One July evening in 1753, Queen Lovisa Ulrika was surprised with a fantastic birthday present. In the far section of Drottningholm Palace Park, King Adolf Fredrik had secretly built a small Chinese-style summer palace for her. At that time, all things Chinese were the latest fashion. The Queen received the gold key to the pavilion from the young Crown Prince Gustav (later King Gustav III) dressed as a Chinese mandarin.
“He took me to the side of the pleasure gardens, and I was surprised to find myself suddenly standing in front of a real fairytale palace, as the King had commissioned a Chinese pavilion – the most beautiful building imaginable”, the Queen wrote in a letter to her mother.
Unfortunately, the small fairytale palace did not endure the harsh Swedish climate. After ten years, the wooden frame began to rot and the King and Queen commissioned Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz to create a new and bigger pavilion made from more durable materials. Read more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Pavilion_at_Drottningholm
The Chinese Pavilion remains a remarkable treasure, one of Europe's best examples of rococo interior and a 300 years old symbol of relations between Asia and Europe. Along with Drottningholm Palace and its grounds, the Chinese Pavilion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
