Lund University Main Building

Lund University’s main building is a bright Renaissance palace in the Lundagård park. Zettervall gave the building a pale façade and a festive hall for the university’s ceremonies. Four sphinxes on the roof are meant to guard knowledge.

For a long time Lund University had its premises in the Kungshuset and other old buildings. In the 1870s it was decided to build a new main building, and Helgo Zettervall, then cathedral architect in Lund, was given the commission. The building went up in 1878–1882 and was inaugurated in 1882. Zettervall had at the same time restored Lund Cathedral and was one of the most sought-after architects in Sweden.

The building is symmetrical, with a central block and wings. The façade is in the Italian Renaissance style, with pilasters, window surrounds and statues in niches. On the roof rest four sphinxes, symbolising hidden knowledge. Inside, a grand staircase leads up to the Aula, which is used for doctoral conferments and ceremonies. Rooms for teaching and administration lie around the Aula.

The main building is still the seat of the university’s leadership and the venue for its great ceremonies. It has become a symbol of the university and of Lund. The building shows how 19th-century historicism used the forms of the Renaissance to express learning and tradition, at a time when universities were growing and gaining new importance.

• Historicism
• Helgo Zettervall