Jean de la Vallée ( – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish

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 ...

Biography

Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (–1642). He made early trips in

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and

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where he studied the new baroque forms of architecture. In 1637, he came to Sweden with his father Simon who was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The father had started the planning of the House of Knights in Stockholm, and in 1660 his son finished his father's work. Prior to this, Jean de la Vallée had planned two major churches in central

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 ...

, Katarina kyrka in 1656 and

Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church () is a church (building), church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), ...

in 1658. In 1646, he received a royal scholarship for three years and began an international trip to study architecture. The journey went over the

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Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he arrived in August 1646. It continued to

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, which he first left in the spring of 1650. He also worked on the commission of many noblemen. For

Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...

he planned the remodeling of the Karlberg Castle in the capital. Other notable examples of his work are the castle of Skokloster, the Palace of Bonde (now the seat of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

) and the remodeling of the Wrangel Palace (now the seat of ''Svea Hovrätt'', the Svea Court of Appeal), both on

Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...

in central

. In 1680 he was awarded the title "Royal and City Architect" and from 1680 to 1688 he was a state architect in Stockholm. In 1692 he was knighted.

Personal life

In November 1654, he married Anna Maria Böös. His daughter, Margaret de la Vallée, was married to architect and master builder Mathias Spieler (c. 1640–1691). He died in Stockholm during 1696.

References

1620 births 1696 deaths French emigrants to Sweden Swedish architects {{Sweden-architect-stub