Vauxhall or Vauxhallen was a
pleasure garden
A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
in Sweden, active from 1773 until 1802. It was situated at ''
Första Långgatan'' nr 10 in the ''
Masthugget'' area in Gothenburg. The area contained a building for public balls and concerts as well as a park, and was used for balls, concerts, fire works, military parades and all sorts of artists performances against an entrance fee.
History
Initially, a tavern was managed on the spot by Carsten Vogdt or Voegt (d. 1678), which was made into a country villa by the wealthy Amija merchant family in 1686, as it was then a bit outside of town.
In 1745, the house was bought by Johan Bartram Kitz (1712-1759), who established a restaurant in the garden, known as ''Kitziska trädgården'' (Kitzian Gardens), which also included tobacco gardens and fishponds.
The Vauxhall was founded when the Kitzian Gardens were bought by Peter Lamberg, who wished to found an establishment of the same kind as the
Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames.
Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being ...
in London, which were famous at the time and had inspired similar establishments in many European capitals: the capital of Stockholm had its own Vauxhall in ''
Kungsträdgården
Kungsträdgården (Swedish language, Swedish for "King's Garden") is a park in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is colloquially known as ''Kungsan''.
The park's central location and its outdoor cafés makes it one of the most popular hangouts ...
'' in 1772. At the time, Gothenburg was a big and important city dominated by a very wealthy merchant class, but with few public pleasure establishments outside of the concerts given in the city hall and the cathedral from 1756 onward, and the occasional travelling theater companies and other artists passing temporarily through town.
The Vauxhall of Gothenburg was inaugurated 15 August 1773 with a concert in the gardens for a fee of 1 ''
daler'' silver. The establishment was a part of a greater demand of entertainment in Gothenburg: in 1774, regular public balls was arranged in the city hall, and in 1779, the first permanent theater, ''
Comediehuset
Comediehuset (The Comedy House) or Sillgateteatern (The Herring-Street Theatre) was a Swedish theatre, active in Gothenburg from 1779 until 1833. It was the first permanent Public theatre in Gothenburg and the only one until 1816. It was located a ...
'', was founded. Vauxhall was reserved for the upper classes: people of the low status classes, such as servants, were not admitted to the gardens even if they could pay the fee.
The Vauxhall arranged masquerades, fire works, and performances by actors, athletes, circus artists and all sorts of artists passing through town. It was frequented by the rich burgher class and particularly popular among the officers of Gothenburg. The clients took walks in the park, had dinner, listened to a concert, often with a singer as well, watched a performance of some kind, and danced. The house of the park could also be hired for private celebrations by both private citizens as well as societies, often to celebrate royal events. Vauxhall was opened every day of the week, by Sundays was a special "Vauxhall-day" when something special was generally arranged in the park, often fire works.
On 24 September 1774 as well as in 1779, the future
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...
and
Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp ( sv, Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the consort of King Charles XIII and II. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is k ...
visited Gothenburg and were celebrated by the burghers of Gothenburg in Vauxhall, and on 12 July 1786, king
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
and the crown prince were celebrated with a grand party in the Vauxhall arranged by the burghers of the town.
In 1802, the Vauxhall was no longer fashionable and the selling of tickets was discontinued. In the 1820s, the park was destroyed and divided into residential areas, and in 1906, the Vauxhall building was torn down.
References
*
Anteckningar om Göteborgs äldre teatrar / Band 1. 1690-1794', Wilhelm Berg, s. 88-94 (1896-1900)
*''Göteborg - beskrifningar öfver staden och dess närmaste omgifningar'', red. Octavia Carlén, Oscar L Lamms Förlag, Stockholm 1869 s. 123
*''Kronologiska Anteckningar rörande Göteborg'', (andra utökade upplagan)
Carl Gustaf Prytz, Wald. Zachrissons Boktryckeri, Göteborg 1898 s. 72-73 + s. 82
*''Göteborg under 300 år'', Carl Lagerberg & Otto Thulin, Medéns Bokhandels AB, Wald. Zachrissons Boktryckeri, Göteborg 1923 s. 217
*''Antologia Gothoburgensis: det är en bok i ord och bilder om Göteborg genom tiderna skildrad av samtida författare och konstnärer jämte kronologska anteckningar om viktigare händelser i staden från dess grundläggning'', Folke Persson, Agne Rundqvist, Arvid Flygare, Maja Kjellin, Stig Roth, Rundqvists Boktryckeri, Göteborg 1953 s. 444-445 + s. 448
*''Det gamla Göteborg - staden i väster'', Första delen,
C R A Fredberg (1921), Facsimile med omfattande tillägg, 1977,
Sven Schånberg, Arvid Flygare, Bertil Nyberg, Walter Ekstrands Bokförlag 1977 s. 436 + s. 832 + s. 846
{{coord missing, Sweden
Former parks
Gardens in Sweden
18th century in Gothenburg
Buildings and structures completed in 1773
1773 establishments in Sweden
1802 disestablishments
Pleasure gardens
18th century in Sweden
Sweden during the Gustavian era