Arvfurstens palats

Arvfurstens Palats
Arvfurstens palats
General information
Architectural style	French Classicism
Town or city
Country	Sweden
Construction started	1783
Completed	1794
Client	Sophia Albertina
Design and construction
Architect	Erik Palmstedt

Arvfurstens palats (Swedish for "The Hereditary Prince's Palace") is a palace located at in central .

Designed by Erik Palmstedt, the palace was originally the private residence of Princess Sophia Albertina. It was built 1783-1794 and declared a historical monument (byggnadsminne) in 1935 and subsequently restored by Ivar Tengbom in 1948-52. Since 1906 the palace has served as the seat of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The palace is facing the square , with the Royal Swedish Opera on the opposite side. Located near the palace are the Sager Palace, official residence of the Prime Minister, and Rosenbad, official office of the government. The bridge Norrbro stretches past the Riksdag on Helgeandsholmen and further south to Stockholm Old Town and the .

Lennart Torstensson (1603–51), a successful general, bought the area west of the square and had his palace built there 1646-51. The main entrance of this building was facing Fredsgatan, the street passing north of the site, while the southern part of the site was still occupied by one-story wooden structures. This was a German-Dutch Renaissance palace in brick in a style widely favoured all over Europe at this time. One of the rooms from this era is still preserved; the former kitchen now serving as the office of the Chief of Protocol. Lennart's son Anders, governor of Estland, made unsuccessful attempts to sell the property to save his economy, and the palace was subsequently taken over by the Crown in 1696 but eventually given back to Torstensson's heir.