The history of Södergarn

Handelsbanken's country manor since 1929

Handelsbanken has offered its employees a recreation and holiday home at Södergarn since 1929. The Bank purchased Södergarn including the Falkmanska Villan in 1944, and Sportstugan was purchased two years later.

Training and conference facility

Södergarn traces its history all the way back to a deed of purchase from 1381, when Bo Jonsson Grip still had a number of country manors called Sothagarna – Södergarn’s predecessors.
 
Until 1775, Lidingö comprised a single estate, or part of a larger mainland estate. After that, the grounds were split up. Since 1799, Södergarn has been owned by a number of Stockholm residents who mainly used the property as a summer residence.
 
In 1888, the merchant Carl Fredrik Falkman took over Södergarn. He commissioned the construction of the stately Falkmanska Villan, designed by the architect Magnus Isaeus, and created a new garden with a large number of trees and berry shrubs.
 
In 1959, the Bank decided to build a training and conference centre at Södergarn. The main building, with two wings, was designed by the architect Lars Åkerlund. He embraced the provincial setting that now hallmarks Södergarn.