Scandinavian Architecture

King Christian VIII of Denmark on horseback, with his troops, outside the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. The painting is by A Hunaeus (1848). The palace was built in 1760, in rococo style.

The architecture of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

The three kingdoms constituting Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, although now separate, have at various periods in history been combined one with another; and in any case there has always been a measure of family resemblance in their architecture, which has generally drawn its inspiration from countries farther south and west. In the present century, however, Sweden in particular has been a leader in some branches of architecture.

Romanesque The conversion of the three countries to Christianity occurred somewhat late; it was not fully achieved in Denmark till the 10th century and in Sweden till the 12th. Because the Roman Empire never included any part of Scandinavia, the earliest surviving buildings are churches in the Romanesque style of Western Europe, not the Byzantine style of southeast Europe. In Denmark they include the cathedrals of Viborg (much restored), Ribe and Roskilde (about 1190), and the church at Kalundborg (1170); in Sweden, the heavily restored cathedral at Lund (12th century); and in Norway the diminutive timber or stave churches such as Borgund (12th century) which have a rather Oriental pagoda-like form.

Gothic Of Gothic buildings, the chief examples are the cathedral of Odense in Denmark; the cathedrals of Uppsala and Linkoping (13th century); the monastic churches of Varnhem and Vadstena in Sweden; and the cathedrals of Trondheim and Stavanger in Norway.

Renaissance The Renaissance reached Scandinavia in the 16th century mainly via Holland, and produced a crop of picturesque and imposing royal palaces during the periods corresponding to the English Elizabethan and Jacobean. They included the so-called castles of Rosenberg (1620–24), Kronborg (1577–85), and Frederiksborg (1602–20) in Denmark; Gripsholm (1537) and Vadstena (1545) in Sweden; and Akershus Castle (1624) at Oslo in Norway.

Baroque Dutch influence also prevailed in the next period, when the baroque style, which had spread from Italy to other parts of Europe, reached Scandinavia. In Denmark it produced the palace of Charlottenborg (1672–83), the Vordingsborg (1671), as well as the unusual twisted spire of St Saviour's church at Copenhagen (1682–96); in Sweden, the Riddarhuset at Stockholm (1652–55), the Karlberg Palace (1670), the huge palace of Drottningholm (begun 1662, by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder), and the Royal Palace at Stockholm (1697, by Tessin the Younger).

Rococo The rococo style is seen at its best in the Amalienborg Palace (1760), the Prince's Palace, and the small Eremitagen Palace all in Copenhagen; in the China Palace, at Drottningholm, Sweden; and also in many Danish and Swedish country-houses.

20th century During the present century, in addition to a large number of well-designed houses and public buildings, the most important architectural works in Scandinavia have been the Grundtvig Memorial Church near Copenhagen (1913–19), the City Hall at Stockholm (1911–23) by Ragnar Östberg; Aarhus University, Denmark (1932–56); Stockholm Exhibition (1930) and Crematorium (1935–40; by Gunnar Asplund); the new Stockholm suburb of Vallingby (1949) by Sven Markelius; Rodovre Town Hall (1955) by Arne Jacobsen; and various domestic projects by the designer of the Sydney Opera House (1957–73) Jørn Utzon.

See also Swedish architecture.