Fredrik Lilljekvist

Johan Fredrik Lilljekvist (Stockholm 8 October 1863 - Stockholm 18 December 1932) was a Swedish architect. He is best known for his controversial restoration of Gripsholm Castle and as the architect of the new building for the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.

Lilljekvist was born in Klara parish in Stockholm, son of a photographer. He studied architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 1884, and at the Royal Academy of Arts 1884-1887. He worked as an architect in Stockholm from 1888, and was appointed castle architect at Gripsholm in 1895. During the latter part of his life he was active as an urban planner; he was employed in the Överintendentämbetet, later the National Board of Public Building (Byggnadsstyrelsen, now Statens Fastighetsverk), where he served as a byggnadsråd (building councillor) and department head from 1918 until 1930.

During his time at the Academy, Lilljekvist worked with the art historian Gustaf Upmark in documenting Gripsholm Castle. On his own initiative, he made a restoration plan for the Castle that was shown at the spring exhibition of the Academy in 1888. He continued to work on the plans the following years and when he was appointed head of the restoration work at Gripsholm, these plans were used in a modified form. His plans were influenced by the restoration ideology of Viollet-le-Duc, according to which a building should be restored to its original style and to the state in which its originators would have wanted to see it. The main representative of this school in Sweden was Helgo Zettervall. In this case the ideal was the Renaissance architecture of the early Vasa period (1523-1611). An opposing ideology that would eventually come to dominance in Sweden in the early 20th century was to restore buildings in a way that showed respect for its entire history. Lilljekvist's work was severely criticized in an article in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter by the writer Verner von Heidenstam, who suggested that a sign should be put at the Castle saying in mock-archaic Swedish, that "An̄o Domini 1893 gjordes detta gambla hus ændnu gamblare" ("An̄o Domini 1893 this old House was made even older"). Lilljekvist later worked on the less radical restoration of Strängnäs Cathedral together with Sigurd Curman, a representative of the new ideals.

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