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Architectural style · c. 1680–1720

Carolean Baroque

Karolinsk barock

The Baroque tightens up. Under Charles XI and Charles XII there is more order and less pomp.

How to spot it Find it in the app

The style in timeDrag to travel in time

  1. Zigguratc. 2200–500 BC
  2. Ancient Greek architecturec. 700–30 BC
  3. Roman architecturec. 500 BC–AD 400
  4. Nabataean architecturec. 300 BC–AD 106
  5. Byzantine architecturec. 330–1453 in the Eastern Roman Empire
  6. Moorish architecture8th–15th century in al-Andalus and North Africa
  7. Carolingian architecturec. 780–900 in the Frankish Empire
  8. Novgorod and Pskovc. 1045–1600 in north-western Russia
  9. Norman architecturec. 1050–1200
  10. Romanesquec. 1050–1250
  11. Mudéjarc. 1100–1600
  12. Gothicc. 1235–1530
  13. Brick Gothicc. 1250–1530
  14. Late Gothicc. 1400–1530
  15. Manuelinec. 1490–1530
  16. Renaissancec. 1520–1650
  17. Palladian architecturec. 1550–1800
  18. Dutch Renaissancec. 1560–1650 in the Netherlands and Flanders
  19. Baroquec. 1640–1730
  20. Carolean Baroquec. 1680–1720
  21. Georgian architecture1714–1830
  22. Rocococ. 1730–1775
  23. Neoclassicismc. 1750–1850
  24. Gustavianc. 1772–1810
  25. Karl Johan stylec. 1810–1850
  26. Victorian architecture1837–1901
  27. Gothic Revivalc. 1840–1910
  28. Historicismc. 1840–1900
  29. Industrial architecturec. 1850–1950
  30. Neo-Renaissancec. 1850–1900
  31. Swiss chalet stylec. 1850–1900
  32. Landshövdingehus1875–1945
  33. Neo-Baroquec. 1880–1910
  34. Beaux-Artsc. 1830–1920
  35. National Romanticismc. 1890–1920
  36. Art Nouveauc. 1896–1914
  37. Art Decoc. 1910–1940
  38. 1910s Neoclassicismc. 1910–1920
  39. Bauhaus1919–1933
  40. Swedish Gracec. 1920–1930
  41. Functionalismc. 1930–1950
  42. Socialist classicismc. 1933–1955
  43. Post-war Swedish modernismc. 1940–1960
  44. Brutalismc. 1950–1975
  45. The Record Yearsc. 1955–1975
  46. The Million Programme1965–1974
  47. DeconstructivismFrom the 1980s
  48. Postmodernismc. 1980–1995
  49. LonghouseStone Age to Viking Age
  50. Log houseThe Middle Ages onwards
  51. Raised storehouseIron Age to 20th century
  52. Swedish vernacularc. 1600–1900
  53. Croft and cottagec. 1700–1900
  54. Decorated farmhouses of Hälsinglandc. 1700–1900
  55. Half-timberingThe Middle Ages to the 19th century
  56. Sámi goahtiFrom prehistory to the present day
  57. Seljuk architecturec. 1040–1300
  58. Persian architectureIran
  59. British Colonialc. 1700–1950 in the British Empire

01. Law and order

Towards the end of the 17th century Swedish Baroque becomes stricter and more classical. The style is called Carolean after the kings Charles XI and Charles XII. The best way in is Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. He has studied in Rome and Paris – and he wants to build Roman.

In 1690 he is commissioned to modernise the northern part of Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm.

Then it burns. On 7 May 1697, at two in the afternoon, flames break out in the attic above the Hall of State. The cause is never established. The very next day the regency decides the palace will be rebuilt – and Tessin gets the job.

He designs a Roman palace. The north façade is stern and still, the south façade shaped as a Roman triumphal arch. The build is planned to take six years. It takes almost sixty. The money runs short, and for years everything stands still. Tessin dies in 1728. Only in December 1754 can the royal couple move in.

The same era gives Sweden a brand-new town. In 1680 Karlskrona is founded as a naval base in southern Sweden. Tessin designs the Fredrik Church on the main square, with Italy as his model. It is consecrated in 1744 – the towers are finished only fourteen years later. Since 1998 the naval town has been a World Heritage Site.

Out in the country, Carolean manor houses and parsonages are built as plain, symmetrical houses with a sateri roof or a high hipped roof.

02. How to spot it

  • 1.Strict, closed façades with clear symmetry
  • 2.Classical details but sparse ornament
  • 3.Sateri roof or high hipped roof
  • 4.Monumental, Roman models

03. The giveaway

The silence. Where the early Baroque fills the façade with ornament, the Carolean style lets the proportions speak.

Read the façade

  1. The sateri roof with its low band of windows
  2. Windows in even rows
  3. A strict, symmetrical façade

04. Architects and builders

  • Nicodemus Tessin the Younger

05. Where to see it

  • Stockholm Palaceafter the fire of 1697, moved into in 1754
  • The Fredrik Church, Karlskronaconsecrated 1744
  • The Naval Port of Karlskronafounded 1680, World Heritage Site since 1998
  • Manor houses and parsonages from around 1700

06. Often confused with

Baroque. The Carolean style is the later, stricter phase of the Baroque – where to draw the line is a matter of interpretation.

Sources

  • The Royal Palaces: "The Royal Palace of Stockholm: A history"
  • County Administrative Board of Blekinge: "Världsarvet Karlskrona"
  • Church of Sweden, Karlskrona: "Fredrikskyrkan"
  • Church of Sweden, Folkungabygden parish: "Stilar och epoker"

Text: Pontus Bovin · Last updated 9 November 2026

Carolean Baroque around the corner

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