Oakhill, Djurgården, Early 20th-century residential building in Djurgården, Sweden
Oakhill is a palace at Djurgårdsvägen 174 on southern Djurgården in Stockholm, built in 1910 to Ferdinand Boberg's design for Prince Wilhelm. The light-plastered building has 40 rooms, a corner tower and a view over Ryssviken, Saltsjön and Waldemarsudde. Since 1926 it has housed the Italian embassy and the ambassador's residence.
The site was called Ryssbacken around 1800; in 1820 it was granted to architect Fredrik Blom, who built one of his prefabricated houses there, later converted into a summer home for British envoy Admiral Sir Thomas Baker, who named the oak-covered hill Oakhill. Prince Wilhelm bought the estate in 1907, had most houses demolished and commissioned Ferdinand Boberg to design a 40-room palace, completed in 1910 as a wedding gift to Princess Maria Pavlovna, with the 700,000-kronor cost borne by the Russian imperial family. The couple divorced in 1914; the palace passed to their son Lennart Bernadotte, stood empty, was rented to US envoy Ira Nelson Morris in the mid-1920s and sold to the Italian state in 1926.
The name Oakhill comes from the British envoy Admiral Sir Thomas Baker, who used the oak-covered hill as his summer residence. Since 1926 the palace has housed the Italian embassy and the ambassador's residence, so it is a working diplomatic building rather than a museum.
Oakhill stands at Djurgårdsvägen 174 on southern Djurgården, with the neighbouring Jennyhill house at number 176 just to the west. The Italian embassy and the ambassador's residence occupy the palace, so it is not open to visitors; the building is seen from the street and the surrounding grounds. The site lies above Ryssviken, facing Waldemarsudde and Saltsjön.
The palace was a wedding gift to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna from her foster mother, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and the Russian imperial family covered the 700,000-kronor building cost. The couple moved in in 1910, divorced in 1914, and the house later passed to their son Lennart Bernadotte.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,456 contributors worldwide.