Royal National Park Stockholm

#RoyalNationalParkStockholm
It is the worlds first national urban park that was established in 1995 and the locals
call it Ekoparken (Eco-Park)

Four Legged Lawnmowers
During the summer months the city deploys two active herds of sheep to graze on the grounds
as being natural landscapers, who for sure are eco-friendly 😃

Other Wildlife
Its possible to see wild deer, hares, foxes and even moose just a short distance from the downtown area
Add in over 800 types of flowering plants, 100s of bird species and you have yourself
 a biophilia paradise

 

 Hagaparken 
King Gustav was fascinated by the diverse global architectural styles when he traveled.
So as you walk through the Haga Park section you will see unexpected structures that he
witnessed, then had built

Nordiska Museet
The Nordic Museum is of a staggering scale that has 1.5 million physical objects and
 6 million photographs all documenting their lifestyle over the past 500 years

Quirky Traditions
A) Gavie Goat; a large straw replica (13 meters or 42 feet tall) is built for good luck on the upcoming harvest and it is also tied to the Norse myth of the God of Thor, whose chariot was pulled by goats

B) Wife Carrying; this competition has the men race through an obstacle course carrying their spouse, with the winning prize being the weight of their wife given in beer

C) The 13 Yule Lads; instead of a single Santa Claus, there are thirteen troll like brothers who visit children over the same amount of nights as the number of helpers leading up to Christmas

Alcohol Currency
Centuries ago on the southern island portion of the park, if a citizen wanted to lease land from the
 King the rent was 60 barrels of barley
This was because during these times clean drinking water was scarce, so a safer weak beer was a
daily staple for all the social classes in this area

Royal National Park
Its eight times the size of Central Park Manhattan
 The $7.39 million it spent to purchase and to create it is about the same as what
 the United States paid for Alaska

NYC Moving Dirt
Its completely man-made; every lake, valley and forest was shaped by human hands.
 Also the original soil was too sterile to support any planned greenery, so the city had to haul in over 18,000 cubic yards of fertile topsoil from New Jersey just to plant its first 20,000 trees

Curved Walkways
The park purposely designed it with winding paths to force the city dwellers to slow down
 and enjoy the nature
The Central Park Mall (not a shopping center, but a wide and scenic pedestrian promenade) has the only intentionally straight route here, it was built this way for the wealthy New Yorkers to stroll on and most importantly for them was to be seen

Green Lung
The park is strictly protected under the Swedish Environmental Code which by law, no new buildings
 or developments are allowed

Snickargladje
Or Carpenters Joy as its known, these homes feature detailed wood carvings, ornate verandas
 and gingerbread trims
It was all built this way in the 1860s as a status symbol for the wealthy city dwellers 

Royal Contracts
Many of these grand private villas sit on land leased directly from the Royal Administration to  
their family members, close friends and the wealthy elite

Generational Wealth
These homes are still inhabited by the exact same prominent Swedish families who originally built
them many generations ago 

Rules
Because the area was designated a National City Park, the estate owners are bound by the strict laws which means no new developments or modern alterations
This keeps the structures precisely looking the way they did over 100 years ago 

Some Fun Facts of the Four Palaces Located Here

Ulriksdal; it had a "magic table" that could be lowered completely to the basement kitchen,
then raised again so the Royals could eat without any servants present
This gave them total privacy for their secret conversations

Rosendal; look for the nine tons of solid porphyry stone carved into a monumental urn, it took the
local craftsmen several years to finish this project

Gustav Pavilion; the King used this summer palace for his art and theater projects.
Nearby spot the solid Copper Tents, they were built to
 house the royal guards

 

Haga Palace
The structure was modeled after the classic Italian villas that the royal family admired during their travels and today it serves today as the official private residence of the Crown Princess Victoria. 

The Skanska 
This is the legendary open-air museum that was founded in 1891 and is the
 worlds oldest

Real Buildings
Rather than putting up replicas, the founder Artur Hazelius purchased around 150 genuine historic houses, farmsteads and workshops from all over the country
They were dismantled, shipped to Stockholm and reassembled on-site

Living History
Look for the interpreters dressed in period correct costumes, then listen to him/her explain and watch the glass-blowers, silversmiths, bakers and tanners work their skills

1912 Olympic Site

Historic Firsts
A) The Electronic Era; the first games to use automatic timing clocks and photo finish
camera system for the track events
B) Five Continents; athletes from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania all competed in the same Olympic Games
C) Art as a Sport; medals were awarded in architecture, literature, music, painting
and sculpture
D) Gold Medals; it was the last to be 100%, as the next games were primarily made up of silver and plated with a thin layer of gold

Legendary Jim Thorpe
His dominance showed when he won both the pentathlon and decathlon, prompting King Gustav to
call him the "greatest athlete in the world"
He was stripped of his medals later, as he had played professional baseball (his pay was room and board) but his Olympic medals were later fully restored
Unfortunately it was after he had passed, so awarded posthumously 

Five Decade Marathon
Japanese runner Shiso Kanakuri lost consciousness from the heat during the race and was cared for by a local farming family. 
After getting better, he was embarrassed by not being able to accomplish his goal,
so quietly he returned to Japan without notifying any Olympic officials

Ultimately Achieved
Then in 1967 a Swedish television station tracked him down and invited him back to finish the course
When he crossed the line, the final time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes
and 20.3 seconds