Long-term, sustainable Djurgården

For several years, we at Djurgården have been collaborating toward a long-term sustainable development of this wonderful place. On September 27, 2022, we became one of the world’s first two urban destinations to achieve the Green Destinations Platinum Award, thanks to our structured work around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2024, two more urban destinations had joined us in this achievement, bringing the total to four as we once again recieved the award after having further advanced our efforts. On November 15, 2022, we signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. In April 2024, we hosted the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s World Congress, which brought together 500 sustainability-focused colleagues from 57 countries.

Our work is ongoing, and long-term thinking is part of our core.

The story behind this site? In spring 2020, the world stopped and our way of working completely changed. Once we realised the extent of the impact, we asked ourselves the question: How can we keep our sustainability work going during the pandemic? The answer: we needed a knowledge bank to inspire one another and others. We hope you enjoy reading all about our sustainability work at Royal Djurgården!

A clear focus

Working sustainably is not just important, it is something our visitors expect us to be doing. Which is why we work together to make sure that your visit to Djurgården has a positive impact.

We work systematically and follow a structure. We continuously analyse our sustainability work, through which we have identified the areas in which we can make the biggest impact. Based on these, we have established four focus areas; all of our work is also consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our four focus areas

Through working together and sharing our knowledge, we inspire one another to reduce our carbon footprint. We work with others to bring about further change and achieve set goals within our four focus areas.

Spårvagn som kör över Djurgårdsbron

A fossil-free and traffic-smart Djurgården

Tallkrik med mat

A sustainable food culture

Blå porten

Open, accessible and welcoming Djurgården

Kolorerad vy över Djurgårdsbron mot Stockholmsutställningen 187

A world exhibition on sustainability

“Royal Djurgården itself is a symbol of sustainability because of our ambition to connect Swedish cultural heritage with modern environmental thinking”

Watch our film where Björn Ulvaeus so eloquently describes our collaborative sustainability work at Royal Djurgården.

A big thank you to Björn for being our voice.

Our values

Djurgården has a proud history and is constantly evolving. We will see new attractions open and existing ones develop. Visitors from near and far have come here for over 400 years to experience culture and have fun. Today, Djurgården is Scandinavia’s #1 attraction, and right now it is our responsibility to make sure that visitors can continue to come to Djurgården for another 400 years. Therefore, 55 of our attractions have come together based on five shared values, which influence our choices and inform our joint decisions and actions.

Open, accessible, welcoming

Constantly evolving

Thinking long-term

Protecting our cultural heritage and looking ahead

Working and evolving together

Timeline

1-1452
2-1579
3-1680
4-1733
5-1827
6-1853
7-1877
8-1883
9-1891
10-1897
11-1905
12-1930
13-1990
14-1995
15-2012
16-2019
17-2019
18-2020
19-2022
20-2022

1-1452

King Karl Knutsson Bonde becomes the owner of Walmundsön, Djurgården’s original name. The royal tradition remains today.

2-1579

Djurgården gets its name when Johan III builds a royal hunting ground (‘Diwregård’) with deer, moose and ten reindeer.

3-1680

Karl XI fences off Djurgården as a hunting ground. The public have to pay an entrance fee to come in, which covers the cost of the fences and gates. The gate fee was later abolished in 1872.

4-1733

32 premises serve drinks at Djurgården, a destination that will later feature in one of Bellman’s songs. Today, Djurgården is home to well over 30 restaurants.

5-1827

Karl XIV Johan’s palace, Rosendal Palace, undergoes a final inspection. The Palace Park is currently being revived.

6-1853

Hasselbacken opens its doors. But the Hasselback potato won’t come until 1953. Today, Hasselbacken’s new project aims to bring back its glory days.

7-1877

Horse-drawn trams run between Slussen and Allmänna gränd. In 1904, they are replaced by electric trams. Today, you can take this fossil-free mode of transport from Waldemarsudde to T-Centralen.

8-1883

Gröna Lund opens.

9-1891

Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum, opens for visitors. Cirkus opens in 1892, followed by Nordiska museet in 1907.

10-1897

Djurgården hosts the Stockholm World Fair. Djurgården Bridge becomes a new means of access to Djurgården, as does the Djurgården Ferry. Additional exhibitions take place in 1909 and 1930.

11-1905

Art takes centre stage at Djurgården when Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde is built. Shortly afterwards, in 1916, Liljevalchs opens, followed by the Thiel Gallery in 1926.

12-1930

The Stockholm World Fair takes place at the Museum Park. The National Museum of Science and Technology opens in 1936; the Maritime Museum in 1938 and the Museum of Ethnography in 1978. The Police Museum and National Sports Museum both open in 2007.

13-1990

The Vasa museum opens, now Europe’s most-visited museum. Its neighbour, Junibacken, moves in in 1996.

14-1995

The world’s first Royal National City Park is formed. The events park is cited as one of Stockholm’s most important attractions, with a focus on further development.

15-2012

The Museum of Spirits opens at Djurgården. ABBA The Museum and Nya Djurgårdsvarvet open in 2013, followed by The Viking Museum in 2017 and the Baltic Sea Science Center in 2019. VRAK – The Museum of Wrecks will open in 2021.

16-2019

Djurgården’s attractions come together to run their own public transport and start the transition from disposable to reusable materials. Royal Djurgården’s restaurants join the Sustainable Restaurants network.

17-2019

Folke Bernadotte’s Bridge – a pedestrian and cycle bridge – opens. The bridge connects the Museum Park and the Rosendal area.

18-2020

The driverless 5G bus of the future is test driven at Djurgården.

19-2022

At the annual meeting in April Royal Djurgården Society’s members adopt short- and long-term sustainability goals within the four focus areas.

20-2022

Royal Djurgården is presented the Green Destinations Platinum Award, for working with sustainability issues in all Global Sustainability Tourism Council’s topics in a structured way. Together Royal Djurgården signed The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.