When Crown Prince Gustaf returned from Versailles in 1771 to ascend the throne of Sweden, he was determined to give his country a leading place in Europe culturally as well as politically. He fostered the international movement of Neoclassicism, which in Sweden took on a freshness distinctive to the country, alongside the influences of France, England and Germany. Neoclassicism in the North presents twenty houses and apartments in marvellously evocative, specially commissioned photographs, alongside plans and original drawings. From royal salons with exquisite Pompeian ornament to modest spatter-painted Biedermeier halls, the beautiful Neoclassical houses of Sweden are of unique value today not only because of their superb craftsmanship but also as a stimulus to contemporary decorators.