The Royal Palace's Billion-Dollar Renovation: A 50-Year Journey with Hand-Carved Stones

Thousands of tons of specially imported stone and a billion-dollar budget. The 50-year-long renovation of the Royal Palace is no small project. And it often faces pauses.

– It's like operating on a conscious patient, says restoration architect Anne Teresiak.

Thirty meters above Gamla stan, with a view of the king's solar panels, a man kneels and chips away at stone.

On the ground below, tourists bustle, unaware of what is slowly being sculpted behind the gray construction tarp on the Royal Palace's roof.

By 2050, the palace will be completely refurbished, with new warm pink plaster and specially ordered hand-carved stones transported from Switzerland via Denmark.

– There are essentially no stonemasons in Sweden capable of handling this project's scale and size, says Magnus Roos, project manager at the National Property Board of Sweden (SFV).

Stockholm's Palace is Crumbling

The restoration of Stockholm Palace's facade was inevitable.

The Gotland sandstone that makes up much of its decorations has a best-before date, which has already passed.

– When it gets older and worn, it crumbles, and stones can simply fall, says Magnus Roos, pointing to a part of the palace that has yet to be renovated.

Here, nets cover walls and balustrades to prevent a piece of a lion mask or pilaster capital from falling on an unsuspecting tourist heading to the Royal Armoury.

But despite Stockholm Palace literally crumbling, there's no talk of switching to another type of stone.

Restoration architect Anne Teresiak emphasizes that it's about an upgrade, not a makeover of the palace.

– Even a wooden cabin needs maintenance and care. Sometimes you replace a plank, but you would still keep it in wood and not switch to metal, she says.

– We would never be allowed to change the material either, Magnus Roos adds.

300 Tons Down – and Up

Currently, efforts are underway to refurbish the southern facade, facing Slottsbacken and the rest of Gamla stan.

Behind the plastic-covered scaffolding, the paint is chipped away, revealing 300-year-old bricks.

Piece by piece, everything is dismantled, only to be reassembled in a new form.

Some parts can be reused and only need improvement, explains site manager Maria Chung Rosdal. Old copper sheets from the roof become window sills, and a lot of stone is classified as "fresh" – but much needs replacing.

– During the previous phase, we took down about 300 tons of stone and put up 300 tons, she says.

Working on Stockholm Palace also comes with other challenges. Everything must be adapted to the royal calendar and the palace's schedule.

– We do noisy work until ten o'clock when the palace opens, says Magnus Roos.

– Then every day, there's the changing of the guard, so between twelve and a quarter to one, we can't work either. When there are state visits, we can't work at all. Then we simply shut down the project.

Anne Teresiak compares it to a surgeon operating on a conscious patient – you constantly have to check how the palace is doing and adapt accordingly.

The High Cost

One phase takes about two years, and currently, they are on number ten of 22, after completing the Southern Vault – the entrance to the Hall of State and the Royal Chapel – last fall.

The cost for phases nine to eleven is estimated to land just over 280 million, and should be completed by 2028. With an emphasis on should.

Magnus Roos is the one holding the purse strings – and the schedule.

– The previous phase we had to extend by eight months, partly due to the scope, but also inflation and cost increases, he says.

– I only get a certain amount per year, which is 38.5 million, and since I can't get more money, I have to push the timeline instead.

That the entire renovation should be completed by 2050, he says, is "fictitious."

– But it's something we strive towards.