Stockholms slott som rikssymbol

Abstract

The Royal Palace in Stockholm as a National Symbol

The article argues that both the old medieval palace and the new palace, constructed after the fire in 1697, came to be perceived as symbols of the Swedish Empire. Although no written program is known, in the new palace, designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (1654–1728), each facade was assigned a “story”, which taken together represented Sweden. The main facade (in this case the northern) represents, as in the Roman tradition, the residence of the lord, i.e. the king. The theme of the western facade was the national government during Sweden’s emergence as a great power, the theme of the southern one the country’s people and church, and of the eastern one its prosperity in science and art.
    The messages of the facades corresponded to the functions of the rooms behind them. The program was probably established by King Charles XI (1655–1697) no later than 1695, and the regency government that took office in April 1697 found no reason to change the general plan. During the reign of Charles XII (1682–1718), Tessin drew up a city plan that was intended to strengthen the role of the palace as a national symbol. Given that the actual construction work took place during a long period of major political and economic changes, it is natural to assume that its role as a national symbol contributed to the fact that the building plans never changed. When completed externally in the 1760s, the building appeared according to the plans of Charles XI and Tessin. In other words, the building represents the country, not an absolute king of the Great Power era.