- Address: Hamngatan 4, 111 47 Stockholm, Sweden
- Phone: +46 8 402 30 99
- Working hours: 10: 00-16: 00, closed on Monday
- Year of foundation: 1920
In the center of Stockholm is the unusual Hallwylska Museum (Hallwylska museet), which is a real palace. In 1920, the owners voluntarily handed over to the state their house, which even today attracts tourists with its rich decoration.
History of creation
The Swedish couple Hallleville erected its mansion from 1893 to 1898. Their age at that time exceeded 50 years. The construction was carried out by a famous architect named Isaac Clason, and the home environment was the owners themselves, who were called Wilhelmina and Walter.
They were very rich, had already married their daughters and decided to realize their dream - to build their own mansion. The structure was considered the most luxurious and modern in the Swedish capital. For the erection it was spent more than $ 240 thousand and about $ 5000 was spent annually on the maintenance of the house.
The hosts together with the architect decided to apply all the technical achievements and benefits of the civilization of that time:
- conducted electricity and central heating;
- built a marble bathroom with a tanning lamp;
- installed a telephone and an elevator.
11 people worked in the mansion. Their bedrooms were located next to the rooms of the hosts. The size of the servants' rooms was quite large for that time, therefore they were considered almost royal. Work for the Hallville couple was very prestigious and profitable, they paid high wages.
Description of the museum Hallvillov
The building is built in Moorish style and has a forged gate. The total area of the building is 2 thousand square meters. It has 40 rooms: bedrooms, living rooms, lounge, smoking room, dining room, kitchen, etc. The interior is decorated at the highest level.
Painting of ceilings and the creation of family portraits was handled by the court painter Julius Kronberg. Furniture and other household utensils Hullville purchased at the best auctions of Scandinavia and all of Europe, also they ordered it from the famous Swedish masters.
What is stored in the Hallwil Museum?
During the excursion visitors will get acquainted with such museum premises:
- On the first floor you can see samples of faience and porcelain, furniture and paintings created in the XVIII century. They were taken from all over the mainland, so the exposition contains even Chinese products. In the porcelain room is a collection of antiques, which has more than 500 items. In the garage are old Mercedes and Volkswagen, on which the count and his wife traveled around the city.
- The Grand Salon occupies a special place in the Hallvillov Museum. It is decorated in the style of the golden age of Sweden. The room is hung with ancient tapestries brought from Brussels , and above the fireplace there is a bas-relief with sculptures. All the elements here are decorated with precious stones, estimated at 24 carats.
- The smoking room , decorated in oriental style, is themed clothing, Persian and Turkmen carpets hang on the walls. Here the family was going to play cards.
- On the upper floors of the museum Hallvilov allowed only accompanied by guides. There is a bathroom, bedrooms, rooms with collections:
- weapons;
- paintings;
- exclusive table silver.
Wilhelmina conducted a full inventory of their property. She has cataloged even stands for eggs and knives. In total, the Countess released 78 volumes, which described in detail the household utensils. The museum stores more than 50 thousand exhibits.
Features of visit
If you want to visit only the first floor, then the entrance to the museum is free. Visiting these rooms will take you about an hour. You can also buy an audio guide. The cost of entering other rooms, accompanied by a guide is $ 8.
How to get there?
From the city center to one of the most unusual museums in Sweden, you can reach Strömgatan, Västra Trädgårdsgatan and Hamngatan. The distance is about 1 km.