings and works of art, inhabited by people in historic costume, and through Skansen this idea became a reality.

Published in association with the Skansen Foundation, this beautiful book is illustrated throughout in colour. It describes not only the museum and its buildings, but also presents a microcosm of Swedish life, culture, art and architecture. The natural landscape of the museum setting is used to enhance the regional variations in Swedish art and architecture, with buildings from the southern part of Sweden being located in the southern-most part of the museum and so on.

Each chapter is devoted to a particular region represented by the museum: northern, middle and southern Sweden, as well as a typical Swedish town quarter. The buildings described here vary in date from the Vastveit storehouse, which was built in the fourteenth century, to the Skane farmstead which was finished in the 1920s. Stylistically, the range of buildings displayed at the museum is enormous: we move through time and style from the summer pasture farm, or Faboden, with its essentially medieval form of wooden construction, through the classical elegance of buildings like the late-eighteenth century Skogaholm Manor, or the impressive malm house built for the merchant Charles Tottie, to functional timber frame of the early twentieth-century Assembly Hall from Varmland. The informative, but accessible, text has been written by Ralph Edenheim, who is a Swedish art historian, and Head of the Department of Cultural History at Skansen. 128 pages.

Below are pictures of Swedish Interiors are those taken from photographer Photographer Joanna Holmgren found in two publications Skansen: Traditional Swedish Style , Swedish Folk Art: All Tradition Is Change

Swedish Interiors – Photographed By Photographer Joanna Holmgren

Swedish Interiors – Photographed By Photographer Joanna Holmgren

Swedish Interiors – Photographed By Photographer Joanna Holmgren

Swedish Interiors – Photographed By Photographer Joanna Holmgren

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

Sweden’s Manor Houses

Krapperup Castle Built in 1570 over the ruins of a 13th century stronghold; near Molle, Sweden From Larry Myhre’s Photstream

This Article “Inside Sweden’s Manor Houses” Published Nov/Dec-2002 By Dan Hofstadter in Departures

In a small rural province called Scania, three country estates define classic Swedish style.

It never occurred to me when I was living in Sweden, in the 1970s, that “Swedish style”—in furniture, interiors, and fabrics—might one day become popular in America. Swedish design, like Swedish humor, has a certain restraint, a quiet wit, that I would have thought lost on outsiders.

Yet classic Swedish design—and I don’t mean the 1950s masterpieces of Gunnar Asplund and Carl Malmsten or the Ikea explosion of the ’90s, but the checked-fabric side chairs and spindle-backed settees of 250 years ago—is experiencing a great deal of international attention these days. Shops showcasing Swedish antiques have recently opened in London, Paris, and New York, and decorating magazines seem obsessed with Swedish furnishings. The most obvious explanation is that 18th- and early-19th-century Swedish furniture, in its spareness and rectilinearity, fits in quite well with modern furniture; but there’s certainly more to it than that.

There is, I think, a real similarity between 18th-century Swedish and contemporary American taste, a psychological affinity that transcends history and geography and owes much, I would argue, to the ancestral Protestant craving for paring down, for simplicity. Many of America’s foremost furniture creators, from the Shakers through Gustave Stickley and the Eameses, have stressed economy, availability, and clean, well-defined lines. As it happens, these are also typical features of the Swedish interior.

Classic Swedish design reaches its apogee in the royal palaces and aristocratic country houses of Sweden. As late as the 17th and 18th centuries, Sweden was a very poor country whose noble families were often hard-pressed to maintain even the barest semblance of elegance. Many of the landed gentry were really glorified farmers who kept a sharp eye on expenses and shunned ostentation as wasteful and irreligious. Yet these families also wanted to enhance their status, and as they enlarged and improved their arable acreage, as revenues expanded and their tastes grew more refined, they began to remodel and embellish their houses. Toward the late 18th century, a style of design appeared that was simple enough to be affordable and also fashionable enough to give tone to a country seat. This was the Neoclassical style, and its chief exponent was King Gustav III, who ruled from 1771 to 1792. Because he offered so much patronage to builders and designers, he, in effect, created a revolution in taste.

High-strung and aloof, reserving his deepest affection for the theater, Gustav wrote full-length dramas of his own, shocked the court by performing onstage, and built himself a superb little theater in Gripsholm Castle, near Stockholm; some of his courtiers complained he was confusing statecraft with stagecraft. Having made a trip to Paris as crown prince, he was also keenly interested in Neoclassical art and design; in 1883 he traveled to Italy, where he visited Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum. From France and Italy Gustav brought back drawings, paintings, statues, models, and a highly trained painter-architect named Louis Jean Desprez. The so-called Gustavian Style, still greatly admired by art-conscious Swedes, is in fact the Swedish naturalization of what we call the Louis Seize Style.

Gustav commissioned many grand interiors for royal palaces in the Stockholm area, but his subjects couldn’t follow his example to the letter. Too expensive for most of the Swedish nobility, his preferences were translated into a simpler, more provincial visual syntax. What emerged was the intimate, companionable, and at times rather countrified look of Swedish style.

Read More of This Article “Inside Sweden’s Manor Houses” Published Nov/Dec-2002 By Dan Hofstadter in Departures

Wrams Gunnarstorp Castle From ZTaxi On Flicker

Övedskloster Hakan Dahlstrbm’s Photostream

Krageholm Sweden Built 1720

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind Tyreso Castle Outside Stockholm

Tyreso Castle From Shuttertalk

Swedish Decorating Ideas- Tyreso Castle From Shuttertalk

Tyreso castle outside Stockholm Sweden

Tyreso Castle Outside Stockholm Sweden

Tyresd castle dates back to the 1600 ‘s.  The castle was built in the 1600s by the Privy Council Gabriel Oxenstiema

In the 1770s the castle was modernized and was the first English park in the country designed by garden architect Frednk Magnus Piper. The romantic park with winding paths still exist today. 

Marquis Claes Lagergren bought Tyreso castle in 1892 and made this stately home for himself, his wife Caroline and their three sons. With the help of architect isak Gustaf Clason built the awning of the palace of a nation-romantic spirit of the 1600-century castle as a model.

The marquis wished that the palace would be preserved as a living document of Swedish history .  It was his wish that Tyreso be made available to the public through the Nordic Museum. 

The Nordic Museum undertook an extensive restoration 1993-97 to restore awnings Claes Lagergrens home as it looked in 1900. The main building contains elegant lounges, libraries and offices, a chapel, bedrooms and guest rooms with several rooms.  There are very little pictures of the inside of this home, in fact, I could only find just one from the Nordic Museum showing the lavish furniture and paintings of the interior of Tyresd.  This would be a lovely tour if you happen to be in Sweden.

 

Guides - Touring The Nordic Countries

A Look Behind Svindersvik, A Farm Built In 1740s

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Svindersvik is a well-preserved summer residence from the mid-1700s. Svindersvik is located at Swine Flinders Bay south shore in Nacka , designed by architect Carl  Harleman for merchant Claes Grill.

The farm was built in the 1740s as a summer residence for the merchant Claes Grill and his family.  Carl Harleman managed to combine a mansion and a cottage in the same building. He had been inspired by French rococo,but adapted it to Swedish conditions.

Svindersvik consists of a small main building on two floors.  The building is strictly symmetrical form given, with a central axis through the entrance, dining room and balcony. To the left of this central axis is a big place, the right two smaller rooms, including one bedroom. The rooms are tiled and silk upholstered seating. The ground floor is a hallway with an oval ceiling opening through which the daylight from the top floor looking down. The upper floor dominates a large billiard room with pool table from the 1700s, which is well preserved.

Besides the main house is the kitchen wing, which is slightly younger than the main building. The kitchen wing is on an older foundation, probably from the 1500s. The kitchen was for the time very modern, with built-in cabinets, marble countertops and sink.

Most of the furniture in Svindersvik has stood there since the late 1700s. After the Grill family, the property had several different owners, until Knut Almgren , founder of KA Almgren Silk Weaving Mill, acquired the property in 1863. Svindersvik stayed in Almgren’s possession until 1949 when the Nordic Museum took over.  Information and Pictures From Wikipedia, and Nordiska Museet

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish DecoratingSwedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

A Swedish Wall Clock can really transform an ordinary room into a period style Gustavian home.

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating
Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish DecoratingSwedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Check out the primitive wall shelves in the kitchen of Svindersvik . The corners are rounded, and pots and kitchen utensils hang below.  If you like this look, consider the rack built by Shaker furniture.  They have adapted our Shaker Peg Shelf for use as a hanging quilt rack. Although it is designed for quilts, it can be used to hang utensils, or pots from like the picture above.

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

If you are looking for more of a genuine French Louis XVI antique like the table in Svindersvik, look at John Richard’s table in marquetry.  This table features the tapered table legs, and a marquetry finish applied by experts.  The top has brass details which make this table shine like the jewel it is.

Swedish Gustavian Furniture 18th Century Swedish Decorating

 

 

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The Most Beautiful Hand Painted Walls Of The Petit Trianon

The Belvedere In The Park of the Petit Trianon

The Belvedere In The Park of the Petit Trianon

The the Petit Trianon was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel by the order of Louis XV for his long-term mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and was constructed between 1762 and 1768. But Madame de Pompadour died four years before its completion. Upon his accession to the throne in 1774, the 20-year-old Louis XVI gave the château and its surrounding park to his 19-year-old Queen Marie Antoinette for her exclusive use and enjoyment. Marie longed to escape Louis and his court, and he gave her just the place.

This simple building located just a hundred meters of the palace of the Petit Trianon contains an oval room which was the private theatre of the Queen. It was built in 1780 by the architect Richard Mique. The little theatre features decorative pasteboard sculptures, with blue hangings and a gold-embroidered curtain. The stage is larger than the auditorium. The machinery is original from the period and the decoration is original although has been restored. Marie-Antoinette was always in search of entertainments and who liked to perform on scene.Marie Antoinette would come to the Petit Trianon not only to escape the formality of court life, but also to shake off the burden of her royal responsibilities. At Versailles, she was under considerable pressure and judgement from both her family and the court, and the Petit Trianon was her place of ease and leisure where she could rest from those trials.

Since the Petit Trianon was by invitation only, none was permitted to enter the property without the Queen’s express permission. It was said, not even Louis XVI, so you can imagine how many people felt left out, or perhaps excluded if they were not invited. This invitation only alienated the court nobility, and only the queen’s “inner circle” were invited.

A house was designed to require as little interaction between guests and servants as possible. To that end, the table in was designed to be mechanically lowered and raised through the floorboards so that the servants below were left sight unseen.

Consider stenciling your home with the classic stylings of a white background with Neoclassical motifs seen at the Petit Trianon. One very easy way of getting these pictures on the wall is by using an overhead projector. Books such as French Architectural Ornament details many of the motifs from Versailles, Fontainebleau and other Palaces which you can get transferred onto overhead projector paper at your local copy center.

Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles by Christain Duvernois, with photographs by François Halard.

Here is the publisher’s presentation:

Marie-Antoinette has been idolized as the height of eighteenth-century French style and vilified as the spark that ignited the French Revolution. This book departs from such traditional interpretations of the infamous queen’s reign and chooses to reflect on the humanistic aspects of her private realm.

To escape the formalities and royal obligations of Louis XVI’s court, Marie-Antoinette created a private realm of pleasure for herself at the Petit Trianon and Hameau, where she planted the first Anglo-Chinese garden; created a trysting grotto; a working farm; and revolutionized architecture and gardening trends for the century to come.

Marie-Antoinette’s entire private domain and its story are told in beautiful photographic detail by François Halard for the first time since its recent restoration and accompanied by well-researched texts by garden expert Christian Duvernois

The Belvedere In The Park of the Petit Trianon

Habitually Chic featured stunning photos of Belvedere in the park of the Petit Trianon, and shows the transition from the dominant Rococo style of the earlier part of the 18th century, to the more sober and refined, Neoclassical style of the 1760s and onward.

Curt Dude on Flicker gives us an entirely different view of the Belvedere

Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette
Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette
Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette
Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Last Garden Versailles

Fountain Picture Above From Peak of Chic Blog

Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette
Private Apartment of Queen Marie Antoinette

Here is a close up of one of the original chairs. Bonnefoy du Plan oversaw the creation of the furniture pieces which featured carved and painted trellises, basketwork, floral forms and rustic garlands. The furniture is called “wheat-ear” furniture, so named for lily-of-the-valley, pine cones, and ears of wheat found in the design  The third floor is known as the Mezzanine and was for the Queen’s staff. The room reminds me of classic Swedish Style.  You can hardly see the picture because it is blury, but you see the wall coverings match the drapes.  The Louis XVI furniture is known as the basis to much of the Gustavian style.    These lovely pictures are from Metis Linens Blog

Wall Stenciling Ideas- Neoclassical Wall Decorating Ideas- Clip Art

In the fifteenth century, the ruins of Nero’s Domus Aurea were discovered in Rome. The first explorers to enter the interior of this spectacular palace complex had the sensation of finding themselves in a series of grottoes, and this is why the fanciful frescoes and floor mosaics discovered there were called “grotesques.” A fashionable form of ornamentation in ancient Rome, grotesques consist of loosely connected motifs, often incorporating human figures, birds, animals,  and arranged around medallions filled with painted scenes. Fifteenth-century artists such as Perugino, Signorelli, Filippino Lippi, Mantegna copied the ancient Roman examples; the most famous use of the style was Raphael’s Loggie in the Vatican Palace, which became immensely famous and influential all over Europe. This magnificently illustrated book covers the entire history of the grotesque in European art, from its Roman origins through the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century. It illuminates how grotesque decoration was transformed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries into arabesque, chinoiserie, and singeries, and how it continued in the nineteenth century, leading eventually to Art Nouveau. 250 color illustrations.

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A Look Behind The Chinese Pavilion At Drottningholm Palace

The Chinese Pavilion (In Swedish: Kina slott), is located on the grounds of the Drottningholm Palace park. The royal pavilion is one of Sweden’s Royal Palaces. The first castle building was built in 1753 and was a birthday gift to Queen Lovisa Ulrika from King Adolf Fredrik. After a few years was, however,it demolished because of decay, and in 1769 was new Chinese Pavilion finished, designed by architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz.

The rooms are decorated with chinese and some japanese wallpapers, wallpanels, paintings and objects.  The environment of Drottningholm Palace – the palace, theatre, Chinese Pavilion and parks – is the best example of an 18th century royal palace in Sweden and is also representative for European architecture of that period.

Check out this website for one of a kind looks at the various repairs to the Kina Slott

Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm is essentially rococo. It was intended to have an exotic Chinese-inspired character, containing Chinese elements which were the highest of fashion at that time.  The royal court’s chief supervisor Jean Eric Rehn was the man who led the work with the interior design. The construction of the pavilion began in 1763 and then was was completed in 1769. The Chinese Pavilion was renovated in 1943-55 and the interior in 1959-68. A thoroughgoing restoration of the exterior was started in 1990

Chinese chinoiserie mixed with the extravagant style of rococo makes this palace a very unique feature of Swedish architecture. The Chinese Pavilion seemed to have functioned as a sort of royal getaway, as just a mile away, the environment changed into something foreign.  There are entry halls, corridors and wings to this pavilion, as well as several parlors (audience chambers, or talking rooms), kept apart by different color schemes. There is the Green Parlor and the Embroidered Room which is the parlor designed in red. For inspiration they used all kinds of goods imported from China such as lacquered boxes and the classic Asian design on furniture and objects.

Modestine Blog describes the Chinese Pavilion- “A walk through the gardens in the warm sunshine brought us the Chinese Pavilion. Externally it was symmetrically balanced with curving wings and was decorated with gold painted Chinese figures and dragons. Inside, the walls were lined with hand painted Chinese silk wallpapers, each room in a different colour, reflecting different moods. The furnishings obviously came from China, almost certainly produced for the enthusiastic European market at that time. There were huge Chinese vases, bamboo shelving, oriental style chairs lining the walls and cabinets of Chinese ceramic figures.”

One of my favorite Blogs –18th Century, Johanni (as there are so few blogs that focus on 18th century living), took some fabulous pictures of her robe à la polonaise at the Chinese pavilion at Drottningholm. Here are some of her flicker pictures that show her in the palace. It kind of gives you a glimpse of what it may have looked like back in the day.

Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm

Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm- Picture Credit- rebeccaloewke.com

Chinese Pavilion Blue Salon Drottningholm

Chinese Pavilion Blue Salon Drottningholm Found on abebooks.com

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