Lidingo

Villa Ekbacken sits beautifully on a tree-lined ridge with a wonderful view over the 'Lilla Värtan' water mirror and the Stockholm inlet. The villa was built in 1912 by the Nobel prize winner in physics, Gustaf Dalén, and is the largest privately owned home on Lidingö. Gustaf Dalén also served as the CEO of the limited company Gasaccumulator, also known as AGA, with the company's factory located close by.

The architect Erik Hahr was commissioned to draw the Dalén family's private villa as well as the AGA factory's workers' housing in Bergsätra only a stone's throw away. Both the villa and the workers' housing were done in a characteristic stone-styled architecture. Both have been tiled with a delicate yellow-white tile finish, lending the facade a wonderful shimmer.

The villa, one of Lidingö's most magnificent and impressive residences, is located on a beautiful and scenic park-like piece of real estate covering 5467 square metres of grassy lawns, old oaks, and pine tress surrounded by a granite stone terrace. The beautiful villa is castle-like in its style, with influences from national romanticism as well as art nouveau and gothic art.

Ekbacken (literally 'oak hill') is an impressive residence housing 1355 square metres on five separate floors, including a cellar, a tower, and an attic. The living area comprises 869 square metres and is shared among three floors, with beautiful and representative drawing rooms on the ground floor. The drawing rooms have been beautifully decorated with oak panels, magnificent fire places, ceiling murals, painted vaulted windows, and leaded double glass doors which lead you out onto a stoned terrace sitting in a southwestern direction. One finds plenty of interesting little details in the vaulted windows and painted ceilings, many reminiscent of the previous owner's inventions. The two top floors are intended for bedrooms and family life. The master bedroom is generously spacious with a walk-in-closet and an adjacent bathroom with separate entries for both partners on either side of the bed. In both the cellar and the attic, there are separate apartments for staff or guests. In the 70s, a garage fitting three cars was added.

The building was in the Dalén family's care until 1969. In the following years it served as the residence for the Canadian ambassador until the current owner purchased the residence in 2011. The latest owner has restored the house and installed a modern heating system and built a pool on the frontside which faces the water in the southwest.