Stockholm City Hall
Östberg worked on the City Hall for more than twenty years. He drew on Venetian palaces, Swedish castles of the Vasa era and medieval churches, and built with almost eight million hand-made bricks. The tower is 106 metres high and is crowned by three crowns. The Blue Hall never became blue – Östberg changed his mind when he saw the brick.
The City of Stockholm wanted a building for its administration and for civic ceremonies. Ragnar Östberg won a competition in the early 20th century, initially for a courthouse, but the commission changed and instead became a city hall on the point of Kungsholmen, where the Eldkvarn mill had previously stood. Östberg reworked the design many times, and construction lasted from 1911 until the inauguration on Midsummer Eve 1923, four hundred years after Gustav Vasa had entered Stockholm. He wanted to build in materials that age beautifully, and the building was constructed of hand-made red brick, with copper roofs, granite and rich craftsmanship. The building became a collaboration between the architect and a long line of artists and craftsmen, and it was regarded as a national Gesamtkunstwerk.
The City Hall is built around two courtyards: the open Civic Court and the covered Blue Hall, the building’s great banqueting hall, where the Nobel Banquet is held. Above it lies the Golden Hall, clad in mosaics of gold and coloured glass by Einar Forseth, with the Queen of Lake Mälaren on the end wall. The Prince’s Gallery has frescoes by Prince Eugen depicting the view over the water, which can also be seen through the windows. In the Council Chamber the municipal council meets beneath a ceiling reminiscent of an ancient Nordic longhouse. The tower in the south-east corner carries the three crowns, and at its foot stands the funerary monument of Birger Jarl. Towards Riddarfjärden an arcade and a terraced garden open out, and the façades have details that contrast with the large, smooth expanses of brick.
The City Hall attracted great international attention and became one of the best-known Swedish buildings of the 20th century. It became a symbol of Stockholm and one of the foremost expressions of Nordic National Romanticism, even though it was completed when the younger generation had already turned to classicism and soon to functionalism. The building is still used by the municipality, and the Nobel Banquet and many other ceremonies are held here. The building has been restored in stages, including the copper roofs and the tower. Östberg’s way of blending models from Venice, the castles of the Vasa era and the Middle Ages into something of his own influenced architects in other countries and inspired town halls and public buildings far beyond Sweden. The silhouette seen from Riddarfjärden is among the most photographed views in Stockholm.