Page 26 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Stockholm

24  INTRODUCING ST OCKHOLM

The Era of Gustav III

Gustav III (1771–92) is one of the most colourful figures in
Swedish history. The king’s great interest in art, literature and
the theatre made the late 18th century a golden age for
Swedish culture, and several prestigious academies were
founded at this time. After a bloodless revolution in 1772
Gustav III ruled with absolute power and initiated a wide- The Swedish Academy
ranging programme of reform. But his attacks on the The academy was founded by
privileges of the nobility and his adventurous and costly Gustav III in 1786 to preserve the
foreign policy made him powerful enemies. In 1792 he was Swedish language. Members
murdered during a masked ball at Stockholm’s Opera House. received a token depicting the
king’s head at every meeting.

A courtier entertains
by reading aloud.

Gustav III’s Coronation, 1772
The coronation of the all-powerful monarch in
Stockholm’s cathedral was a magnificent ceremony,
portrayed here by C G Pilo (1782). Every detail was
overseen by Gustav himself, who used his flair for
the dramatic in politics as well.

Gustav III studies
architectural designs.

Court Life at Drottningholm
Hilleström’s painting (1779) gives an insight into
court life at Drottningholm, where the king resided
between June and November. In the present-day
Blue Salon, Gustav III and Queen Sofia Magdalena
socialized with their inner circle. Behaviour was
modelled on the French court, and etiquette was
even stricter at Drottningholm than at Versailles.

Life in the Inns
The city abounded
The Battle of Svenskund with inns, fre quently
Gustav III was not known as a successful visited by the 70,000
warrior king, but in 1790 he led the Swedish inhabitants. J T
fleet to its greatest victory ever, when it Sergel’s sketch
defeated Russia in a major mari time battle in shows a convivial
the Gulf of Finland. dinner party.

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