The House of Nobility () in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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 ...

, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

Name

The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s () belong to the higher ranks of the Swedish nobility, sometimes also together with titles as

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

() and

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(). All

esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

s are also represented in the corporation (most of the families are so called ''untitled nobility'', ). This is a tradition from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

when Sweden during the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

only had one knight: Sten Sture.

History

Between the 17th and the 19th century the House of Nobility was a chamber in the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

. In the 18th century, the building was often used for public concerts. From 1731, public concerts were performed here by

Kungliga Hovkapellet Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company. K ...

Elisabeth Olin Elisabeth Olin née ''Lillström'' (December 1740 – 26 March 1828) was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She performed the leading female role in the inauguration performance of the Royal Swedish Opera in 1773, and is referred to ...

is believed to have debuted here in the 1750s, and foreign artists performed such as Elisabetta Almerighi,

Giovanni Ansani Giovanni Ansani (11 or 20 February 1744 – 15 July 1826) was an Italian tenor and composer. Life and career Giovanni Ansani was born in Rome, Italy on either 11 or 20 February 1744. In 1770, he was singing at Copenhagen. About 1780 he came to L ...

(1772) and

Rosa Scarlatti Rosa Scarlatti (1727 – 15 December 1775) was an Italian opera singer. She was the niece of Alessandro or Domenico Scarlatti and the sister of composer Giuseppe Scarlatti (1723–1777). She married composer Francesco Uttini in 1753, and becam ...

. In 1866, the Parliament of the Estates was replaced by the new ''

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

'' (Parliament of Sweden). From then on, the House of Nobility served as a quasi-official representative body for the Swedish nobility, regulated by the Swedish government. Since 2003, it has been a private institution which maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility, its main purpose being to maintain old traditions and culture. Since 1990 the House is a member of

CILANE The European Commission of the Nobility () is an organisation for cooperation of European nobility associations, established in 1959. Its seat is in Paris, France. Functioning The CILANE has no president but rather a "Coordinator", elected for t ...

Organization

The House of Nobility is governed by the House of Nobility Act. Currently it’s the 1866 Act governing the body, but the first such act was introduced as far back as 1626. The primary decision making body of the House is the Assembly of Nobles ( Swedish: ), which convenes every 3 years to make decisions regarding how the nobility shall operate until the next meeting. The Head of each noble house which has been introduced into the house is entitled to attend and vote at the assembly. They may also send another member of their house to represent them. Decisions taken by the assembly are then to be implemented over the next 3 years by the

Directorate of the Swedish Nobility Foundation The House of Nobility () in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the knight ...

. This body is elected by the assembly and consists of a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman, 6 members and 3 deputy members. There is also a Chancery of the House of Nobility assisting the Directorate in implementing decisions of the assembly.url=https://www.riddarhuset.se/organisation/

Building

The ''Riddarhuset'' is also the name of the building maintained by the corporation in Stockholm old town. The French-born

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Simon de la Vallée Simon de la Vallée (1590–1642) was a French-Swedish architect. The first architect in Sweden to have received formal academic training, he created the Swedish school of architecture. Biography Born in Paris, he was the son of Marin de la Val ...

started the planning of the building, but was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The plans were eventually finished by his son,

Jean de la Vallée Jean de la Vallée ( – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect. Biography Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (–1642). He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque forms of architect ...

, in 1660. The south end of the building carries the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription CLARIS MAIORUM EXEMPLIS, ''after the clear example of the forefathers'', and holds a statue of

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

, the king of Sweden 1523-1560. North of the building is a park in which is a statue of

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (; 1583–1654) was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of ...

. The architecture of the old main library in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, was influenced by the Swedish House of Nobility.

Digitized archive records

The older

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

collections in the House of Nobility, spanning from the 1600s to the 1800s, have been

digitized Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english ...

by the Swedish company Arkiv Digital.

Gallery

Image:Riddarhuset i Stockholm (1885, ur Svenska Familj-Journalen).png, Swedish House of Nobility in 1885 Image:Riddarhuset old.jpg, Swedish House of Nobility during the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

, in the 18th century. Image:Riddarhuset Stockholm Sweden.jpg, The Swedish House of Nobility, north end, with a statue of

References

External links

*
Riddarhuset.se: Archives
{{Coord, 59, 19, 33, N, 18, 03, 55, E, region:SE_type:landmark, display=title 1660 establishments in Sweden Baroque architecture in Sweden Buildings and structures completed in 1660 Buildings and structures in Stockholm Defunct upper houses Legislative buildings in Europe Seats of national legislatures Social history of Sweden . CILANE Nobility associations