Svindersvik is a well-preserved 18th century country residence in Nacka Municipality, Sweden. Svindersvik lies just outside the city limits of Stockholm. It was built in the 1740s for Claes Grill, and today belongs to the Nordic Museum. It is open to the public through guided tours. [1]
Svindersvik derives its name from Johan van Swinderen, a Dutch industrialist who was the first owner of the area; he erected a number of pitch factories in the vicinity in the 1640s. The whole area was bought in 1721 by the brothers Abraham and Carl (Carlos) Grill, members of the Grill family of industrialists. It passed through inheritance to Claes Grill (I), active in the Swedish East India Company in 1736, and it was he who decided to build a country residence on the location. From the outset, it was designed as a country residence and not a permanent home. [2] In this capacity, it is unique for its time and one of the oldest preserved residences in Sweden of this kind. [1]
Claes Grill commissioned architect Carl Hårleman to design the house. Hårleman created a Rococo edifice with inspiration from contemporary French architecture, and in a similar style to Svartsjö Palace, also by Hårleman. Construction started in the 1740s, [1] but was probably not finished by the time of Claes Grill's death in 1767. [2] The terrace, for example, was added sometime between 1748-49 and 1784, as can be deduced from comparing two paintings of Svindersvik from these different dates. [2] After the death of Claes Grill, it passed to his daughter Anna Johanna and her husband, Henric Wilhelm Peill. They sold it in 1780 to Catharina Charlotta Ribbing, the widow of Charles De Geer, one of the richest men in Sweden. She was a close friend of the king, Gustav III of Sweden, who visited Svindersvik several times. [2] She ordered the construction or substantial expansion of an additional pavilion by the water, intended as a place for festivities. [2] [1]
When she died in 1787, Svindersvik passed to her youngest son Louis, who sold it in 1791. It then successively passed between a number of different owners until 1949, when it was bought by the Nordic Museum. [2]
Svindersvik is a small ensemble consisting of a number of buildings. Apart from the main building and the aforementioned pavilion, there is a kitchen wing, a formal garden and an orchard. [2] [1]
The design of the main building is very clearly derived from contemporary French Rococo architecture, and its layout is very similar to designs for country residences published by Charles Étienne Briseux; indeed, it has been suggested that the original floor plan may have been identical to one of Briseux' designs, published in 1743. [2]
From the exterior the main building appears to be a one-storey house, although it is a two-storey house (a similar design was adopted by Hårleman for Svartsjö Palace). The entrance is reached by a flight of double stairs, and set in the centre of the façade which protrudes in the way of an avant-corps with rusticated lesenes and pediment. On the opposite side, facing the Baltic Sea, a three-sided avant-corps instead serves to mark the symmetrical centre of the building. [2]
The layout of the floor plan is very symmetrical, in accordance with Rococo ideals. The entrance leads to a hall that occupies both storeys and is crowned by a roof lantern supplying light. The central part of the building houses the dining room; to the left of this is an antechamber and to the right the so-called parade bedroom. The interior decoration is largely intact or, in a few cases, restored with 18th century furniture. The dining room is decorated in a strict form of classicism with pilasters and painted festoons, executed in grisaille technique. The furnishings are however simple. The antechamber is more pronouncedly Rococo in character, with exotic, Chinese wallpapers, a testimony of Claes Grill's work at the Swedish East India Company. The furnishings are here also richer. The parade bedroom is to a certain degree a reconstruction, with furniture from the time. Here also the wallpaper is Chinese. [2]
On the second floor, there is an intact 18th century billiards room. The kitchen in the wing to the main building has unusually also remained almost completely unchanged since the 18th century. [2]
The pavilion contains a set of interior of slightly later date, from the time of king Gustav III. It contains, among other things, a cocklestove which is probably the tallest in Sweden (4.65 metres (15.3 ft)). The walls of the main room of the pavilion are decoratively painted with Ionic pilasters between which are decorative elements depicting medallions, vases, birds and antique figures. [2] It also contains an unusually large chandelier. [1]
Ekerö Municipality is a municipality in the province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of the main island within the municipality whose name is Ekerön, and literally means "Oak Island". Its seat is located in the town of Ekerö.
The Catherine Palace is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
The Nymphenburg Palace is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it constitutes one of the premier royal palaces of Europe. Its frontal width of 632 m (2,073 ft) even surpasses Versailles.
Baron Carl Hårleman was a Swedish architect.
Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the site was built between 1749 and 1769. The complex in the past was referred to as either the Royal Palace or the Royal Castle. The castle now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest Historical Museum.
Fredensborg Palace is a palace located on the eastern shore of Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark. It is the Danish royal family’s spring and autumn residence, and is often the site of important state visits and events in the royal family. It is the most used of the royal family’s residences.
Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle, is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of Lake Mälaren. The palace has interiors from the 18th century and an important collection of Swedish paintings.
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1638–1645 as a country retreat. He later passed on to his son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, from whom it was purchased in 1669 by Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Sweden. The present design is mainly the work of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and dates from the late 17th century.
Wallenstein Palace is a Baroque palace in Malá Strana, Prague, that served as a residence for Imperial Generalissimo Albrecht von Wallenstein and now houses the Senate of the Czech Republic.
Confidencen, or Ulriksdal Palace Theatre, is a theatre in the park of Ulriksdal Palace in Solna, in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Built in the 1750s and restored from the late 20th century, it is the oldest Rococo theatre in Sweden.
The Chinese Pavilion, located in the grounds of the Drottningholm Palace park, is a Chinese-inspired royal pavilion originally built between 1753 and 1769. The pavilion is currently one of Sweden's Royal Palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Övedskloster Manor is a manor in Sjöbo Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden.
Svartsjö Palace is a Rococo palace situated in Svartsjö on the island of Färingsö in lake Mälaren. It lies just outside of Stockholm.
The Marmorpalais is a former royal residence in Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive Neuer Garten on the shores of the Heiliger See. The palace was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia and designed in the early Neoclassical style by the architects Carl von Gontard and Carl Gotthard Langhans. Despite the name, brick is the main material. The palace remained in use by the Hohenzollern family until the early 20th century. It served as a military museum under communist rule, but has since been restored and is once again open to the public.
Hörningsholm Castle is a manor house and former castle in Sweden. It is located on a cliff by an inlet of the Baltic Sea some kilometres from Södertälje. The castle was most probably built by the Sture family during the late 15th and early 16th century, was burnt to the ground by Russian troops in 1719 and rebuilt in its present shape by architect Carl Hårleman. It was renovated in 1919-20 by architect Ivar Tengbom.
Sturehov Manor is a manor house in Botkyrka Municipality, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. The manor contains well-preserved 18th-century interiors.
The Grill family are noted for their contribution to the Swedish iron industry and for exports of iron and copper during the 18th century. Starting as silversmiths and experts on noble metals the Grills became engaged in a wide range of businesses. After 1700 the family began its rise to prominence. They owned ironworks, while operating wharves, and importing material related to shipbuilding. The Grills benefited from mercantilist policy. With a positive balance on their account the Grills became engaged in banking, also in the Dutch Republic; around 1720 in the market for government liabilities and then mediating large credits and clearing international bills of exchange. The Grills had significant influence with the Swedish East India Company (SOIC); three members became directors of the SOIC and the Grill firm traded as members of the SOIC and privately.
Sunnyside is a heritage-listed detached house at 255 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1895 to 1920s. It is also known as Dr Wright's House and was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000.
Claes Grill was a Swedish merchant, factory owner and ship-owner. He was director of the Grill Trading House, one of the leading companies in the East India trade through the Swedish East India Company (SOIC). The trading house also ran a banking business and owned several ironworks in Sweden. Grill also owned several estates, was interested in natural science and had a brief and unsuccessful political career.
Rococo architecture, prevalent during the reign of Louis XV in France from 1715 to 1774, is an exceptionally ornamental and exuberant architectural style characterized by the use of rocaille motifs such as shells, curves, mascarons, arabesques, and other classical elements. The Rococo style abandoned the symmetry of earlier Baroque styles like façades, cornices, and pediments, and instead created a flexible and visually engaging style that maintained a level of classical regularity. Light pastel colors, including shades of blue, green, and pink, replaced the darker elements characteristic of Baroque architecture such as exposed limestone and extensive gilding.
Media related to Svindersvik at Wikimedia Commons