Bellevue, Ingegerdsleden

BELLEVUE, ALBANO, FRESCATI Are we not in Sweden?

This question might be asked by someone walking along the eastern shore of Brunnsviken, where the names of some places are reminiscent of both Italy and France, such as Albano, Bellevue, Frescati or Tivoli. We don't know what August Strindberg is thinking about, as he sits comfortably on the hill above the promenade, near Stallmästargården, looking out over the bay. Perhaps it is what his creator, the sculptor Carl Eldh, saw when he had his studio built, designed by his friend and city hall architect Ragnar Östberg. That Carl Sparre was thinking of the breathtaking view when he bought the court painter Johan Pasch's old ore yard in 1782 is obvious when he gave the park the name Bellevue, which in French means beautiful view. After his Italian trip (1783-84), Gustav III not only had two hundred antique sculptures in his luggage, which today make up Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities. He also brought with him plans for Haga Park, which had begun to be laid out ten years earlier by the great garden architect of the time, Fredrik Magnus Piper, to become a public park with a palace, theater and art gallery. The park was to include not only Haga but also the land around Brunnsviken. On their return, some of the king's friends who had accompanied him on the trip were given rights of possession to areas in the planned park. To flatter the king, they were named after places they had visited on the outskirts of Rome.

From "Ingegerdsleden: Pilgrimage route for spirituality, culture and peace" published by the Church of Sweden. Available as PDF: https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/filer/Ingegerdsleden\_bok.pdf