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‘Hur präktigt speglar ej den strömmen ai
Torn, hjeltestoder, slott og sångartempel,
Och aftonrodnan öfver Riddarholmen,
Der Sveriges ära sofver under marmor’.’ (Tegnér).
‘Tower, heroes’ statues, palace, muses’ fane
Stand nobly mirrored in the stream beneath,
While bathed in evening-red glows Riddarholm,
Where, beneath marble, Sweden’s glory sleeps’.
From the S.E. end of the bridge a broad and massive quay,
constructed of granite like all the others at Stockholm, extends to the
E. and S., along the E. side of Staden. This is Skeppsbron,
the landing-place of most of the large sea-going steamers, as well
as of numerous local steam-launches. Approaching Staden from
the N., we observe on the right the Mynt-Torg and the old Mint,
a building with a facade of four columns, now occupied by public
offices. The Mynt-Gata leads thence to the Riddarhus-Torg(p. 326).
On a rocky height at the S.E. end of the Norrbro rises the
*Royal Palace (Pl. E, 4), begun on the site of an earlier edifice
by Nicodemus Tessin, a Swedish architect, in 1697, in the Italian
Renaissance style. The work was interrupted by the wars in which
Charles XII. was engaged, but was at length completed by Count
Carl Gust. Tessin, Harlemann. and Cronstedt in 1753. This massive
edifice, consisting of a ground-floor, an entresol, and two upper
stories, with a flat roof, forms a rectangle 136 yds. in length and
127 yds. in width, and encloses a court which is nearly square in
shape. The N. and S. facades are adjoined by four lower wings,
extending to the E. and W., so that the N. fagade is double the
length of the central building. The N.W. portal, facing the bridge,
is approached by a handsome carriage-drive, constructed in
182434, and called Lejonbacken from the bronze lions, cast in 1704,
with which it is adorned. On the S.W. side of the palace are
two detached buildings forming a small semicircular outer court,
one of them being the chief Guard House. On the N.E. side,
between the projecting wings, is a small garden called Logården
or ‘lynx-yard’, which is said to derive its name from a small
menagerie once kept here. It affords a fine view of the harbour, and
communicates with Skeppsbron by means of a flight of steps, but is
not open to the public. The central quadrangle on the other hand,
with theN.W., S.W., and S.E. portals, is always accessible.
The private apartments are shown daily in summer, during the
absence of the royal family, while the public rooms
(Festivitets-Våningen) may be visited at any time. The rooms on each floor are
shown by a different attendant [vaktmästare; fee 1-2 kr.).
The Principal Entrance is on the S.W. side, adjacent to the Guard
House. Passing the sentinel posted here, we turn to the left in the
gateway and ascend a handsome staircase leading to the Second Floor. Here,
on the right, are the sumptuous state apartments known as the
Festivitets-Våning, once occupied by Charles XIV. John. Passing through the Life
Guard Saloon, embellished with arms, the Concert Room, and the Audience
Room, with ceiling-paintings illustrative of the history of Alexander the
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