With a population less than one-sixth of France’s, Sweden has long punched above its weight culturally. Its capital, Stockholm, served as a major international trading port as far back as the 15th century. This meant goods and trends from China, Japan and elsewhere reached the city, and the Swedes then made those imports their own — Stockholm’s 18th-century chinoiserie interiors, for example, are considered to be some of the best in Europe. Three distinct design movements have helped shape Stockholm’s rich architectural landscape over the past few centuries. There’s the Gustavian style, from the late 1700s, Sweden’s more restrained version of France’s neo-Classicism, which similarly prioritizes symmetry, but with less ornamentation. The early 20th-century Swedish Grace style, defined by streamlined, geometric proportions and Nordic folk motifs, is exemplified by the Stockholm Public Library (1928), built by the architect Gunnar Asplund. And then there’s the Functionalist movement of the 1930s, which foregrounded affordable materials and practical use and still resonates today, both locally and globally — the dominance of the Swedish furniture company Ikea is a prime example of that legacy. But for all Stockholm’s emphasis on pragmatism and simplicity, its touches of whimsy shouldn’t be overlooked. Below are eight of the city’s most important architectural sites, presented in no particular order.
1. Carl Eldh Ateljémuseum
In 1918, the sculptor Carl Eldh — one of Sweden’s most important artists from the first half of the 20th century — asked his close friend Ragnar Östberg, the architect of the newly completed Stockholm City Hall, to design a studio for him. Eldh leased land in the English-style Bellevue Park, at that time a hilly, secluded area on the outskirts of the city, for the location. (Today, the rest of the park is considered a protected area, and the atelier is the only privately owned site.) Östberg went with a rustic, vernacular look: Clad in vertical brown tarred wooden panels, with a pitched, red-tiled roof, the building resembles a nearby 18th-century outbuilding that once housed stables. Östberg devised a layout with four main sections: two large workrooms, the living quarters and a small rotunda, where Eldh sometimes entertained, and where his models would dress or undress before and after sessions. In the bigger of the two workrooms, large windows face northwest, allowing plenty of light to enter even during the winter months. The studio has been open to the public as a museum of Eldh’s work since 1963. More recently, it’s also hosted exhibitions of contemporary works commissioned specifically for the space.
2. Konserthuset
Although the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1902, it didn’t have a permanent home until 1926, when the ensemble (then known as the Stockholm Concert Society) hosted a design competition for a new theater. The resulting Konserthuset, by the architect Ivar Tengbom, is in Hötorget Square, named for the open-air hay market established there in the 13th century. In contrast to the modest neighboring vendor stalls, it borrows from the Swedish Grace style, as evidenced by the main staircase’s geometric railing with a floral garland motif. In the years after the Konserthuset went up, some of Sweden’s most prominent artists contributed to the new hall, including the painter and designer Einar Forseth, whose mosaics for the floor of the main lobby depict various animals, as well as a faun figure who might be the god Pan. The sculptor Carl Milles designed the bronze fountain sculpture “The Orpheus Well,” a tribute to the titular mythological poet and musician, installed in front of the main entrance in 1936. And one of the Konserhuset’s performance spaces, Grünewald Hall, is named after the artist Isaac Grünewald, who painted the large ceiling mural of Apollo, the god of sun and music, and, on the walls, images depicting Greek myths and scenes from the history of music, in just six months. Since its inauguration in 1926, the Konserthuset’s Main Hall has served as the venue for the Nobel Prize award ceremonies.
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