Gunnebo just outside Gothenburg can trace its roots to 1397 when written sources reveal the name Gunnobodher. The name then changed until it in 1881 became Gunnebo. The land was originally, as far back as we know, owned by the Diocese of Skara. In 1396 it became the property of the Crown and remained as such until 1582 when Johan III gave it to Erik Gustavsson Stenbock. With a few exceptions it remained with the Stenbock family until 1711 when it was acquired by Industrialist Hans Coopman. In 1778 it was purchased by John Hall the Older for 4,500 riksdaler. For an average worker this would mean around 51 Million SEK in today’s value. 

Hall commissioned City Architect Carl Wilhelm Carlberg to completely transform the estate and build a summer house (today the castle). Carlberg had just returned from a long trip around Europe during which he had been inspired by Andrea Palladio’s representative villas. The house was built between 1784 and 1796 and completed around the year 1800.  

Following the bankruptcy of the Hall empire the interiors were sold in 1828 and when John Hall the Younger died two years later the castle was also sold. Turbulent times awaited and even the copper roof was sold. In 1888 Wilhelm Denninghoff purchased the estate and when he died in 1905 his wife Jeanna took over until she died in 1922. It was inherited by their daughter Hilda and her husband Carl Sparre. They restored the estate and it quickly became known for grand parties. Hilda died in 1948 but two years before her death she had asked that Gunnebo be declared a listed property. It was inherited by their daughters who sold it to the City of Mölndal in 1949. 

Following substantial renovations it was opened by King Gustav VI Adolf in 1952. Since then, rigorous work has been carried out to bring back furniture and buildings to the original 1700s estate. In 2003, Crown Princess Victoria inaugurated it as a cultural reserve. Today, it is open all year round and represents one of the best estates of the 1700s in Scandinavia.

Photo: Mkallgren, Wikimedia