Bjärka-Säby Château

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Bjärka-Säby Château is a baroque style château located south of Linköping, in Östergötland County, Sweden. In Bjärka-Säby there are actually two châteaus, simply referred to as the old and the new château of Bjärka-Säby. The older building dates from 1632. The new one is owned by the local congregation of the Pentecostal Church Out of the château's common life, meetings and retreats an ecumenical community has been born, though not a monastery as stated in some articles. This community, Ekumeniska Kommuniteten i Bjärka-Säby, is a community with its members living scattered around Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries but having its main gatherings and heart at the château of Bjärka-Säby.HistoryBjärka-Säby Château was built for Swedish diplomat and nobleman, Germund Louis Cederhielm (sv). The building was based upon plans from a prominent Swedish landscape architect, Fredrik Magnus Piper. Construction started in 1791 and was completed just before 1800. The surrounding landscape was designed in the manner of a traditional English park. The was subject to renovation in 1894-1898 based upon plans of architect Agi Lindegren (1858-1927). His work differ from Piper's design and resulted in a Baroque appearance.Proposals for a restoration of the interior were advanced principally by Sigurd Curman (sv), secretary of the Swedish National Heritage Board. Between 1920-1921, Erik Fant (sv), architect at the Nordic Museum, conducted renovations reflecting the manor's origin in the late 1700s. The exterior has been allowed to retain the appearance resulting from the Agi Lindgren-based conversion.