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On The Ritterplatz Stands The Ritterhouse, A Very Fine Palace; Also
The Old Royal Palace, And Several Other Royal And Private Mansions;
But They Are Not Nearly So Numerous Nor So Fine As In Copenhagen,
And The Streets And Squares Also Cannot Be Compared With Those Of
The Capital Of Denmark.
The finest prospect is from a hill in one of the suburbs called the
Great Mosbecken; it affords a
Magnificent view of the sea and the
lake, of the town and its suburbs, as far as the points of the
mountains, and of the lovely country-houses which border the shores
of lake and sea. The town and its environs are so interspersed with
islets and rocks, that these seem to be part of the town; and this
gives Stockholm such a curious appearance, that I can compare it to
no other city I have seen. Wooded hills and naked rocks prolong the
view, and their ridges extend into the far distance; while level
fields and lawns take up but a very small proportion of the
magnificent scenery.
On descending from this hill the traveller should not fail to go to
Sodermalm, and to inspect the immense iron-stores, where iron is
heaped up in countless bars. The corn-market of Stockholm is
insignificant. The principal buildings besides those already
enumerated are, the bank, the mint, the guard-house, the palace of
the crown-prince, the theatre, &c. The latter is interesting,
partly because Gustavus III. was shot in it. He fell on the stage,
while a grand masquerade was taking place, for which the theatre had
been changed into a ball-room. The king was shot by a mask, and
died in a few hours.
There is not a representation in the theatre every night; and on the
one evening of performance during my visit a festival was to be
celebrated in the hall of antiquities. The esteemed artist
Vogelberg, a native of Sweden, had beautifully sculptured the three
heathen gods, Thor, Balder, and Odin, in colossal size, and brought
them over from Rome. The statues had only been lately placed, and a
large company had been invited to meet in the illuminated saloon,
and do honour to the artist. Solemn hymns were to be sung at the
uncovering of the statues, beside other festivities. I was
fortunate enough to receive an invitation to this festival, which
was to commence a little past seven. Before that I went to the
theatre, which, I was told, would open at half-past six. I intended
to remain there half an hour, and then drive to the palace, where my
friends would meet me to accompany me to the festival. I went to
the theatre at six, and anxiously waited half an hour for the
commencement of the overture; it was after half-past six, and no
signs of the commencement. I looked again at the bill, and saw, to
my annoyance, that the opera did not begin till seven.
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