The original design by
Simon de la Vallée and Tessin the Younger, based on French
Baroque and
Renaissance prototypes, was H-shaped in plan, the planned two southern wings flanking a main court, while the northern wings surrounded a small Baroque garden. The central building was covered by a tall steep-pitched, copper-dressed roof surrounded by the cupolas of the corner pavilions, while the façades were decorated with
Ionic pilasters,
festoons and portraits of
Roman Emperors. The
Reduction in 1680 (e.g. the Crown recapturing lands earlier granted the nobility) dramatically reduced the financial power of the Bonde dynasty, and therefore, following the devastating fire of the royal palace
Tre Kronor in 1697, the
Royal Library and the
Svea Court of Appeal were lodged in the Bonde palace. The original elaborated roof was destroyed in a fire in 1710, the original cupolas, however, are still preserved on the northern wings. In 1730, the palace was finally bought by the city in order to relocate the Town Hall from the central square
Stortorget, thus definitively ending the buildings history as a private palace. The reconstruction following another fire in 1753 produced much of the present shape of the building; the design of
Johan Eberhard Carlberg resulting in the construction of the southern wings to the original plans, the addition of a new top floor, and an up-to-date low
hipped roof; the present interior still reflecting the taste of the mid 18th century. As a City Hall, the palace commenced its central role in Swedish legal history by witnessing several dramatic historical events, including the public
flogging of
Jacob Johan Anckarström in 1792, and the mob beating of statesman
Axel von Fersen the Younger to death in 1810. During the 19th century, the building gradually failed to accommodate the court house, and as a new court house was finally built on
Kungsholmen in 1915, the palace was to accommodate various municipal offices instead, the gradual decay that followed resulting in a second proposed demolition in 1920. The building was however restored in 1925, using the original white colour of the façades. In 1948, the building was transferred from the city to the state. A comprehensive restoration led by the architect
Ivar Tengbom, including the reinforcement of the foundations, the replacement of the windows, and interior lightwells being used for installations, transformed the decayed structure to its present classical shape; the updated interiors designed by
Carl Malmsten, however, making the interior connote the 1940s. Additional restorations in 1986 and 2003–2004, have carefully focused on the building's origin from the 17th and 18th centuries using original materials and craftsmanship as far as possible while adapting the offices of the Supreme Court to modern requirements regarding accessibility and security. The building is today classified as a historical monument of national interest administered and maintained by the
Swedish National Property Board (
Statens Fastighetsverk). == See also ==