The town hall that didn't apologize - from boastful building to city soul
If you stand on Gustav III's square on a windy afternoon and look up, you'll see a red brick tower staring back at you - stately, steady and with a slightly superior expression. It is Östersund's town hall. A building so grand that in the beginning it was called "the mayor's castle" - and so beloved that the same castle today is perhaps the city's most beloved symbol.
But it all started with a vision. Or yes - depending on who you ask - a dream, a delusion of grandeur or a municipal statement.
It is around 1910 and Östersund is young but hungry. The city has a railroad, county administration and a growing middle class that wants more. And what do you do when you want to show that you are something to be reckoned with? You build a city hall that makes people's jaws drop. A town hall that can compete with both Sundsvall and Stockholm - and maybe even impress Härnösand.
The architect Frans Bertil Wallberg, who came from Stockholm, was commissioned. He goes all in with national romanticism, towers, granite, moose heads in the ornamentation and an arched staircase that breathes power and authority. It's a bit of medieval castle, a bit of Swedish self-esteem, and pretty much the 20th century version of "now we show what we're made of".
Master builder Johan August Hellström builds it all, brick by brick. It's red brick, sturdy walls and substantial proportions. Inside, the rooms are clad in dark wood paneling, paintings and details that make visitors gasp. Completed in 1912, the house is hardly a modest story. It is a building that makes no apologies.
But the residents? Well, they are divided. Some love it. Others grumble about boastful building, municipal madness and waste. "We're a small town, not Vienna," they say. But time has a way of softening even the sharpest comments. And pretty soon something starts to happen. The town hall becomes a matter of course. A point of orientation. A backdrop to the city's history.
Over the years, decisions have been made inside the building that have affected everything from waste collection to city boundaries. Newly arrived Swedish citizens have been welcomed here, brides and grooms have married under wooden panels, and municipal politicians have argued about budget items in a historical setting. The hall where the city council meets still smells of democracy, wood and felt-tip pens.
In 1986, when Östersund celebrated 200 years as a city, a carillon was installed in the tower - which now plays melodies every day. The Jämtland song, of course, but also other tunes that float over the city's roof and make lunch eaters stop for a second. It is beautiful. A little reminder that the city's heart is still beating.
And then, of course, there are the secrets. Because what's a real town hall without a little mystery? During a renovation in 2017, bricked-up passageways and hidden rooms were discovered. What they were used for, no one really knows. Archives? A bomb shelter? Someone's private back door to the city's backyard politics? The possibilities tickle.
Today, few people sneer at City Hall. Quite the opposite. It is photographed, celebrated, filmed in front of, and serves as the city's backbone. Östersund may have grown and changed, but the town hall is still there - just as red-tiled, just as confident.
So the next time you hear the chimes ring out across the square, remember this: sometimes it's the buildings that provoke the most debate that become our most beloved. Östersund's town hall started out as 'too much' - and became just right.
Photos provided by Föreningen Gamla Östersund
Östersund Town Hall was built between 1909 and 1912 in red brick with towers and granite details, designed by architect Frans Bertil Wallberg in the National Romantic style and built by Johan August Hellström. The building was inaugurated in 1912 and housed the city government, court and police detention center. Although initially called a showpiece, it soon became a beloved landmark in the city center. Over the years, the Town Hall has been the center of local politics, solemn ceremonies and cultural events, and is still the seat of the City Council. For the city's 200th anniversary in 1986, a carillon was installed in the tower that plays daily, and recent renovations have uncovered hidden rooms that have contributed to the building's mythology.