Site and Construction
In 1907 the city council decided to build a new city hall at the former site of Eldkvarn. An architectural contest was held which in a first stage resulted in the selection of drafts by Ragnar Östberg, Carl Westman, Ivar Tengbom jointly with Ernst Torulf, and Carl Bergsten. After a further competition between Westman and Östberg the latter was assigned to the construction of the City Hall, while the former was asked to construct Stockholm Court House. Östberg modified his original draft using elements of Westman's project, including the tower. During the construction period, Östberg constantly reworked his plans, resulting e.g. in the addition of the lantern on top of the tower, and the abandonment of the blue glazed tiles for the Blue Hall.
Oskar Asker was employed as construction leader and Paul Toll, of construction company Kreuger & Toll, designed the foundations. The construction took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. Nearly eight million red bricks were used. The dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monks's brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory near Södertälje. Construction was carried out by craftsmen using traditional techniques.
The building was inaugurated on 23 June 1923, exactly 400 years after Gustav Vasa's arrival in Stockholm. Verner von Heidenstam and Hjalmar Branting held the inaugurational speeches.
Read more about this topic: Stockholm City Hall
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