Helgo Nikolaus Zettervall, older spelling ''Zetterwall'', (21 November 1831 – 17 March 1907) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 ...

and professor of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

. He is best known for his drastic restorations of churches and other buildings around Sweden. Zettervall was a proponent of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and is most commonly associated with his design of the plans for the extensive restoration of Lund Cathedral during the late 19th century.

Biography

Zettervall was born at

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40 000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidköpin ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

, Sweden. He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (1816–1881) and graduated during 1860. In 1862, he conducted a study trip to 1862 made a trip to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was chief of Board superintendent for the administration of state buildings (''Överintendentsämbetet'') from 1882–97. Zettervall was the chief architect in the restoration of old buildings and churches in Sweden during the period 1860–90. Among other commissions, Zettervall designed the plans for the renovation of Lund Cathedral (1860–1902) and

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...

(1886–1893). He was appointed to several other large scale restorations including

Linköping Cathedral Linköping Cathedral ( sv, Linköpings domkyrka) is an active Lutheran church in the Swedish city of Linköping, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, it is situat ...

(1877–86),

Skara Cathedral Skara Cathedral ( sv, Skara domkyrka) is a church in the town of Skara, Sweden. The cathedral is the seat for the bishop of the Diocese of Skara of the Church of Sweden . History Its history is traced from the 10th century, but its current app ...

(1886–94) and

(1885–93), as well as the Kalmar Castle (1886–90). Oscar Fredrik Church (''Oscar Fredriks kyrka'') in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

was constructed on the basis of plans drawn by Helgo Zetterwall. The church was inaugurated on 2 April 1893 and is a prime example of Northern European

. Zettervall was the main proponent of Gothic Revival architecture of church buildings. His influence has been criticized for his restoration principles. His restorations were often not intended to bring back old looks, but according to Zettervall to restore them according to the ideals in the style they were originally built in.

Personal life

In 1861, he married Ida Anna Christina Lagergren. He was father to architect

Folke Zettervall Folke Zettervall (21 October 1862 – 12 March 1955) was a Swedish architect and head architect with the Swedish State Railways (''Statens Järnvägar'') between 1895 and 1930. Biography Zettervall was born at Lund, Sweden. He was the son of ...

(1862–1955). He became an honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish royal ...

in 1884 and in 1897 was made a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. He died in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

during 1907 and was buried in the family plot at Norra begravningsplatsen

References

Other sources

*Bodin, Anders (2016
''Zettervall i Lund : arkitektur och stadsbyggnad i 1800-talet''
(Lund: Föreningen Gamla Lund)

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20130210024129/http://www.byggnadsvard.se/byggnadskultur/zettervalls-villor-och-bost%C3%A4llen *http://130.242.34.243/webarkdok/detalj.asp?id=590 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zettervall, Helgo 1831 births 1907 deaths People from Lidköping Municipality 19th-century Swedish architects Gothic Revival architects Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

Other sources

External links