Erik Palmstedt

Erik Palmstedt (16 December 1741 in Stockholm – 12 June 1803) was a Swedish architect working for the court circle of Gustav III, where he was in the forefront of Neoclassical style and at the heart of a social and intellectual circle that formed round him. He was also a musician, who served as organist at Riddarholm Church for twenty-seven years.

Early life and education Erik Palmstedt was born in Södermalm on December 5, 1741, according to the Julian Calendar in use at that time (December 16, 1741 according to the Gregorian Calendar later adopted and currently in use.) He was the son of court musician Johan Palmstedt and his wife Maria Segerlund.

At the age of seven, Palmstedt began to attend Maria Church School, where one of his schoolmates was the future Swedish writer of songs Carl Michael Bellman, who became his lifelong friend.

At the age of 14, Palmstedt became a pupil of Stockholm's city architect, Johan Eberhard Carlberg. In an assessment written when Palmstedt was 19, Carlsberg praised him for his "unusual wisdom, labor and diligence."

Career As early as 1760, Palmstedt's name appears on architectural drawings for eight buildings in Södermalm, which had suffered a major fire in 1759. Norrbro, the old "North Bridge", Stockholm, rebuilt in stone, in partnership with Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, 1781-1807 Tullhuset, the Customs Warehouse along Skeppsbron, Stockholm, 1783-1790 Svartå slott, 1783-1792 Arvfurstens palats, for Princess Sophia Albertina, Stockholm, 1783-1794. Today it houses the Swedish Foreign Office. Levin's villa, Riddarholmen, after 1771 Skinnskattebergs herrgård, begun in 1775 Heby castle, around 1780 Hildebrandska huset (House of Hildebrand), 1780-1800 Stortorgsbrunnen, 1778 Tyska brunn, 1785 Palmstedt's hus (House of Palmstedt), 1801 Fållnäs gård, 1780-1807 Dalarö tullhus, 1788 Söderfors church, 1789-1792 Gamla Riddarholmsbron (The old bridge of Riddarholmen), 1784-1789 (demolished 1867) The Stockholm Pantheon, begun in 1791 (incompleted)