The Royal Armoury () is a museum in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It contains many artifacts of Swedish military history and Swedish royalty. It is the oldest museum in Sweden, established in 1628 by King Gustavus Adolphus when he decided that his clothes from his campaign in Poland should be preserved for posterity.
A drinking horn made from a horn of the last aurochs bull and taken by the Swedish army as war booty from Jaktorów, Poland, during the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655–1660) is part of the collection of the museum.
History
The Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren) is the oldest museum in Sweden. Its origins trace back to the 16th century as a functional armory used by Vasa dynasty monarchs to store personal weapons, armor, and garments.
The institution was officially established in 1628 by King Gustavus Adolphus. Following his campaign in Poland, the king ordered that his blood-stained clothes from battle be preserved "for eternal memory" (Latin: in perpetuam rei memoriam). This decree turned the royal arsenal into a historical repository, establishing a tradition of preserving items associated with key moments in Swedish royal history. Over the 17th and 18th centuries, the museum's collection grew significantly to include coronation robes, royal carriages, ceremonial attire, and funeral regalia, such as those of King Charles IX and Queen Christina.
The collection was relocated several times during the 19th and 20th centuries:
In 1865, the exhibits were moved from the Stockholm Palace to the newly constructed Nationalmuseum. In 1906, the collection was transferred to the Nordic Museum on Djurgården. In 1978, Livrustkammaren returned to its historical home in the cellar vaults of the Stockholm Palace, where it remains open to the public today.
Gallery
See also List of museums in Stockholm
References
External links
The History of the Royal Armoury Virtual tour of the Livrustkammaren provided by Google Arts & Culture