On the Front promenade of Stadsholm island in the northern part of Gamla Stan district is located the Royal Palace, which is the main attraction in Stockholm. It is the residence of the Swedish monarchs, but some of its rooms are open to the public.
The Royal Palace is located on the site where Jarl Birger built the first fortress in 1252. It was very well located on the water trade route, so around the fortress quickly began to develop the city of Stockholm, which in 1634 became the capital of Sweden.
In the 17th century, the fortress of Jarl Birger was demolished, and a Renaissance-style Palace was built here, but a century later, it was demolished again and began to build a Baroque Palace. On May 7, 1697, a fire broke out in the newly built Palace and it completely burned down.
The architect Nicodemus Tessina immediately began the construction of a new, even more luxurious Palace in 1697. The length of its facade reaches 120 meters. The Palace has more than 600 rooms and halls. However, construction was delayed for almost 50 years. The young and very ambitious king Charles XII at this time began a protracted Northern war with Russia, Denmark and Saxony, which required very large funds. Residents of Stockholm even protested against the construction of such a large Palace, when the country raised taxes.
The construction of most part of the Palace was completed only in 1754, and the North-West wing was completed in 1760. The Palace has massive symmetrical proportions with strict lines typical of the Northern architectural style.
The Royal Palace of Stockholm is guarded by a guard. Every day at 12 o`clock there is a changing of the guard ceremony. This tradition has been observed for 500 years, since 1523, when it was held for the first time, by order of king Gustav Vasa. On the square in front of the Palace stands an equestrian statue of king Carl XIV Johan, the founder of the Bernadotte dynasty, which now rules in Sweden.
Each monarch left behind interiors in the Palace, which can be traced to the development of architectural styles of interiors over the past 250 years. The Palace houses the Three Crowns Museum and the Treasury of the Royal Palace, where you can see the Royal regalia of Sweden.
