The last owner of Julita Manor

A Culturally Inclined Lieutenant Moves In

Arthur Bäckström, who lived from 1861 to 1941, was the last private owner of Julita Manor. He served in the Sörmland Regiment and held the rank of lieutenant when he retired from the army in 1906.

Since 1892, he had been leasing Julita Manor from his father, Johan Bäckström, whose company W:m Hellgren & Co purchased the estate in 1877. Ten years later, he inherited the estate. “The Lieutenant,” as employees, friends, and acquaintances called him, would live at Julita for nearly 40 more years.

Private photographs, letters, and diaries, which accompanied Arthur Bäckström’s donation of Julita Manor to Swedish museum Nordiska museet in 1941, paint a picture of a life filled with guests, companion dogs, parties, and antics. But also solitude. The diaries and correspondence reveal both deep seriousness and levity, reflecting a person of great passion, creativity, and initiative.

Leaving His Mark on an Estate with a Long History

Julita Manor had served as both a royal estate and an ironworks before becoming a noble estate. When Arthur Bäckström became the owner of the manor he had been leasing for ten years, he made significant changes, both interior and exterior.

He erected two new wings, the carriage wing and the stable wing. He allowed the park to flourish with a gazebo, a greenhouse, and an orangery. Additionally, he also built a large retirement home in Nybble for the estate’s employees.

But it was in the Main House where he himself lived, and even today, you can see his possessions and how his home appeared. Let’s step inside.

Private Life with Correspondence and Work

On the ground floor are the servant’s quarters and the warm-keeping kitchen. In the cloakroom, guests brushed off the travel dust. And then there was “The Red Room,” the smoking room. After a fine dinner, the lieutenant and his gentlemen guests would often retire here to freely discuss money and politics. This was the lieutenant’s private living room when he had no visitors.

Closeby is the writing room for correspondence and his private bedroom with a bathroom, as well as a small dining room where he had breakfast at nine with toast, eggs, coffee, and buns. Often, the estate manager would visit to report on the morning’s inspection of the estate.

Social Life with Parties and Dinners

On the second floor are the grand apartment and the social suite with a dining room and parlours for socializing.

Here is an enclosed summer dining room and a balcony room. It was built during Arthur Bäckström’s time and is a place for more relaxed socializing with a view of the rose garden and the gazebo.

The dining room, guest room, and parlours are inspired by the rococo and Gustavian styles of the 18th century, with beautiful textiles and original wall paintings.

In the dining room, one could set the table for up to 30 guests. The food was locally sourced – either from the estate or from the estate’s fishing waters and hunting grounds.

When Bäckström moved in, he converted the attic on the third floor into a gallery, ballroom, and music room for the grandest parties. On his 80th birthday, the long table was set for 64 guests.

Art, Culture, and Reading

On the top floor are the gallery, guest rooms, and a library with a reading room. It is still adorned with custom-built inlaid decorated bookshelves, silk-clad walls, and decorated pilasters.

The library collection consists of 5000 volumes of books, ranging from travelogues, fiction, art, and history to the collected works of Ibsen and Shakespeare. The library reflects Arthur Bäckström’s great interest in art and cultural history.