Adventures in Secret Sweden
Portrait of the elusive foreign tourist in the wilds of Scandinavia.
The half-naked dude you are looking at is Karl XIV Johan, who was king of Sweden in the first half of the 19th century. This particular statute of him was commissioned by a “favourite” of his, Nils Magnus Brahe, who was at one time the owner of a picturesque bit of real estate known as Skokloster Castle.
Now it might be that “favourite” is just how people politely referred to “lover” in ye olden days. Those of a less smutty bend, might prefer the explanation that the king and Magnus worked closely together and became good friends, why must you people see sex everywhere? Besides, the king already had a wife and a mistress (who was, fun fact, a relative of Magnus’ stepmom). However, considering that good old Magnus ordered a statute that lovingly depicted his boss’ abs and then had said statute installed next to his bedroom, I find myself somewhat skeptical of the “just good friends” interpretation.
Skokloster is one of those places that I would expect to find besieged by tourists on a nice summer day. It’s got a castle full of pretty things for people to ooh! at, a lovely church, and even a Viking runestone or two on its beautiful grounds. Guides in historical dress wander about ready to tell interesting stories, there’s a nice…
