The Royal Armoury — Attraction in Stockholm

The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world.[citation needed] It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and Armour, National Artillery Collection, and National Firearms Collection. Its historic base is in the Tower of London, but today the collection is split across three sites:

The Royal Armouries is one of the ancient institutions of the Tower of London and was originally engaged in the manufacture of armour for the Kings of England. The Office of the Armoury grew out of the department known as the King's Privy Wardrobe at the Tower of London in the mid-15th century. Overseen from 1423 by the Master of the King's Armour, and based in the White Tower, the Office was responsible for manufacturing armour and edged weapons for the monarch and his armies; it functioned alongside the Office of Ordnance, which had responsibility for firearms.[3]

The Armoury oversaw storehouses and workshops at Woolwich and Portsmouth, and at various royal palaces (most notably the Greenwich Armoury, which specialized in richly decorated ceremonial armour). In 1545, it is recorded that a visiting foreign dignitary paid to view the Armoury collection at the Tower of London. By the time of Charles II, there was a permanent public display there; the "Spanish Armoury" which included instruments of torture and the "Line of Kings"—a row of wooden effigies representing the kings of England. This makes it the first museum in Britain.[4]

Fort Nelson, a 12.5 inch muzzle loading rifled gun for a shore battery, 1875 The influence of the Armoury began to wane as traditional weapons gave way increasingly to firearms in the field of war. In the 1620s, swords, lances and items of armour were still used in battle, but for the most part were being issued by the Office of Ordnance (which was becoming a sizeable department of State) rather than by the Armoury. The latter, however, remained staffed and operational until 1671, when it was finally absorbed by the Ordnance Board; the board continued to maintain, and indeed expanded, the Armoury as a museum.[3]

The Tower was engaged in the development, manufacture and storage of a wide variety of weaponry until the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855. Thereafter the historic armoury collection remained. Only a small part of this could be displayed, however, and in 1995, much of the artillery collection was moved to Fort Nelson in Hampshire and the following year a new Royal Armouries Museum was opened in Leeds.[5] The remaining part of the collection relates directly to the Tower.

The National Heritage Act 1983 established the Armouries as a non-departmental public body, now sponsored by the Department for Culture,...

This museum is one I wouldn't pay to miss. It is filled with so many artifacts it's astounding, and the story told through them is just as good.

Because it closes a little later than the Tre Kroner museum, I went here after touring the palace. I ended up saving the best museum for last (incidentally) and learned the most from this stop.

The museum is organized as a row of several rooms progressing through different periods of Swedish royalty. Each section has incredible artifacts, from suits of armor and swords to royal vestments. The amount of history here was just astounding, and I also learned a ton about Swedish history- something that was (literally and figuratively) quite foreign to me. There are small tablets (in Swedish and English) you can take out of a cupboard that describes the items present in the display cases, which was a nice touch.

This part of the museum already made it worth the money. But, there was also more to be uncovered.

The basement holds the royal carriages. These go from children's carriages, all the way to full-sized carriages that needed 8 horses to pull them. Although these were interesting, it obviously did not take as much time to go through this section. It housed incredible works of art, but there was only so much time you could spend analyzing the building materials and reading the information.

All in all, an incredible museum whether you're interested in history or not. At the very least, a great place to take kids who like knights in shining armor, and at the very most a place to deepen your knowledge...

You enter by the lower left side of the royal palace (when facing it). Inside you will find amazing pieces and sets of armor, regalia, and weaponry from Sweden's dynasties through time. Pedagogically set-up in a chronological order, taking you from the Vasa family to the current Bernadotte. They had plenty from my favorite Pfalz kings, not to mention a huge assortment of clothing from Gustav III. The guided tour we only eavesdropped a little of, seemed excellent. (I didn't need it since I work with history and guided my company).

Make sure not to forget the lower basement where they keep all royal carriages. Those are true works of art! If you are a person who gets cold quite easily, I recommend bringing a sweater down there. It is quite cool, despite it being in the middle of Summer.

We visited during the start of July on a Sunday. No lines to speak of, just 5-8 other people getting their tickets. The staff was friendly and helpful. There is a small gift / souvenir shop when you enter, should you feel like picking up anything.

We were quite thorough in reading everything by the exhibitions and stayed for a while. I would give it an hour to an hour and a half, maybe even two depending on your pace...