Gunnebo House (Swedish: Gunnebo slott) is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located outside

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, in

Mölndal Municipality Mölndal Municipality (, semi-officially ) is a municipality in Västra Götaland in western Sweden, just south of Gothenburg. Its seat is located in Mölndal, which lies within the Gothenburg urban area, and the whole municipality is part of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The main building, the garden facilities, the park and a larger outdoor area, were registered as a building monument and protected as a nature reserve in 1949.

History

The estate consists of a main building from the end of the 18th century, built by merchant

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (1951–2023), professor of classics at Brigham Young Univ ...

, and drawn by city architect Carl Wilhelm Carlberg in a

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

. All drawings and design plans are kept and through these, reconstructions and renovations of buildings and gardens are undergoing since the 1990s. Today, Gunnebo is one of Sweden's most complete 18th century estates. After the death of Jon Hall in 1802, the House went to his son John Hall Junior. The son lost the family's trading business due to the recession during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and the family sold Gunnebo and all furnishings. The last private owner, baroness Hilda Sparre, died in 1948. The 18th century interior was recreated in the 1950s, when Mölndal Municipality bought the estate. Several original furniture have been brought back to Gunnebo during the 20th century. Today the House is a museum and a recreated 18th century home. Gunnebo has one of Sweden's finest and best preserved

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

s. Surrounding these is a

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, r ...

between the lakes Stensjön and Rådasjön. The estate is a cultural reserve since 2003 and the main building is listed since 1963.

Notable guests

Both king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

and

Marie Thérèse of France Marie-Thérèse Charlotte (19 December 1778 – 19 October 1851) was the eldest child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and their only child to reach adulthood. In 1799 she married her cousin Louis Antoine, Duke of Angou ...

visited the Hall family at Gunnebo. They also welcomed the Venezuelan revolutionary

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the French R ...

. King

Gustav V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

visited Hilda Sparre at the House in the early 20th century. In June 2001 guests of the EU-summit in Gothenburg, among whom

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George W Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, visited Gunnebo House.

Today

The parks are open to the public and the interior of the House can be seen with a guided tour. Guided tours are offered for visitors the year around and there is also a shop and a restaurant. Every summer, an open-air theatre is held in the gardens.

Gallery

File:Gunnebo slott huvudfasaden mot trädgården.jpg, The Southern facade of the House in 2018 file:Gunnebo slott huvudfasadens tynmpanon.jpg, The south façade with its frieze and tympanon. File:Gunnebo slott matsal.jpg, The Dining Room of the House File:Bush Persson Prodi.jpg,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

Swedish Prime Minister The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to the Parlia ...

Göran Persson Hans Göran Persson (; born 20 January 1949) is a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Persson was first elected to the Swedish Parliame ...

and

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

at Gunnebo House, June 14, 2001. File:Gunnebo slott tjenstefolksbyggningen.JPG, The servants' quarters, now coffee house and restaurant. File:Gunnebo slotts orangeri.jpg, The Greenhouse File:Franska stilparken Gunnebo.jpg, The Southern gardens file:Gunnebo slott mot söder.jpg, The Southern gardens File:Orangeriet, Gunnebo slott.jpg, The orangery under construction, summer 2015. file:Gunnebo slott orangeriet.jpg, The orangery under construction, summer 2018. file:Gunnebo slott köksträdgården.jpg, Kitchen gardens File:Gunnebo slott Floras kulle.JPG, The gardens, Flora's Hill.

References

External links

Official siteGunnebo House and Gardens
, swedishgardens.se Listed buildings in Sweden Castles in Västra Götaland County Västergötland Museums in Västra Götaland County Historic house museums in Sweden Mölndal Municipality {{Coord, 57, 39, 29, N, 12, 03, 30, E, region:SE_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title