The House of Nobility ( sv, Riddarhuset) in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

Name

The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s ( sv, riddare) belong to the higher ranks of the Swedish nobility, sometimes also together with titles as

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

( sv, Greve) and baron ( sv,

friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

). All esquires are also represented in the corporation (most of the families are so called ''untitled nobility'', sv, obetitlad adel). This is a tradition from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

when Sweden during the Kalmar Union only had one knight: Sten Sture.

History

Between the 17th and the 19th century the House of Nobility was a chamber in the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

. In the 18th century, the building was often used for public concerts. From 1731, public concerts were performed here by

Kungliga Hovkapellet Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company. K ...

. Elisabeth Olin is believed to have debuted here in the 1750s, and foreign artists performed such as Elisabetta Almerighi,

Giovanni Ansani Giovanni Ansani (11 February 1744 – 15 July 1826) was an Italian tenor and composer. In 1770, he was singing at Copenhagen. About 1780 he came to London, where he at once took the first place; but, being of a most quarrelsome temper, he threw u ...

(1772) and

Rosa Scarlatti Rosa Scarlatti (1727– 15 December 1775) was an Italian opera singer. She was the niece of Alessandro Scarlatti, Alessandro or Domenico Scarlatti and the sister of composer Giuseppe Scarlatti (1723-1777). She married composer Francesco Uttini in ...

. In 1866, the Parliament of the Estates was replaced by the new

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

. From then on, the House of Nobility served as a quasi-official representative body for the Swedish nobility, regulated by the Swedish government. Since 2003, it has been a private institution which maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility, its main purpose being to maintain old traditions and culture.

Building

The ''Riddarhuset'' is also the name of the building maintained by the corporation in Stockholm old town. The French-born

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 ...

Simon de la Vallée Simon de la Vallée (1590–1642) was a French-Swedish architect. The first architect in Sweden to have received formal academic training, he created the Swedish school of architecture. Biography Born in Paris, he was the son of Marin de la Val ...

started the planning of the building, but was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The plans were eventually finished by his son,

Jean de la Vallée Jean de la Vallée (ca 1620 – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect. Biography Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (ca 1595–1642). He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque form ...

, in 1660. The south end of the building carries the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription CLARIS MAIORUM EXEMPLIS, ''after the clear example of the forefathers'', and holds a statue of

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

, the king of Sweden 1523-1560. North of the building is a park in which is a statue of Axel Oxenstierna. The architecture of the old main library in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, was influenced by the Swedish House of Nobility.

Gallery

Image:Riddarhuset i Stockholm (1885, ur Svenska Familj-Journalen).png, Swedish House of Nobility in 1885 Image:Riddarhuset old.jpg, Swedish House of Nobility during the Age of Liberty, in the 18th century. Image:Riddarhuset Stockholm Sweden.jpg, The Swedish House of Nobility, north end, with a statue of Axel Oxenstierna.

External links

Official ''Riddarhuset'' websiteRiddarhuset.se: Archives
{{Coord, 59, 19, 33, N, 18, 03, 55, E, region:SE_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Stockholm . Social history of Sweden Defunct upper houses Legislative buildings in Europe Seats of national legislatures 1660 establishments in Sweden Buildings and structures completed in 1660 Baroque architecture in Sweden

Name

History

Building

Gallery

See also

External links