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Architectural style · c. 1810–1850

Karl Johan style

Karl Johan-stil

Swedish Empire, named after a French marshal who became king of Sweden. Strict and bourgeois outside – dark wood and gilding within.

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. A marshal on the throne

In 1810 the French marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte is elected heir to the Swedish throne. As Karl XIV Johan he brings French influence back to Sweden. Swedish Empire becomes a more restrained, bourgeois version of Napoleon's court style.

The prime example is Rosendal Palace on Djurgården, built 1823–1827 to designs by Fredrik Blom. It is also an early prefabricated house: built in finished sections, shipped to Djurgården and assembled on site.

In the countryside, the same decades see many large, light and simple parish churches with round-arched windows and a west tower. They are jokingly called "Tegnér barns" after the bishop and poet Esaias Tegnér – a popular nickname, not a style of its own.

02. How to spot it

  • 1.Smooth, light rendered façades with little ornament
  • 2.Pilasters, laurel wreaths and festoons
  • 3.Large, simple volumes – often with round-arched windows
  • 4.Inside: mahogany and dark wood, gilding, lion paws and Egyptian motifs such as sphinxes

03. The giveaway

The sphinx. Egyptian motifs, lion paws and mahogany in a Swedish interior point to the 1820s and 30s.

Read the façade

  1. A low pediment
  2. A lunette in the pediment
  3. Pilasters
  4. Plinth

04. Architects and builders

  • Fredrik Blom

05. Where to see it

  • Rosendal Palace, Djurgården, Stockholm1823–1827
  • Skeppsholmen Church, StockholmFredrik Blom
  • "Tegnér barns"large neoclassical country churches from the first half of the 19th century

06. Often confused with

Gustavian. The Gustavian style is lighter, airier and more graceful; the Karl Johan style is heavier and darker.

Sources

  • Svenska kyrkan, Folkungabygdens församling: "Stilar och epoker"
  • Swedish Wikipedia: "Rosendals slott"
  • lex.dk: "Karl Johan-stil"

Text: Pontus Bovin · Last updated 9 November 2026

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