The Chancery

The Royal Thai Embassy’s Chancery is located at Floragatan 3, Stockholm. It is situated in the area called ‘Villastaden’, north of Humlegården in Östermalm, a central district of Stockholm. This Greco-Roman style townhouse is previously known as ‘The Curman Villa’ after the former owner’s name, Professor Carl Curman (1833 – 1913)

History

Professor Carl Curman (1) (1833 – 1913) commissioned architect Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert to design the house based on his drawings of a Pompeian-style villa. The villa was constructed in the form of an equilateral cross. The villa was completed in 1880. In the Villa, a lively cultural life took place during the 1880’ and 90’s. Amongst the guests at the Curman receptions, which were held a few times each autumn and winter, were well-known names in science, art, literature, and business who gathered to make it one of the social life centers in Stockholm. The Villa was modernized in the 1920’s but it is still the finest preserved example of the fondness the wealthy Europeans had for Renaissance architecture during the 1800’s. The Villa is also a listed building due to its architectural value. 

(1) Carl Curman (1833 – 1913) was a medical doctor and instructor in plastic anatomy at the Fine Arts Academy and taught Balneology (the therapeutic effects of bathing) 

Facts and Figures
Built - 1880 
Architect - Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert
area - 1548 square meters
Acquired by the Royal Thai Embassy - 1992 

 

The Embassy 

The Embassy has three floors with rooms symmetrically grouped around an atrium which is lit from the skylight roof. While its original characters being well preserved, many interior furnishings are Thai. The rooms in the villa were adapted to function as the government office. The basement is now used as the consular section of the Embassy where the public come to obtain the consular services. 

 

Atrium - View from Upper Floor

Atrium - View from Upper Floor

 

On the ground floor, there is a Greco-Roman styled - atrium in the center of the building, consisting of an intricate skylight roof. At the center of the floor under the atrium lies the underfloor lighting system beneath glass bricks, illuminating the room from below. The library on the ground floor is elegantly decorated with stained glass and paintings.

On the Upper floor, the upper gallery surrounded the central atrium runs an elaborate Grecian frieze depicting ‘A Day in Hellas’ painted by the artist Carl Gustav Wetterstrand.

Exterior

Reference A Tale of Three Houses, Sirius Insurance Company Limited 

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