 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This article covers thearchitecture of Sweden from a historical perspective.
As is the norm in thehistory of architecture, the architectural history of a nation naturally lends itself to the history of its monuments, and to the development of that nation's institutions of power: palaces, castles, and churches. This also applies in the case of the history of architecture in Sweden. The break comes with the modern era, with the change in the role of architects in society, towards a concern with questions concerning the entire population, such as housing and the infrastructure of a social democracy.
InSweden, theMiddle Ages lasted for approximately 500 years, from the baptism ofOlof of Sweden in 1000 AD untilGustav I of Sweden seized power in 1523. At first almost all buildings, urban and rural, were constructed of timber. In the 12th century, stone became the predominant building material for the construction ofRomanesque monasteries and churches. Notable examples areLund Cathedral,Sigtuna monastery,Husaby Church andAlvastra monastery. The smaller Romanesque churches in the countryside were often fortified. Themedieval churches on Gotland constitute a group of unusually well-preserved medieval churches, also compared with the rest of Europe.
The advent of theBrick Gothic style brought brick to Sweden as a new building material. The cathedrals ofVästerås,Strängnäs andUppsala were all constructed of brick, whereas the cathedrals ofSkara andLinköping were made of limestone.
While about 1,500 of Sweden's 4,000 churches date to the Middle Ages, very few secular buildings survive from this period. There are, however, a few burgher's houses inStockholm andVisby, some castles, fortresses, and fortifications. The 13th century city walls around Visby are some of the best-preserved medieval city walls in Europe. The street layout of Stockholm'sOld City is still medieval. In other Swedish cities secular buildings from the Middle Ages are very rare and often heavily rebuilt during the following centuries. One example of that isSkytteanum inUppsala.
_-_Schloss_(Slott).jpg)
.jpg)
After therise of Sweden as a great power, in the 17th century, the aristocracy began to build again. At the same time, the notion of the architect was established and the profession developed, its reputation bolstered by the works ofSimon de la Vallée andNicodemus Tessin the Elder. Numerous city palaces and Landschlösser were built following Western European, and above all, French models. Additionally, the building of churches was resumed.Katarina Church in Stockholm became the model for many buildings and churches in the realm. The work of renowned architectNicodemus Tessin the Younger moved architectural development in Sweden into High Baroque; examples includeStockholm Palace andKalmar Cathedral, as well as the completion of theDrottningholm Palace.
The 17th century also saw the founding of a number of cities. They were set out with a regularGrid plan street pattern with central squares. The exceptions to this are the DanishSkåne and inGothenburg, which were laid out to Dutch models in 1619 and include canals. The designs are still recognisable today, even where the original timber buildings have now perished.
In the second half of the 18th century, particularly after the coup ofGustav III a new direction was taken employing classical precedents. In 1773 the Building School of the Academy of Arts was founded, shortly afterwards the Office for Supervision of the Building Industry was instituted. Both raised the quality of architecture, but at the expense of local building traditions. Testimony to the new classical ideals in architecture can be found in the Palace Theatre in Gripsholm, the Botany building in Uppsala or the high school inHärnösand.
After theNapoleonic Wars and the loss ofFinland, national building activity was concentrated within the military sector. TheKarlsborg Fortress and theGöta Canal, employing 60,000 men in a 23-year period, were the largest Swedish building projects of all time. The leading architect of the first half of the 19th century was also a soldier, ColonelFredrik Blom, he designed a series of barracks and also the classically styledSkeppsholmen Church in Stockholm and, as the house architect to the royal family, he built theRosendal Palace.
In the second half of the 19th century the industrialisation of Sweden began. The population of the cities tripled in the space of a few decades. This rapid urbanisation lead to prolific construction activity: tenement houses and public buildings such as schools, hospitals, prisons, hotels, banks, market halls, theatres and churches were built. An eclectic historicism distinguishes many of the buildings. The GermanFriedrich August Stüler received the prestigious commission for building theNational Museum of Fine Arts, which he designed inRenaissance Revival style.Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander'sStockholm Synagogue is inspired byAssyrian architecture. His pupilHelgo Zettervall, followed in his footsteps with the comprehensive renovations to the cathedrals ofUppsala,Skara andLinköping, which express his interpretation of theGothic style.Johan Fredrik Åbom, the most prolific Swedish architect of his age, designed numerous churches and a series ofBurgher houses inNeo-Renaissance style. TheBerns Salonger with its restaurant and stages is also a notable expression of the new civic pride, as immortalised inAugust Strindberg's novelThe Red Room.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century a new generation of architects emerged who turned away from historicism and classicism. On the one hand they absorbed influences from abroad, e.g. theJugendstil execution of theRoyal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, on the other hand they looked for precedents in Swedish cultural history and Swedish building traditions. From this search they developed theNational Romantic Style, which took the cultural and building precedents and merged them with ideas from the EnglishArts and Crafts Movement to create a very distinct Swedish architecture often in brick and wood.Carl Westman'sSwedish General Medical Association building in Stockholm was one of the first buildings built in the style, with theRöhss Museum in Gothenburg andStockholm Court House providing two further examples. The crowning achievement of the National Romantic Style is theStockholm City Hall, designed byRagnar Östberg and built between 1903 and 1923.
Gustaf Wickman dedicated himself to a task of a different nature when he built the entire city ofKiruna within three decades in an uninhabited wilderness. Although the city of Kiruna caused many problems for the indigenousSami people, disrupting reindeer herding routes and polluting the area.[citation needed] After a rich source of iron ore was found and a railway line built, Wickman was charged with the design of the city. Within a few years, he had completed the design and construction of the directors and engineers villas, the worker's housing, offices, schools, a hospital, a fire station, the post office and bank, and a swimming pool. Amongst his best work is theKiruna Church designed in the National Romantic style. Its timber construction demonstrates and connects the influences of NorwegianStave churches and American architectural traditions.
Modern architecture in Sweden was prefaced by a group of architects who took up a very rigorous and stark form ofNeo-classicism.Gunnar Asplund andIvar Tengbom were two of the most well-known representatives during the 1910s and 1920s, contributing to the style which became known internationally asSwedish Grace [sv].[1] Asplund's most important works include theListers District Court House [sv] inSölvesborg,Stockholm Public Library and, in collaboration withSigurd Lewerentz, both the (temporary) Stockholm Exhibition (1930) and theStockholm South (Woodland) Cemetery (today aUNESCO World Heritage Site).[citation needed]
The Stockholm Exhibition for Industry, Arts and Crafts 1930 helpedFunctionalism break-through in Sweden. In the forthcoming years—particularly in housing—this was to become the dominant ideology. A typical example of the strong link between Functionalism and the political left is the Kvarnholmen quarter inNacka, designed in the 1930s by the architecture department of the Consumer Cooperative which was founded in 1924 as the first collectively organised architects practice.[citation needed]
Despite these initiatives, housing standards in Sweden were low. After theSecond World War a massive building project was undertaken to satisfy the housing shortage and improve standards. In 1965 the government announced theMillion Programme—the building of a million new dwellings within ten years (with a population of 7.8 million). Entire dormitory suburbs were built within a very short time. Land in many city centre areas was purchased and replanned in a modern and functional way to make room for offices. The enormous building projects were planned and led by large architects' offices. Often the quality of buildings and their design were of secondary importance to the delivery of such large numbers of projects.[citation needed]
The1973 oil crisis put an end to the Million Programme. Even before this, the programme was receiving vociferous criticism against the pattern book architecture and negative social consequences which these buildings produced.[citation needed]
Out of this criticism, the termpostmodern emerged in Sweden, encompassing a variety of different trends. A rich use of form developed that had not been seen since the National Romantic Style. One of the most important exponents of postmodernism in Sweden was the British-bornRalph Erskine. Today, architecture in Sweden is being defined by such architects asGert Wingårdh, who started as apostmodernist, but is known to pick up new trends (the works show influences fromecological design as well asMinimalism,High-tech,Expressionism, and Neofunctionalism).[citation needed]
