Djurgården

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Djurgården is an island in central Stockholm, officially called Kungliga Djurgården or Royal Animal Park. It’s a popular place to visit and relax, with museums, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small residential area Djurgårdsstaden, yacht harbours, and plenty of forests and meadows. About ten million people visit each year, around five million to see the museums and Gröna Lund. It is part of Stockholm’s National City Park, established in 1995. For centuries the Swedish monarch owned or controlled Djurgården, and today the Royal Djurgården Administration manages it on behalf of the Royal Court.

A larger area north of it is Norra Djurgården (Northern Djurgården). In the 16th century it was known as Valmundsö. The current name, Djurgården, comes from a deer park King John III created in 1579.

In the 17th century a baiting arena was built. In 1667 some cottages were built for sailors, forming Djurgårdsstaden. The navy moved away in the 1680s, and the area grew into a mixed neighbourhood. Plans to demolish the shacks in 1897 for the World Fair and to expand the shipyard in 1918 were not carried out, and today the area is protected as a historic site.

From the late 1700s it became a popular recreational area. In 1801 the theatre Djurgårdsteatern opened. Rosendal Palace was built in the 1820s by King Charles XIV John, marking the start of Djurgården’s development as a stately district alongside entertainment venues like Gröna Lund (1883) and Skansen (1891). The sports club Djurgårdens IF was founded in 1891 near Alberget.

The western waterfront once hosted a small shipyard, which expanded in the 19th century and later grew into a larger operation with a dry dock. The navy moved out in 1969, and the area became a recreation area in the early 1970s. Many buildings from the 1897 World’s Fair remain, including Djurgårdsbron, the main bridge to the island.

There was also private shipyard activity in the southern part of the island and near Beckholmen; one of these yards still operates. The southern area hosted the Stockholm International Exhibition in 1930.

Today Djurgården also features large green spaces with walking paths and waterfronts, and many old residences and institutions are listed as national monuments.

Getting there: on foot, by tram from Sergels torg, or by boat from Nybroplan, Skeppsholmen, or Slussen. The nearby Karlaplan metro station is convenient for access.