Haga Park¸ Hagaparken in Swdish, is located in Solna, on Stockholm outskirts, in Sweden. The park expands on 144 hectares on the western shoreline of Lake Brunnsviken. Gardens in the park were built in the English style, and the whole project was envisioned by King Gustav III. It is also the reason why there are numerous historic landmarks in the park, such as castles, temples and pavilions, including two official residences of the Swedish royal family – the Haga Palace and King Gustav III's Pavilion. In the park, there are also remains of a palace whose construction began, but was never finished. The present appearance of the park was created between 1780 and 1797, and architects that took part in the construction of the park and accompanying buildings were Fredrik Magnus Piper, Louis-Jean Desprez, Olof Tempelman and Carl Christoffer Gjörwell.
The main architect appointed by King Gustav III was Fredrik Magnus Piper. He was the major royal architect in charge of parks and gardens in the Kingdom of Sweden. The park plan was handed in for the revision in the English style in 1781. Buildings that are still in the park were a part of Piper’s plan – his idea was, when leaves would fall from the trees during autumn and winter, that visitors would focus on beautiful buildings, with the main emphasis on the Haga Palace. Johan Christian Ackermann was appointed for further development of the park. In 1785, he created a network of canals and islets, and after that 26.000 were planted in the park.
In July 1967, the Bellman Festival was organized for the first time, as a part of the Stockholm’s theatre in the open initiative. The festival was held for more than 10 years in this park. The British Gardening Society declared Haga Park as “the best example of the English-styled park in the world”.
Author of the article:
Maja Glavaš, tour guide
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