Jean de la Vallée

Who was Jean de la Vallée?

Jean de la Vallée was a French-born architect, who lived and worked in Sweden. He was the son of Simon de la Vallée, who was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The father had started the planning of the House of Knights in Stockholm, and in 1660 his son finished his father's work. Prior to this, Jean de la Vallée had planned two major churches in central Stockholm, Katarina kyrka in 1656 and Hedvig Eleonora kyrka in 1658.

He also worked on the commission of many noblemen. For Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie he planned the remodeling of the Karlberg Castle in the capital. Other notable examples of his work are the castle of Skokloster, the Palace of Bonde and the remodeling of the Palace of Wrangel, both on Riddarholmen in central Stockholm.

In 1680 he was awarded the title "Royal and City Architect", and in 1692 he was knighted.

He died in Stockholm. His son-in-law was Mathias Spieler.