One of my favourite cities in the world has been Stockholm, ever since I first visited it in 2000. Since that first visit, I have lived there for three years working and studying and my last visit there was in 2010. While there are many places and things I like about the city, this post is about the six places of art in this city that are special to me.
- Waldemarsudde
Prins Eugen, who was himself a landscape artist, left his home Waldemarsudde and his collection to the Swedish state in his will. Therefore, since 1948, the place has been open to the public. The building was built in early 20th century as a residence for the prince. He soon added a gallery as an extension to the house, as he needed space for his expanding art collection. At the time of his death, his collection included 3,200 of Prins Eugen’s work and around 3,500 works by other artists.
Prins Eugen’s home
I first visited the lovely home and art museum in Djurgården on a lovely excursion organized by my university, KTH. I fell in love with the house and its park overlooking the lake so much so that I brought my mother here for her birthday. The aesthetically pleasing landscaped gardens has several famous sculptures including Carl Milles’ Archer and an Alexis Rudier cast of Rodin’s The Thinker.
My mother on her birthday, Waldemarsudde, 2003
This beautiful art museum is a not-to-be-missed gem by the visitor to Stockholm city. There is a restaurant and cafe, the Prince’s Kitchen, within its premises.
2. Millesgården
Nearly around the same time that Prins Eugen moved into his newly built home, Waldemarsudde in Djurgården, the artist couple Carl and Olga Milles bought their property on the island of Lidingö. Over the next several decades, Carl Milles designed his gardens and added his fascinating sculptures to the landscape.
Fountain of the Muses
The visit to Millesgården was also a special treat organized by my university.
God on the rainbow
More than the house itself, I liked the gardens and my favourite was this little piece of sculpture on a low wall. A tiny stone carving of a wooden bench on which a couple are huddled together from the the cold. If you peeped across the bench, you would see a man sleeping on the other side. The sleeping man is supposed to be the artist, Carl Milles himself, and represented his time in Paris as a struggling artist.
A la belle étoile
3. Monument honouring Raoul Wallenberg
During my initial months in Stockholm, my parents and I stayed in Lidingö for a short while. While walking with my mother across the city hall park, I came across a monument which called out to me from the first time I saw it. It was that of a man handing out documents, with his hands clasped at the back, and hands reaching out from the ground for those documents. Seeing that sculpture by Willy Gordon began my fascination with the story of Raoul Wallenberg‘s life. As a Swedish diplomat in Budapest during World War II, he is credited with saving the lives of about 100,000 Hungarian Jews, before he disappeared in January 1945. I admired his initiative, courage and commitment, despite knowing that he would be targeted eventually.
Source: Lidingo.se
4. Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan
Not just because it was one of the universities I studied at, I also like it very much because it is aesthetically pleasing. The main campus building in Ostermalm was built in the early 20th century and features work by prominent Swedish sculptors such as Carl Milles and Ivar Johnsson. The borggården (courtyard) is particularly lovely during summer.
KTH Courtyard
5. National Museum
The museum was built in 1866 and is currently closed for renovation. For one of my mother’s birthdays, I had planned a day trip to this national museum. My mother used to enjoy painting a lot but at some point, had stopped her painting. After her visit here, she was re-inspired so much so that she not only resumed her painting, our apartment and my sisters’ houses were soon filled with her artwork.
Source: National Museum
6. University of Stockholm
The campus at Frescati is located within a beautiful area and includes the Bergius Botanical gardens. Walking around the campus, taking in the sculptures by Marianne and Sivert Lindblom among others, is a treat.
Photo credit: Jan Oqvist at sivertlindblom.se
Which of these special six places would you want to visit? If you have already visited some or all of them, how was your experience?
To view this article in the GPSmyCity app, please follow this link on your iPhone or iPad.
[I am linking this post to Wanderful Wednesday , City Tripping #51 and The Weekly Postcard]
Perspectives Quilt 
I did some other museums in Stockholm:) #wanderfulwednesday
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I remember reading your post on your visit to the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities.
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yes:)
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Id definitely like to visit the National Museum. Any place that inspiring deserves a visit!
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I am sure you would enjoy the National Museum. The location itself is lovely.
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Urgh such a shame I never visited any of them! Guess I really need to return to Stockholm soon!
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🙂 I think so too.
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I love seeking out art when I travel, and these seem like such interesting ones! I probably went to some of these in my trips as a child, I’ll have to ask my parents 🙂
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Thank you, Marcella. Would love to hear about what your parents say on the places you visited as a child.
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I love when art surrounds a city, I would love to do a tour of all of them!
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Thank you, Isabel. I am sure you would love visiting all of them.
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Look like some great places to visit! I love walking around beautiful universities, so that would probably be my choice! 😀
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That’s a great choice, Lauren. I also enjoy wandering around beautiful universities. Both universities, KTH and SU, hold a lot of great memories for me in addition to the sculptures and other artwork.
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I just came back from my first visit to Stockholm, but I haven’t seen any of these great places. I would very much like to go back to see more of this great city.
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I hope you do revisit Stockholm and explore more of the lovely city! Reminiscing and writing about Stockholm has made me feel like I need to revisit soon.
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What an interesting post! Millesgarden sounds beautiful – it must have been amazing to have studied in such a beautiful, cultural city.
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Millesgarden was indeed a special place, especially the landscaped gardens and sculptures. I loved living in Stockholm.
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I haven’t been to Stockholm yet as it hasn’t been on the top of the travel list. The campus at Frescati sounds really interesting though with all the sculptures and the added bonus of a botanical garden too! Sounds like a great place to check out! 🙂 #citytripping
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Stockholm University’s Frescati campus is indeed a lovely place to check out. Thanks for stopping by, Natalie.
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Thanks for sharing your special six. There are so many places to visit in Stockholm..Indisnt mange any on your list during our visit. We’ll be back at some point though, I’m sure. Thanks for linking #citytripping
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There are so many places to visit in Stockholm that I had difficulty narrowing my long list of places I have enjoyed to just six 🙂
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What an interesting look after the city – somewhere I would like to visit though I haven’t yet. The monument to Raoul Wallenberg sounds very moving. #citytripping
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The monument to Raoul Wallenberg is touching and there is something about it that pulls you. I had not heard about RW before seeing that monument so even without knowing the story behind that monument, I was drawn to it when I saw it.
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I do not know lot about Stockholm, so, I am happy you shared these 6 art related places. I like to check out the artistic side of cities and it looks like Stockholm has a lot to offer on that aspect. #citytripping
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Stockholm is a lovely city and I am sure you would love it, if you visit the place, Ruth.
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Love your different perspective of Stockholm! I was especially moved by the story of how your Mom was inspired to pick up painting again after visiting the National Museum. #CityTripping
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Thank you 🙂 Yes, I was happy that my mother picked up her painting again after enjoying her visit to the National Museum.
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It was raining and I had terrible morning sickness when we visited – woulsnlvoe to return and do some Of these #theweeklypostcard
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I hope you do have a much more pleasant time when you revisit Stockholm.
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Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to any of these places when I visited. Another good reason to go back. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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Yes, that’s a good reason to go back to a beautiful city, Anisa.
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What a coincidence, Ahila! We both blogged about Stockholm this week. Thanks for sharing this post. I haven’t been able to visit any of these sites during my short trip to Stockholm this summer. I’d love to go back there for more.
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Not really a coincidence, Anda. I had been reading your beautiful series on Sweden over the last few weeks and decided to share my post on Stockholm Art as well on the The Weekly Postcard. I am sure you will enjoy the places I mentioned, if you visit them, during your next trip to Stockholm.
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What an different and interesting perspective on Stockholm! I visited on my honeymoon so we were on a tight schedule but when we return, we will be sure to check out some of these art related places … but the question I will ask myself is which one do I start with first! 🙂 #TheWeeklyPostcard
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I would highly recommend starting with Waldemarsudde, Angie. It is truly a gem!
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