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Royal Domain of Drottningholm

Near Ekerö · Sweden

Background

World Heritage since
1991
Type of site
Cultural
The court theatre
1766

The Royal Domain of Drottningholm stands on an island in Lake Mälar in a suburb of Stockholm. UNESCO calls it, with its castle, perfectly preserved theatre of 1766, Chinese pavilion and gardens, the finest example of an 18th-century north European royal residence inspired by the Palace of Versailles.

Lovön became royal property in the 16th century. The Chinese Pavilion began as a surprise birthday gift from King Adolf Frederick to Queen Lovisa Ulrika in 1753, a prefabricated wooden pavilion assembled in secret, its gold key presented by the seven-year-old Crown Prince Gustav dressed as a mandarin. Rot set in within ten years, and Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz's present pavilion of 1763 to 1769 has rococo rooms full of porcelain, silk and lacquer from the Swedish East India Company. Wikivoyage: SL buses run from Brommaplan metro, Strömma boats from the City Hall.

More on the UNESCO listing More on Wikipedia

  1. 16th c.Lovön becomes royal property
  2. 1753The first wooden Chinese pavilion is given to Queen Lovisa Ulrika
  3. 1763–1769Adelcrantz builds the present Chinese Pavilion
  4. 1766The court theatre is completed
  5. 1991Inscribed as World Heritage

Find Your Way Around

The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them

  1. 1
    The Palace
    The royal family's home; the GoGo guide gives palace and theatre three hours.
  2. 2
    The Court Theatre
    The theatre of 1766, preserved intact with its stage machinery.
  3. 3
    Chinese Pavilion
    Rococo with Chinese flourishes, and the East India Company's treasures inside.
  4. 4
    The Gardens
    Baroque parterres in the manner of Versailles.
  5. 5
    The Boat from the City
    The GoGo guide goes by boat in summer.

Know Before You Go

From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides

Boat or Bus
The GoGo Stockholm guide takes the summer boat; Wikivoyage says Strömma sails from the City Hall to Drottningholm and Birka, and SL buses leave Brommaplan metro station all year.
Allow Three Hours
Palace, theatre, pavilion and gardens fill a morning.
The Pavilion Is a Walk
The Chinese Pavilion sits in the palace park, away from the main building.
Birka and the Cemetery
Birka's Viking town is 19 km on, by boat May to September, and Asplund's Woodland Cemetery 13 km, both in the GoGo guide.

Drottningholm by Boat

From the GoGo Stockholm guide · Open the Stockholm Guide ›

  1. 10:30
    Drottningholm Palace and Theatre3 hrs
    The royal home and its 18th-century theatre.
  2. 15:00
    Monteliusvägen Viewpoint45 min
    Back in Södermalm, the cliff-top view over the city.
  3. 15:45
    Fika with a Cinnamon Bun45 min
    The Swedish coffee break.
  4. 19:00
    Swedish Meatballs90 min
    With lingonberries, in Södermalm.

Best Time to Visit

Best months: Jun–Sep. Freezing days in Nov–Mar.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Jun (78 mm), driest Apr (37 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER

Pair It With

Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance

WORTH A NIGHTDAY TRIPSAME DAYDistance not to scale · tap a site
Do These Together
Skogskyrkogården is 13 km away and Birka 19 km, both World Heritage sites in the GoGo guide; Visby is 188 km across the Baltic.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, listing 559 · Wikipedia: Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm · Wikivoyage: Drottningholm (CC BY-SA 4.0) · GoGo Stockholm guide · UNESCO listing