The well-preserved garden city of Äppelviken in Bromma, Stockholm, is well worth a visit. Stroll around on the pleasant back streets, get inspired by the well-preserved period-like villas or the disputed English townhouses from the 20th century. End your walk at the enjoyable Park Patisserie at Alléparken, anno 1924.

Inspiration from England

The residential area was one of the garden cities built between 1910-1920, inspired by the English Garden City vision. The idea was to create a more beautiful and healthier environment on the outskirts of larger cities with green spaces, parks and lush gardens. One wanted to achieve a "small town atmosphere" where different types of villas, townhouses and multi-family houses were built side by side. Typically for the 1910s garden cities was to place houses at the top of the slopes with a nice view of the area; a smaller part of the garden was then prepared for fruit trees and berry bushes.

Upsetting townhouses

1919-1920, the English townhouses were built in the "Drivhuset" block, despite strong opposition from the villa owners in the area. Under current crisis and housing shortages, cheaper accommodation was needed. Several savings and rationalizations were made in the construction process to reduce the price. The townhouse idea was unfortunately not really established in Sweden yet and the houses were hard to sell. Today, this neighborhood, with its varied colored facades and cute gardens, is seen more like an idyll than a "poor building," and it is hard to understand how it could upset the already-established inhabitants of Äppelviken to actually start a list of signatures in protest to stop the building process!

Facade color

Many villas in Äppelviken have kept their colors over the years. What distinguishes the color scheme under national romance is the light paved facades with darker carpentry, and alternatively darker wooden buildings with white carpentry around windows and doors. The English row houses have a varying color setting on both facades and doors. One block is in yellow, pink and beige colors with doors painted in white, green, blue, brown or dark green. Another block has a pale yellow-colored façade with brown doors.

The first black-and-white photo shows a drawing of one of the houses from the Lyckolotten district of Äppelviken. The other shows the newly built houses on Stenhuggarvägen in Äppelviken. Both of these pictures were taken sometime between 1920-1929 by an unknown photographer and retrieved from Stockholm source.