Diplomatstaden

Diplomatstaden, view from Djurgården, August 2008.

Diplomatstaden (Swedish for "The diplomat city") is a neighbourhood in the Östermalm district in central Stockholm, Sweden. As the name suggests, the neighborhood is the home of many embassies and ambassadorial residencies.

Diplomatstaden encompasses the area facing the Djurgårdsbrunnsviken bay which is located south of the easternmost part of Strandvägen. It is an exclusive residential area composed of a group of brick villas built mostly in the 1910s and 1920s.[1]

History

The municipal council had scrapped its plans for a Nobel institute in the neighbouring Nobel Park (Nobelparken) in 1906.[2] Instead, city planning authority Per Olof Hallman designed a city plan for the area in 1911 and 1914. His plan strictly specified what materials should be used and detailed much of the exterior shapes of the buildings. Additionally, the irregularly shaped sites, over time increasingly criticized by involved architects, strongly dictated the design of the buildings. Most buildings facing the street passing north of the area are surrounded by walls, while open gardens surround those facing the southern waterfront.[1]

Hallman placed the villas in a semicircle around the English Church (Engelska kyrkan). Designed by James Souttar in 1863, the church was originally located at Wallingatan north of the Norra Bantorget square, but was moved brick by brick to its present location in 1913. The first villa to be built was banker Philip Geber's (5, Nobelgatan), designed by Ragnar Östberg in 1913. Two years later, the UK had their embassy built (7, Nobelgatan) to the design of British architect Sir Richard Allison.[1]

The villas in the area are:[1][3]

Property Address Year Architect Initial owner Current owner (2008)
Villa Geber 5, Nobelgatan 1913 Ragnar Östberg Philip Geber Salvatore Grimaldi
Tryggerska villan 3, Nobelgatan 1914 Ivar Tengbom Ernst Trygger Sveriges advokatsamfund
Brittiska residenset 7, Nobelgatan 1915 Richard Allison UK UK
Bünsowska villan 15, Nobelgatan 1919 Carl Westman Robert Bünsow Saudi Arabia
Tillbergska villan 9, Nobelgatan 1919 Ivar Tengbom Knut Tillberg South Korea
Villa Gumælius 1, Nobelgatan 1924 Erik Trana A. S:son Gumælius Hungary
Villa Bonde 20, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1925 Cyrillus Johansson Nils Gustaf Bonde Turkey
Villa Wikström 22, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1925 Cyrillus Johansson Carl Wikström South Korea
Villa Josephson 11, Nobelgatan 1926 Erik Josephson John Josephson Belgium
Villa Bonnier 13, Nobelgatan 1927 Ragnar Östberg Åke Bonnier Sweden
Villa Hjorth 26, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1930 Curt Björklund Berndt August Hjorth Turkey
Villa Åkerlund 2, Nobelgatan 1932 Knut Peterson Erik Åkerlund USA

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Johansson, Guide till Stockholms arkitektur, p 184
  2. Stugart, Diplomatstaden vore kul...
  3. sv:Diplomatstaden

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Diplomatstaden.

Coordinates: 59°19′59″N 18°06′10″E / 59.33306°N 18.10278°E