Park and Garden

Waldemarsudde covers an area of 70,000 square metres, surrounded on three sides by water, with rich and varied vegetation, rock formations, sandy areas, meadows and deciduous trees. Prince Eugen was less enchanted with evergreens and ferns and therefore removed them. He wanted to retain the area’s park-like character, and plantings are concentrated around the front side of the main house and gallery. On the water side, the prince had two large terraces built, an upper and a lower level. He also planted new trees, a row of poplars along the waterfront and chestnuts up on the terrace.

A certain amount of gardening literature can be found in the prince’s library, including English works and drawings of the terraces. A letter contains careful instructions on which flowers to plant, including colours and combinations. Eugen especially liked blue, white, yellow and pink, and flowers that were considered old-fashioned at the time. In several letters sent from Tunbridge Wells in southern England 1901, the prince enclosed packets of seeds and detailed sowing and planting instructions. For example, he suggested a varied mix of marigolds, a flower then considered to be old-fashioned.

Sculptures in the park

The park is rich in sculptures, all of them bought by Prince Eugen, often with specific sites in mind. The Nike of Samothrace, a copy of the original in the Louvre, was incorporated in the stair design when the house was built in 1905. Also among his early purchases are Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker on the terrace of the main house, and Carl Milles’ Eagles. The two works flank the house’s former main entrance. North of the main house is Antoine Bourdelle’s powerful Heracles, drawing back his bowstring in the hunt for the Stymphalian birds. In among the seaside flowerbeds, Carl Milles’ Triton serves as a fountain.

Per Hasselberg’s Frog is situated on the gallery terrace, as is Carl Milles’ Archer, on a tall antique column. A portrait in bronze of Eugen’s fellow artist Karl Nordström, for many years the chairman of Konstnärsförbundet (Swedish Artists’ Society), was sculpted by Carl Eldh. Down on the shore walk, next to a little pond, is Per Hasselberg’s allegorical female figure Water Lily.