Architecture
The yellow castle-like building
Jul
This beautiful yellow building in Västerås was designed by architect Emil Befwe in 1906 in a style Neo-renaissance, architectural trend of this time.
It is a subtle mix of Northern European Renaissance and Medieval styles, with the rhythm of the windows, decorative bands, wrought iron balconies and corner towers.
Emil Befwe was born in Göteborg in 1860. He studied at the Chalmerska slöjdskola in Göteborg and at the Konstakademie (Academy of Fine Arts) in Stockholm.
In 1894 he moved to Eskilstuna where he headed his architectural office until his death in 1939. He has designed several buildings in Eskilstuna, of which Stadshuset (City Hall) is the best known, but also industrial buildings (Stålpressen, Bok-Öbergs, Gevärsfaktoriet), schools (Läroverket) and apartment buildings. He was architect of the city of Eskilstuna between 1902 and 1926.
In Västerås, he has designed this famous yellow building, the one on Kristinagatan 9, and probably others, associated with Fredrik Gewalt in the early twentieth century, before Erik Hahr became the architect of the city of Västerås in 1909.
Unfortunately, there are many unsigned architectural drawings from this period in Västerås.
An exhibition on the architect Emil Befwe was held at the Eskilstuna City Museum in 2005.
