Stola Herrgard, Kalland, Sweden / Ekeblad family

Situated on the Kålland Peninsula in lake Vänern, Sweden, Stola was from the 1430s to 1879 the main home for more than twelve generations of the Ekeblad family. The manor house that stands today was built in 1713-19 and has one of the best-preserved 18th century interiors in Sweden. The main building is today owned by a foundation and functions as both a home and a museum.

The Ekeblad family belonged to the Swedish nobility and over the generations members of the family served the crown as courtiers and military officers. Stola was built by Claes Ekeblad and was finished the same year as he received the title greve, a rank equal to a British earl. In the 1750s, his son, Claes the younger and his wife Eva De la Gardie, modernised the interiors of the house in a French inspired rococo. Claes was a council member and university chancellor, and both he and his wife were early members of the Royal Academy of Science (founded in 1739). Beside Stola they owned a house in Stockholm, as well as a number of country estates.

The last Ekeblad to inhabit Stola was Claes Julius Ekeblad (1742-1808). He and his wife Brita Margareta Horn (1745-1791) enjoyed the ‘simple’ life at Stola, a sentiment that was inscribed over the entrance: “L’amitié et la paix règnent dans cet asile et sont la source de plaisirs. Le thumulte et la haine reignent dans les villes et sont la source des soupirs.” (Friendship and peace reign in this retreat and are the source of pleasure. The tumult and hatred are predominant in the cities and are the source of sighs.)