Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Encyclopedia
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder (December 7, 1615 in Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...

 – May 24, 1681 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

) was an important Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

.

Biography

Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...

 in Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

 and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and worked with the architect Simon de la Vallée. He worked for the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...

 before he travelled for further studies to Germany, Italy, France and in the Netherlands, were he got to know the new Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 style in architecture.
Back in Sweden he rebuild Borgholm Castle
Borgholm Castle
Borgholm Castle in Borgholm, Sweden, is today only a ruin of the fortress that was first built in the second half of the 12th century and many times rebuilt in later centuries. It is linked to Halltorps estate, somewhat to the south...

, then built Skokloster Castle
Skokloster Castle
Skokloster Castle is located on Lake Mälaren between Stockholm and Uppsala. It was built in the Baroque style between 1654 and 1676 by the wealthy military commander and count Carl Gustaf Wrangel. The castle was designed by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder...

 and the Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace is a townhouse in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1756 the palace has housed Svea Hovrätt, the regional court of appeal. It was the residence of the royal court during the first half of the 18th-century....

 in Stockholm. His most important work was Drottningholm Palace
Drottningholm Palace
The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...

, now a world heritage site.

Upon his death his son Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...

 continued his projects.

Selected works

  • Borgholm Castle
    Borgholm Castle
    Borgholm Castle in Borgholm, Sweden, is today only a ruin of the fortress that was first built in the second half of the 12th century and many times rebuilt in later centuries. It is linked to Halltorps estate, somewhat to the south...

  • Drottningholm Palace
    Drottningholm Palace
    The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...

  • Bonde Palace
    Bonde Palace
    The Bonde Palace is a palace in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the House of Knights and the Chancellery House , it is, arguably, the most prominent monument of the era of the Swedish Empire , originally design by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and Jean De la...

  • Skokloster Castle
    Skokloster Castle
    Skokloster Castle is located on Lake Mälaren between Stockholm and Uppsala. It was built in the Baroque style between 1654 and 1676 by the wealthy military commander and count Carl Gustaf Wrangel. The castle was designed by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder...

  • Strömsholm Palace
    Strömsholm Palace
    Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle , is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of Lake Mälaren...

  • Näsby castle
    Näsby Castle
    Näsby Castle is a castle located in Täby municipality, north of Stockholm.Originally built in the 1660s and designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, Näsby Castle is located in the picturesque and natural setting of Näsbyviken...

  • Stenbock Palace
  • Wrangel Palace
    Wrangel Palace
    Wrangel Palace is a townhouse in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1756 the palace has housed Svea Hovrätt, the regional court of appeal. It was the residence of the royal court during the first half of the 18th-century....

  • Bååt Palace
  • Kalmar Cathedral
    Kalmar Cathedral
    Kalmar Cathedral is in the city of Kalmar in Småland in south east Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea.The new city of Kalmar built on Kvarnholmen around the mid-1700s. The transfer from the old town was largely completed 1658th The new, fortified town was planned after the current renaissance ideals...


Literature

  • K. Neville, Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. Architecture in Sweden in the Age of Greatness, Turnhout, Brepols Publishers, 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-52826-7

See also

  • Halltorps
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK