# Ambasada Suediei

Adresă: Sos. Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff nr. 43, Sector 1, Cartierul Kiseleff - Aviatorilor, București
An construcție: 1920
Tip ansamblu: Case/Vile
Tip clădire: 2-5 niveluri
Stil arhitectural: Neoclasic
Monument istoric: clasa B
Etichete: arhitectura, arhitect, modernist, artdeco, patrimoniu, monument istoric, risc seismic

## Descriere
Clădirea din Bd. Kiseleff 43, acum Ambasada Suediei, a fost construită în anii 20 ai secolului trecut. Încă nu știm dacă a fost construită de la început pentru Suedia, ca ambasadă, sau dacă a fost cumpărată de Statul Suedez la scurt timp după aceea, adică încă din perioada interbelică.

## Articol
Ambasada Suediei din Șoseaua Kiseleff 43: Ambasada Suediei la București este situată din anul 1936 într-o vilă splendidă, localizată pe unul dintre bulevardele impresionante ale capitalei, în Șoseaua Kiseleff. Dacă vorbești cu un bucureștean despre „la șosea”, nu poate fi vorba decât despre Șoseaua Kiseleff. Bulevardul, considerat principal, este înconjurat de o zonă verde, cu arbori seculari și cu vile grandioase din perioada primului război mondial.

De-a lungul multor ani de transformări în România, clădirea din Șoseaua Kiseleff a reprezentat legătura permanentă a Suediei la București. O primă restaurare a clădirii a avut loc între anii 1938-1941 sub conducerea arhitectului Ferdinand Fischer. Clădirea ambasadei a suferit multe daune de-a lungul anilor din cauza unor cutremure mari. Cel mai puternic cutremur a avut loc în martie 1977 și a cauzat clădirii o fisură mare de la nivelul superior până la baza clădirii. De aceea, de la începutul anilor 1980 și până în 2008, cancelaria a funcționat în altă locație.

Administrația Națională a Construcțiilor din Suedia (SFV) a restaurat clădirea, modernizând-o și asigurându-i stabilitatea la cutremure, sub conducerea arhitectului Gunnar Asell. În prezent cancelaria și reședința ambasadorului sunt din nou sub același acoperiș. Ambasada combină cerințele actuale privind un loc de muncă modern, cu spații de recepție elegante cât și o locuință pentru ambasador și familia acestuia. Clădirea ambasadei a fost reinaugurată în 2008. (broșură de prezentare a Ambasadei Suediei)

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Clădirea din Bd. Kiseleff 43, acum Ambasada Suediei, a fost construită în anii 20 ai secolului trecut. Încă nu știm dacă a fost construită de la început pentru Suedia, ca ambasadă, sau dacă a fost cumpărată de Statul Suedez la scurt timp după aceea, adică încă din perioada interbelică. (n.r. dec. 2024)

2023:

Embassy reopened on Șoseaua Kiseleff Since 1936, the Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest has been housed in a magnificent 1920s villa on one of the Romanian capital’s main boulevards, Șoseaua Kiseleff. The first refurbishment of the Embassy was managed by architect Ferdinand Fischer between 1938 and 1941. The site has suffered a number of major earthquakes, the strongest of which occurred in 1977. The chancery was therefore relocated to a different address from the early 1980s until 2008. However, following a redesign and modernisation of the property - a project led by architect Gunnar Âsell - the chancery and the ambassador’s residence are back under one roof.

Today’s Embassy combines the contemporary demands of a modern workplace with elegant reception rooms for official functions and housing for the ambassador. The Embassy reopened in 2008. In the corridor leading to reception, the walls are decorated by Lars Englund’s works in his “Flata” (Weave) series. A 17th-century Flemish tapestry depicts “Paris of Troy carrying off the beautiful Helen of Sparta” in the residence dining room.

The Swedish Embassy in a turbulent country: Sweden first established diplomatic ties with Romania through its envoy Hans-Joachim Beck-Friis during the First World War. Since then, the country has experienced several dramatic periods, from a shaky monarchy, with Mihail of the House of Hohenzollern as the country’s last king, to a pro-Nazi dictatorship led by Conducător Ion Antonescu in the 1940s. From the Soviet-backed seizure of power in 1945 to a Communist totalitarian dictatorship under the leadership of Nicolae Ceaușescu. From the bloody revolution of 1989 to today’s free Romania. The country became an EU member on 1 January 2007.

Historic main boulevard Through the many years of upheaval in Romania, the building on Șoseaua Kiseleff has been Sweden’s fixed abode in Bucharest. The main boulevard is lined with an exclusive area of parkland that conceals grand residences from around the time of the First World War. The impressive road was created in 1832 and was later named after a famous Russian general, Count Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff, who became a naturalised Romanian.

At the turn of the last century, the boulevard was a popular place fort he people of the capital to see and be seen, either on foot or in elegant carriages. There was bloodshed in the city in December 1989 when Ceaușescu was deposed, with riots breaking out on the street outside the Swedish building. The ambassador at the time, Nils Rosenberg, ushered all his staff into the residence, where everyone remained shut in for several days. Since the renovation, the window frames have been returned to their original green. When a Bucharest local says the word “Șoseaua”, they mean Șoseaua Kiseleff. The boulevard’s triumphal arch can be glimpsed at the edge of the picture. King Gustav V of Sweden’s monogram under the royal crown. No 43 Șoseaua Kiseleff The magnificent villa was probably erected in the mid-i92os. It was bought in 1936 by Patrik Reutersward, the Swedish envoy to Bucharest.

The property was later purchased by the Swedish State for 10 million lei, the equivalent of around 300,000 Swedish kronor. The property measures 1,400 square metres, split across four floors. In 1938-41, a major redesign and modernisation of the villa created space for the Embassy’s chancery and residence. The work was led by Romanian architect Ferdinand Fischer. The ground floor housed the chancery, while the main floor provided several reception rooms full of gilded decoration.

The Swedish coat of arms, made by local craftsmen, was placed on the southern facade, above the main entrance. The entrance door was embellished with King Gustav V’s monogram under the royal crown, as a tribute to the Swedish monarch, who celebrated his 80th birthday in 1938, when the redesign of the residence commenced.

Envoy Patrik Reutersward found the villa on Șoseaua Kiseleff and lived there with his wife and six children for many years. An experienced diplomat: of the many excellent diplomats who have worked and lived in Bucharest, envoy Patrik Reutersward in particular stands out. On his arrival in Bucharest in 1935, he already had 27 years’ experience as a diplomat. Reutersward stayed in Romania for almost 14 years as Sweden’s ambassador, during which time he experienced a number of dramatic years in the country.

1939 saw the outbreak of the Second World War. Bucharest was hit by a powerful earthquake in autumn 1940, the same year that Romania went from monarchy to a fascist dictatorship. By the time Reutersward left Bucharest in January 1949, the country had been a Communist one-party state fora couple of years.

The residence as a sleeping beauty: In the early 1950s, Sweden was represented in Bucharest by a couple of chancery clerks. At the time, Sweden’s ambassador to Moscow was also the concurrently accredited head of the legation in Romania. From the mid-1950s, the building was rented out to British diplomats, but in the early 1960s, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD) decided to station an ambassador in Bucharest once again.

Over the ensuing years, the building was hit by several earthquakes, the strongest of which occurred in 1977 and measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The building cracked from the ground up to the roof. After this earthquake, the chancery moved into a rented property in the nearby district of Dorobanți, where it remained until the reopening of the Embassy in 2008.

Light, space and Swedish design; The reception rooms on the main floor are bathed in light from the large arched windows overlooking Șoseaua Kiseleff. UD’s interior designers have furnished rooms using modern Swedish design. The large drawing room has a sofa upholstered in the cretonne fabric “Mirakel” (Miracle) created by Josef Frank in 1925-30 for Swedish design house Svenskt Tenn, as well as an “Aluminium” armchair that Mats Theselius designed for Kallemo in 1990. The grand piano is a remnant of a by-gone age and actually belongs to the Romanian royal family.

The dining room is dominated by a 17th-century Flemish tapestry depicting “Paris of Troy carrying off the beautiful Helen of Sparta”. Ascending the stairs to the residence, visitors are met by this magnificent corridor. The spacious drawing room with its large windows overlooking Șoseaua Kiseleff. Sensitive renovation Having once been a residence in rather poor condition, the building is once again a fine villa uniting the chancery and the ambassador’s residence under one roof.

The National Property Board Sweden (SFV) has modernised the building, giving it a new layout, improving accessibility and making it more quake-proof. It was back in 2007 that UD commissioned SFV to work with architect Gunnar Âsell on a major refurbishment that would allow the Embassy’s chancery to move back into a functional workplace that was entirely fit for purpose.

The chancery has its offices on the ground floor and one floor up, in the part that used to be the ambassador’s private apartment. In a modern new glazed extension on the northern facade, SFV has equipped the property with a lift and a new stairwell. The facades have been restored and all the window frames replaced and returned to their original green colour. The Swedish Embassy reopened in 2008.

The Embassy building is managed by SFV SFV’s task is to preserve the property’s cultural and historical value, while at the same time sensitively adapting the building to create a modern workplace and functional reception rooms for Sweden’s ambassador in Bucharest. The Embassy is owned by the Swedish State and managed by the National Property Board Sweden (SFV) as part of Sweden’s cultural heritage abroad. The modern glazed extension has created space for a lift and a new stairwell. (broșură de prezentare a Ambasadei Suediei)

Sursă: https://www.propertyindex.ro/residential/ambasada-suediei