In the heart of Östergötland, situated approximately 2 miles southeast of Linköping, lies Bjärka-Säby Château. A baroque style château, it is home to an active community that has been living there in common since 1996. Owned by the Swedish Pentecostal movement's church in Linköping, the site features two buildings - a first château completed in 1632 by lake Stora Rängen and a second completed in the 1790s.
The building was based upon plans from a prominent Swedish landscape architect, Fredrik Magnus Piper, while the surrounding landscape was designed in the manner of a traditional English park. The structure underwent a renovation between 1894 and 1898 based on plans by Agi Lindegren, resulting in its current Baroque appearance.
Inside the château hang portraits of Hedvig Ekman, Gustaf Aulén, and Nathan Söderblom, along with icons from Russian, Greek, and Coptic Orthodox traditions. The site also houses a patristic library and a side chapel built in the 18th century as a result of the devotion of the Pietist Lutheran Hedvig Ekman.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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