Karlberg Palace was originally a royal residence, built by Lord High Admiral Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm in the 1630s. The palace was designed in the Renaissance style with pink plaster and tall gables. Gyllenhielm's widow died six years after her husband, leading to a protracted legal battle. In 1669, the palace was sold to Lord High Admiral Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, one of the most powerful men in Sweden at the time. De la Gardie had renowned architect Jean de la Vallée expand the palace, adding two wings, a terrace, and a church.
The palace was designed H-shaped and featured ornate red festoon stucco ornaments, cornices facing the garden, and sumptuous stucco ceilings. The park around the palace was furnished with an orangery, ponds, fountains, parterres, and boxwood patterns. After De la Gardie, the palace was sold to Queen Hedwig Eleonora, but the transfer was eventually cancelled. Charles, the crown prince, spent much of his childhood at Karlberg and hunted wolves in the surrounding forests.
The palace served as a temporary home for the royal family from 1693 to 1754 while the Three Crowns Castle was being rebuilt. Today, the palace houses the Military Academy Karlberg and is owned by the State.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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