ABSTRACT
In the years around 1900 interest in the conservation of historic buildings and their place in the urban environment was developing in Sweden as in many other countries. Historical factors were considered to be of significance not only in restoration and preservation activities, but also in building management, in new architecture, and in town planning. 1 This development has been interpreted from an ideological point of view in terms of humanistic responses to contemporary development on the one side, and as a tool for, and a reflection of, a nationalist hegemonic agenda on the other. 2 Both of these interpretations have validity in certain respects. In this context it will be enough to state that conservation, and the identification of certain buildings, or certain aspects of buildings, as historic and different from the present, is an aspect of modernity. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the tasks in conservation and in planning activities with specific reference to history increased, and this raised demand for specialized education, experience, and competency in the field of historic buildings in their social and environmental contexts.
