What to See in Lidköping - Top Sights and Attractions

Lidköping Town Hall is a listed building on the New Town Square in Lidköping.

The building was originally Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie's hunting lodge on Kållandsö, built to a design by Matthias Holl. It was dismantled in 1672 and transported to Lidköping, where it was rebuilt on what would become the New Town Square. A two-storey wooden building, covered by a large hood and crowned by a tower in two projections with an oak-covered roof, was built on a new stone ground floor. Around the ground floor, a ring of stalls was built under a flat roof, later replaced by a higher charnel house roof. The town hall was ready for use in 1676 and remained in use until 1883, when it became the seat of the town hall court and magistrate. At various times it also housed a police station, a boathouse, a temporary museum and finally commercial premises.

The house has undergone some changes over the centuries; in the 1740s the walls were panelled and a staircase to the second floor, a balcony on the third floor and a tower were added.

The building was destroyed by fire in 1960, leaving only the ground floor and parts of the mezzanine, but in a damaged state. It was reconstructed according to old plans under the direction of the architect Stig Hermansson. Over the years, the building has been painted yellow or red. At the top it is adorned with Justitia with blindfolded eyes and scales. Today the building houses Lidköping's tourist office and a café.