Wisingska villan: The birthplace of Raoul Wallenberg

Kappsta was the name of a summer villa in the current district of Skärsätra in Lidingö municipality. The villa also became known as Wisingska villan and the birthplace of Raoul Wallenberg. Today, Kappsta is a forested area bounded by Lilla Värtan to the southwest, the Skärsätra boat club and Villa Ekbacken to the northwest, Nysätravägen to the southeast, and Törnrosavägen to the north. The area is approximately 12 hectares in size.

The plot of land, originally part of Skärsätra farm, was purchased in 1882 by the doctor Per Johan Wising, making him one of the first Stockholmers to move to Lidingö as a summer guest. He renamed Järla to Kappsta after his father-in-law's estate. The building was constructed according to the taste of the time for summer villas in Swiss style with rich wood carvings. The house was 300 m² and two stories high with a wide view over Lilla Värtan. It was placed 12 meters above sea level next to the edge of a precipice.

To obtain a level surface around the house, a stone retaining wall about five meters high was constructed. A cellar is still preserved next to the house. The entrance steps were cast in concrete, and the facades were clad with standing and lying panels, likely painted yellow with white trim or light green with dark green trim. The roof was sheet-covered. While intended for summer use, the house could be heated with stoves and a wood-burning kitchen stove. In 1883, Wising acquired additional land and built a servant's cottage, a barn, and Sjövillan, which was 100 m² smaller than the main building and also designed in the Swiss style.

Raoul Wallenberg was born at Kappsta in August 1912 in his mother's bedroom. The family used the summer place at Kappsta until the end of the 1920s, where Raoul Wallenberg spent many summers during his upbringing. In 1931, the main building burned down after a lightning strike, though the property remained in the Wallenberg family's ownership until 1947. In the 1950s, Sjövillan and other buildings also burned down.

In 1986, Lidingö municipality purchased the area from Östlunds Bygg to prevent development and preserve it as a green area. Kappsta Nature Reserve was established in February 1996. Today, the foundation of Wisingska villan remains, measuring approximately 20x20 meters, with two cast entrance stairs and a well-built cellar. A bronze memorial of Raoul Wallenberg's portfolio, titled Attachéväska R.W, was placed on the foundation in 2002. Only Solbacken and Fredriksberg remain preserved among the neighboring villas. Fredriksberg was built in 1883 for the merchant David Dietrichsson. Villa Nidaros, once a pavilion for the 1897 Stockholm Exhibition, was also located in the area and burned down in 1960.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons