The Royal Opera House of Stockholm

The Royal Opera of Stockholm is the country’s main stage for ballet and opera, where dancers and singers perform at the highest level. Its first troupe was founded in 1773 by King Gustav III of Sweden, a major patron of the arts. By bringing this musical and artistic institution to life, the monarch also set the stage for his own death. He was assassinated here in 1792. His tragic fate left a lasting mark on the Opera’s history — and even inspired Verdi’s famous opera A Masked Ball. The original building was demolished in 1892, and a new Renaissance-style opera house was inaugurated by King Oscar II in 1899, the same one standing before you today. Facing the opera, at the center of Gustav Adolfs Square, you see an imposing equestrian statue. It depicts Gustavus Adolphus, the “Lion of the North,” King of Sweden who fell at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. Created by French sculptor Pierre Hubert L’Archevêque and inaugurated at the end of the 18th century, it was one of the very first statues of its kind in Sweden. And just behind it rises an elegant 18th-century palace: the Arvfurstens palats. Once an aristocratic residence, it now houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding a political dimension to the square that complements its artistic prestige.