Humlegården is a major park in the district of

Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous districts in Stockholm. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest housing ...

in Stockholm, Sweden. The park borders on Karlavägen in the north,

Sturegatan Sturegatan is a street in the borough of Östermalm in Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6&n ...

in the east, Humlegårdsgatan in the south and Engelbrektsgatan in the west. It is the location of the

Swedish Royal Library The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

(''Kungliga biblioteket''). Kungs bibliotek

History

Royal Park

Humlegården was originally the ''Royal Fruit Garden'', established by King

Johan III John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...

in the 16th century. The name ''humle'', meaning hop, indicates that hops were one of the major plants grown in the garden. In 1686-87, Queen

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (11 September 1656 – 26 July 1693) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity. The name ''Ulrike'' is a Danish version of the name; in Swedish she is ...

had a pavilion,'' Rotundan '', built there for herself and her children.

Recreation Park

Already in the 17th century, parts of the park were opened to the public. In 1764, the park was opened for public recreation. There were, however, restrictions on who was allowed to be admitted. From 1773 until 1780, the Stenborg Troupe performed in the '' Rotundan'', in the former pavilion of the queen, then referred to as '' Humlegårdsteatern'' (Humlegården theater). From 1853-1877, the ''Humlegårdsteatern'' was again in use.

Public Park

The park was completely opened to the public in 1869. At Engelbrektsplan next to Humlegården, the Djursholm line of the Roslag Railway ended from 1895–1960 and on the other side of the park, on Lidingövägen, the Lidingö Tram line ended from 1914–1967. Today the park is a popular recreational area for locals, hosting a small soccer ground, skateboard ramp, children's playground and lawns.

Monuments and statues

The park is the site of a number of statues. In the centre of the park is ''Linnémonumentet'', a large statue commemorating botanist and zoologist

Carl von Linné Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

(1707–1778). The monument was designed by Johannes Frithiof Kjellberg (1836-1885) and dates to 1885. Other notable statues commemorate historian

Anders Fryxell Anders Fryxell (7 February 179521 March 1881) was a Swedish historian. Life Fryxell was born at Edsleskog, Dalsland, (now part of Åmål Municipality, Västra Götaland County) on 7 February 1795. He was educated at Uppsala University, took ho ...

(1795–1881), chemist

Carl Wilhelm Scheele Carl Wilhelm Scheele (, ; 9 December 1742 – 21 May 1786) was a Swedish German pharmaceutical chemist. Scheele discovered oxygen (although Joseph Priestley published his findings first), and identified molybdenum, tungsten, barium, hyd ...

(1742–1786), author

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finland, Finnish-born Sweden and Norway, Swedish Swedish literature, writer and feminism in Sweden, feminist reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Bri ...

(1801– 1865) and Lutheran priest

Peter Wieselgren Peter (Per) Wieselgren, born Jonasson (1 October 1800 – 10 October 1877) was a Lutheran priest, librarian, archivist, literary historian, and leader of the Swedish temperance movement who formed the first organised temperance society in Sweden. ...

(1800-1877). Other works include ''Farfadern'' by

Per Hasselberg Per Hasselberg (1 January 1850 – 25 July 1894), until 1870 ''Karl Petter Åkesson'', was a Swedish sculptor. He has received critical acclaim mainly for his delicate and allegorical nudes, copies of which are widely distributed in public pla ...

(1896), ''Tuffsen'' by Egon Möller Nielsen (1949), ''Isobartema'' by Martin Holmgren (1970), ''Cordillera de Los Andes'' by Francisco Gazitúa (2000) and ''

Hjalmar Söderberg Hjalmar Emil Fredrik Söderberg (2 July 1869 – 14 October 1941) was a Swedish novelist, short story writer, playwright and journalist. His works often deal with melancholy and lovelorn characters, and offer a rich portrayal of contemporary Stoc ...

'' (1869–1941) by Peter Linde (2010).

Gallery

Carl Vilhelm Scheele.jpg, ''Carl Wilhelm Scheele'' Gustaf Mallmquists Peter Wieselgren.JPG, ''Peter Wieselgren'' Walter Runeberg Axel Fryxell.JPG, ''Anders Fryxell'' Fredrika Bremers staty - Humlan (gabbe).jpg, ''Fredrika Bremer'' KB, Farfadern, Per Hasselberg.JPG, '' Farfadern '' Tufsen02.JPG, ''Tuffsen'' Cordillera de los Andes - front 2 - 2008-05-29 (gabbe).jpg, ''Cordillera de Los Andes'' Martin Holmgren Isobartema 01.JPG, ''Isobartema''

References

Other sources

* Johan Flodmark (1893) ''Stenborgska skådebanorna: bidrag till Stockholms teaterhistoria'' (Norstedt, Stockholm)

External links

Park documents for Humlegården
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humlegarden Parks in Stockholm Urban public parks