Frescati (Stockholm)

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Map of the Frescati area, north-east of central Stockholm. The main road "Roslagsvägen" continues north to join E18. The area is served by two railroad stations (shown) and one subway station (not shown on this map).

Frescati is a park-like area on the northern outskirts of Stockholm. Originally it was a part of Norra Djurgården (The Northern Royal Game Park) but was granted to the societé for building private villas. The origin of the name is the Villa Frescati, built by the architect Louis Jean Desprez for Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt in 1791-1792. The villa is named after the Italian city of Frascati, visited by King Gustavus III during his Italian journey. During the 19th century the name began to be used for a larger area in the vicinity of the house, and the Royal Swedish Academy for Agriculture established its experimental fields there.

It was followed by a number of other scientific and academic institutions, including the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, the Bergianska trädgården, a botanical garden, and eventually Stockholm University. In the middle of the area the Metro station Universitetet (The University) is located.

Frescati (including the campus area) is today a part of Ekoparken (The Eco Park).