An update on the Bernadotte bicentenary

As I wrote about in April and September the bicentenary of the Bernadotte dynasty in Sweden will be commemorated in many ways this year and here is an update on some of the major events:

April: TV4 will start broadcasting the six episodes of Gregor Nowinski’s documentary on the history of the Bernadotte dynasty.

6 May-11 July: The Swedish Institute in Paris will show an exhibition on Sigvard Bernadotte’s work as an industrial designer, titled “Sigvard Bernadotte – Inspiratör, Entreprenör, Designdirektör”.

7 May-10 October: The Norwegian National Museum’s department for architecture in Oslo will show the exhibition “Slottet og Linstow – Den nye hovedstadens grunnstein”, which will deal with the Royal Palace in Oslo, the only major palace built by Carl XIV Johan, and its architect Hans D. F. Linstow. The drawings from Linstow’s “Grand Composition” will be at the centre of the exhibition. I have earlier been told that a full-size replica of the famous Bird Room would be built, but the exhibition’s curator Nina Høye has now informed me that this is not correct.

15 May-31 December: Örebro County Museum will arrange the exhibition “Bernadotte och Örebro”, which takes a look at the events of 1810.

15 May-31 August: An exhibition titled “Spåren av Karl XIV Johan” will be shown at Stjernsund Palace, which the said King bought in 1823.

19 May-3 October: The Royal Armoury will hold the exhibition “Bröllop för kung och fosterland” about Swedish royal weddings during the last five centuries. The exhibition will be accompanied by a book written by Lena Rangström.

1 June-30 September: The Nordic Museum in Stockholm will host an exhibition dealing with the popular perception of Carl XIV Johan.

1 June-30 September: Örebro County Museum holds the exhibition “Design Bernadotte” about the design work of Sigvard Bernadotte and Prince Carl Philip.

6 June-11 July: An art exhibition called “Bernadotte rules!” will be shown at Lindesberg near Örebro.

10 June: The book En dynasti blir till – Medier, myter och makt kring Karl XIV Johan och familjen Bernadotte, edited by Nils Ekedahl, will be published by Norstedts. This book is the result of the research project “The Making of a Dynasty”.

15 June-3 October: Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde will mark the bicentenary by exhibiting some of Princess Eugénie’s drawings. As Prince Eugen took a great interest in the history of his family and particularly Carl XIV Johan, this sounds like a disappointingly modest contribution to the jubilee.

19 June: Crown Princess Victoria will marry Daniel Westling in the Cathedral of Stockholm.

21 August: The actual anniversary of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte’s election will be commemorated in Örebro, the city where the election took place. The King and Queen of Sweden, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine have confirmed that they will be present. It is not yet known if Crown Princess Victoria and her (by then) husband, who was himself born in Örebro, will be present. I understand that the King of Norway and the President of France have also been invited, but have not yet replied.

15 September-23 October: The Swedish Institute’s exhibition “Sigvard Bernadotte – Inspiratör, Entreprenör, Designdirektör” will be shown at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Pau.

30 September-9 January: The National Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm will show their great exhibition “Härskarkonst – Napoleon, Alexander och Carl Johan” (“Staging Power – Napoleon, Alexander and Charles John”). The exhibition will be opened by the King and Queen of Sweden on 29 September and will later be shown at the State Hermitage in St Petersburg. The 320-page catalogue accompanying the exhibition will be published in both Swedish and English versions, edited by Magnus Olausson and contain essays by Mikael Alm, C. Beyeler, V. Fjodorov, Lars Ljungström, Odile Nouvel-Kammerer, Magnus Olausson, T. Préaud, T. Rappe, Per Sandin and Solfrid Söderlind.

1 October-27 February 2011: The exhibiton “Hemma på slottet”, dealing with the private and family life of Carl XIV Johan, will be shown at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. (The dates are preliminary).

20 October: The 200th anniversary of Carl Johan’s arrival in Sweden will be commemorated in Helsingborg in the presence of Prince Carl Philip. The quay where he stepped ashore was re-inaugurated some years ago by the former Prince Carl Johan, who lives in nearby Båstad and might also be present this year.


The drawing of Carl XIV Johan pictured above is in the Norwegian National Library and is (most likely wrongly), attributed to François Gérard.