Sofiero Palace or just Sofiero ( sv, "Sofiero slott" or just "Sofiero") in

Helsingborg Municipality Helsingborg Municipality (''Helsingborgs kommun'') is a municipality in Scania County in Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Helsingborg, which is Sweden's eighth largest city. The municipality had a population of 147,734 on January 1, 20 ...

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

was one of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

royal family's country mansions, located north of

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

. It was originally a Scanian farm called Skabelycke, bought in 1864 by Prince Oscar of Sweden and his wife

Sophia of Nassau Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-servin ...

. The first one-story palace was completed in 1865. It was expanded to its current size between 1874 and 1876, after Prince Oscar had been crowned King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway.

History

In 1905, Oscar II's grandson Prince Gustaf Adolf, future King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

, and his wife, crown princess Margaret received the palace as a wedding gift. They renovated the palace and started the large Rhododendron garden for which the palace is known today. Prince Gustaf Adolf become king in 1950 and until 1973 Sofiero was his and his second wife Lady

Louise Mountbatten Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg; 13 July 1889 – 7 March 1965) was Queen of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until her death in 1965 as the wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf. Born a princess of the German ...

's official summer residence. It was supposedly the King's favorite place and upon his death, which occurred in Helsingborg, he left Sofiero to the city of Helsingborg so that the general public could enjoy it as much as he had.

Today

A bus connection leaves several times an hour during peak hours from Helsingborg. The main attraction today is the very large gardens with a wide range of local (and other) plant life, stretching to the shore of Öresund. The Rhododendrons are especially noteworthy, consisting of almost 500 different varieties.Helsingborgs stad
Sofieros Rhododendron
''Sofieros slott och slottsträdgård''. 18 April 2007. In Swedish. Retrieved 30 August 2007. The park also holds a small collection of modern art. During the summer the large grass areas are sometimes used for large outdoor concerts with national as well as international stars such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

, James Brown and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

. The former royal palace itself is today used as restaurant, cafe and at times as a gallery. A brand of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

owned by Kopparbergs Brewery is named "Sofiero".

References

External links

Sofiero
- official site * {{Castles in Scania Helsingborg Castles in Skåne County Gardens in Sweden Tourist attractions in Skåne County Museums in Skåne County Historic house museums in Sweden Royal residences in Sweden 19th-century establishments in Skåne County

History

Today

See also

References

External links