Umeå Town Hall is a town hall building in Umeå , Sweden , built after a fire when, in 1888, the entire part of the city where the old town hall was built, built in 1600, burned down. The new building was erected in the style of the Dutch Renaissance and was completed in 1890. The architect was . The town hall building has occupied a prominent place in the new city plan; it is located not far from the river bank, its facade faces south, towards the port on the Umeelven river [2] .
| administrative building | |
| Umea Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| Umea rådhus | |
 The modern look of the town hall | |
| A country |  Sweden |
| City | Umea |
| Umea , Westerbotten | |
| Architectural style | |
| Architect | Fredrick Olaus Lindstrom |
| Established | and |
| Build Date | 1890 year |
Content
History
First Building
In the XVII century in Umea there were only a few public buildings - a church, a school and a town hall [3] . The Town Hall was located on the north side of Rodhyusturget Square (Rådhustorget, “Town Hall Square”) [4] and was used by the court, city administration and other government agencies [3] . At that time, the town hall was a one-story house with three windows overlooking the square [4] .
Second Building
During the Northern War, the city was burned down by Russian troops several times, but after the peace concluded in 1721, a new town hall was built in the northern part of Rodkyusturget. It had two floors and a small clock tower. The first floor was occupied by the city basement - a tavern or restaurant, which often took place in the Swedish town halls of that time, and the city debt prison. On the second floor there was a hall and a small meeting room [5] . The western wing consisted of two rooms, which were used as classes [6] .
Third Building
In 1814, a new and large Town Hall building was built, located north of Rodhyusturget Square with a south-facing facade. The building was designed by Samuel Enander, who was the architect of the Superintendent Council (Överintendentsämbetet). According to the Law of 1776, the buildings in which the municipal administrations were located should be built of stone, but an exception was made for Umea, so the building was built of wood [7] .
On the ground floor there was a city basement, a place for bidding and a prison. On the east side, on the second floor, there was a large room and a room with “drinks and snacks”. In the western half on the top floor there was a meeting room for magistrates and everyday for city elders [7] .
The ceilings on the second floor are higher than on the first, and the facade of the building, which is made in the Empire style [8] , is decorated in the upper part with a richer decoration [7] .
New Design
In the mid-19th century, economic growth was observed in Umea. The building of the town hall was lined with white stone, and six Doric pilasters were completed on the facade [8] . In 1880, the building became residential, it also housed a telegraph station [9] .
Modern building
, who created the Umeå church project in 1889-1990, was hired to design a new town hall building after a city fire. Lindstrom was inspired by the Dutch Renaissance, whose traditions allowed some asymmetry in the appearance of buildings [10] . Many town hall towers were eventually erected with large differences in height and shape. The facade came out strict and was built of red brick. Portals, areas around windows and other elements were erected from light sandstone. For reasons of economy, however, some elements of the building had to be built from cheaper materials, such as cast iron, and then painted with oil paints in the same color as the environment [11] .
Great emphasis was placed on improving the appearance of the surroundings of the town hall. A park was built in the harbor with the goal of giving the town hall a monumental look [7] .
Second Entry
When the railway was brought to Umea in 1890, it was decided to build the station building north of the town hall. but they considered it impossible that the king, who got off the train onto the road, would first see the back of the town hall. For this reason, before the royal visit of Oscar II in 1896, the second main entrance to the building was built, facing north [12] .
Niche on the west pediment of the town hall
On July 2, 1892, Victor Rydberg and Georg von Rosen wrote a letter of recommendation to the city council in support of the sculptor from Umea Oscar Berg. Berg wanted to create a statue of the Roman goddess of justice and justice. The statue was included in the design of the western niche of the pediment over the entrance to the old police station. Due to the high cost of reconstructing the building after the fire of 1888, the city council decided that the installation of such a statue would be too wasteful. Helmer Oslund and Alice Oslund plans to create a statue for 500 SEK were rejected for the same reason. Thus, the niche on the western pediment of the town hall remains empty to this day [13] .
Multifunctionality of the building
The town hall houses the city council meeting room. The western part of the building was originally planned to house the legislative, judicial and executive authorities - police stations and places of detention on the first floor and the courtroom on the second. Later, the entire western edge of the building was used by the Umeå District Court. For several years, a telegraph station and a post office were located on the ground floor, as well as trading premises in the basement of the house [14] .
Bust of King Gustav II Adolphus
Halfway between the main street of Storgatan and the double staircase on the southern facade of the city hall (from the river), there is a memorial bust of the founder of Umea - Gustav II Adolf. The bust is made of bronze and is located on a granite pedestal. The pedestal has a medal with the monogram "GARS" (Gustavus Adolphus Rex Sueciae). Its height is about three meters. The bust was created by Otto Strandman, its opening took place during the ceremony on August 20, 1924, together with the 300th anniversary of the Westerbotten Regiment [15] .
Bibliography
- Eriksson, Karin. Studier i Umeå stads byggnadshistoria: från 1621 till omkring 1895 . - Umeå: Umeå universitetsbibliotek, 1975 .-- ISBN 91-7174-000-7 .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Monuments database - 2017.
- ↑ Bebyggelseregistret (BBR) - Riksantikvarieämbetet. // www.bebyggelseregistret.raa.se, Swedish Natural Heritage Board. Riksantikvarieämbetet, Informationsavdelningen, Bebyggelseregistret.
- ↑ 1 2 Eriksson p. 37
- ↑ 1 2 Eriksson p. 19
- ↑ Eriksson p. 38
- ↑ Eriksson p. 55
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Eriksson, p. 40
- ↑ 1 2 Eriksson p. 42
- ↑ Eriksson p. 103
- ↑ Eriksson p. 171
- ↑ Eriksson p. 173
- ↑ Umeå CityGuide - Sevärdheter & Turistinformation i Umeå (Historia). // cityguide.se. CityGuide Sweden. Relocated May 3, 2014.
- ↑ Karin Eriksson. Varför är nischen på västra rådhusgaveln i Umeå tom och vad har Viktor Rydberg med det att göra? (Swedish) // Västerbotten: Västerbottens läns hembygdsförenings årsbok: tidning. - Umeå: Västerbottens läns hembygdsförening, 1969. - Bd. 2 . - S. 92-93 .
- ↑ Eriksson, pp. 169–170
- ↑ Sculpture Guide Umeå. - first edition. - Västerbottens konstförening, 2006. - P. 30–31. - ISBN 978-91-631-8462-8 .