Little Blue Birdie's Diary:

More on Drottningholm Palace

Dear Diary,

Can you remember me writing about the Drottningholm Palace in my last entry? Since it's a huge and historical place, there's a lot more to write about.

Last time, I told you how, why and when the palace was built. Today, I'll write about the other important buildings attached to the palace. The Chinese Pavilion and Drottningholm Court Theatre are among them.

This theatre, known as Drottningholm Slotsteater, is also an opera house and a museum as well. It is internationally reputed as a summer festival venue, and focuses on works of great musicians such as Haydn, Handel, Gluck and Mozart and emphasises on authentic performances. The theatre also has guest performances by the Royal Swedish Opera Company.

Construction of the theatre had begun in the 17th century. Its interior decor belongs to the era between 1665 and 1703. It had first been decorated in a heavy baroque style, but later had changed to French patterns.

According to Robin, this 400-seat opera house was opened in 1766 by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz for Queen Lovisa Ulrika. The original theatre in the palace was destroyed in a fire in 1762 and was rebuilt. I found the interior decoration of the theatre absolutely marvellous. Mama Bird, Papa Bird and I felt like we were visiting heaven.

According to Laughing Dove, a bird I met at the palace, who smiles non-stop and had been there for many years, this had been decorated from a mixture of Stucco (fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces or moulding into architectural decorations), papier mache (a mixture of paper and glue that is easily moulded but becomes hard when dry) and paintings. She had heard this from a guide, who was explaining the place to a visitor.

The stage machinery, which had been designed by an Italian, is still intact and includes moving waves, trap doors, cloud cars, lighting machinery and wind and thunder machinery. Since we were the Queen's guests, we got the opportunity to experience all these things. It was really wonderful.

"Do you know that this theatre was once used as a store?" asked Robin. I was very confused and wondered how one can neglect such a beautiful place. According to Robin, this had really happened. King Gustav III had been very interested in art, music and drama. He had helped artistes to enhance their abilities, but unfortunately, after his death in 1792, no one had bothered about the theatre.

In 1920, the place was restored with the addition of electric lights, designed to flicker like candles. It reopened to the public in August 1922, along with a part of the palace. The theatre is a bit unusual as it has a significantly greater depth and width. "Almost all equipment we use here are original", said the man who was in charge of the theatre.

This amazing place, along with the Drottningholm Palace, the China Pavilion and the surrounding park, became the first Swedish landmark to be included in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

After flying around the castle, and having had a great time, we came back to Stockholm, to the great elm tree, where we nested. Although it was beside a busy road, we didn't have a problem as the city was clean and tidy.

It's a nice country as well, but I have to warn all the birds, birdlings and kids who are planning to visit Sweden. Birds and birdlings, when you are flying across the road, make sure you fly way above the traffic; Swedish motorists too are learning to fly on their super highways!