The Central Palace - an Art Nouveau drama in four acts and a square

If houses could talk, the Central Palace in Östersund would have had a whole novel to whisper. And it would certainly have been both grand, gossipy and smoky. For this Art Nouveau jewel of a building was never an ordinary stone block in the city center. It was the pride of the city, a hub for business, bathing, burlesque and - eventually - fire.

We start where it all begins: in turn-of-the-century Östersund. A city that was growing like crazy at the seams. The merchant couple Carolina and Olof Johansson saw the potential - and perhaps a touch of eternal glory - and commissioned the architect Knut G. Gyllencreutz to design a truly magnificent house. Three years later, in spring 1908, the Central Palace was completed. The name suggests a modest office building, but no - this was Östersund's Versailles, complete with corner tower, rounded gables, elevator (!), central heating (!!) and perhaps Europe's widest vault door (!!!). Because why have an ordinary door when you can have a monument?

The inside? A smorgasbord of functions. Bank at the bottom, bathhouse in the basement, post office and cinema in between. The top floors - a dream come true for those who could afford it: luxury apartments with a view of the future. Then came offices and lawyers and dentists, of course. You can imagine that many a root canal was done to the sound of the city's pulse outside the window.

And then there's the entertainment. Because what's a palace without a scandal or two? In the 1920s, the second floor was transformed into a music hall. Here, Mademoiselle Zaza danced in a feather boa and caused local moral panic. The ladies of Östersund's society are said to have fainted from outrage - and perhaps a little from fascination. A French burlesque dancer in the middle of Jämtland's hinterland. That says something about the house, and about the town.

Later, when the millennium changed for the second time, the courtyard behind the Central Palace was given a new look. In 2006, Stjärntorget (Star Square) was inaugurated - a granite mini-square with a nod to both pop history and ego pop. Artist Hans Kvam created 'Star for a Day', a work of art where you can literally stand as a star among others. Carola, Jerry Williams, Hoven Droven, Veronica Maggio - they've all shone here during the euphoria of Storsjöyr. And now you can too. Yes, you.

But then, on a cold January day in 2010, disaster struck. The fire started in the attic and devoured the house from above like a ravenous dragon. Thirteen fire engines, water in abundance, smoke-damaged facades and a city center in shock. No lives were lost - but the soul of a building went up in smoke. The discussions afterwards were hotter than the fire: demolish or save? In the end, the answer was demolition. With surgical precision, the facade was taken down, brick by brick, and Östersund lost a 102-year-old friend.

But, like all good fairy tales, a new chapter came. The property owner Diös erected a new Centralpalats - modern, energy-efficient, but with a glimpse of history left in the facade. 2015 it was ready: new apartments, new shops, new dreams.

Photos provided by Föreningen Gamla Östersund

The Central Palace in Östersund, designed by architect Knut G. Gyllencreutz and completed in 1908, was a grand Art Nouveau building with elements of classicism that reflected the city's growth at the turn of the century. The building housed everything from a bank, post office and shops to a cinema, bathhouse and exclusive residences - and later also became a venue for variety shows and cultural life. In the 2000s, the courtyard was transformed into Stjärntorget, a small park with the artwork "Star for a day" by Hans Kvam, dedicated to prominent artists who performed at Storsjöyran. A major fire in 2010 led to the demolition of the Central Palace, but in 2015 a new building was completed on the site - modern but with historical echoes in its design. Stjärntorget remains and continues to be a cultural meeting point in the heart of the city.