12. Johan Albrecht Ehrenström

This large tomb brings to mind an individual and an epoch in Swedish history. Here lies Nils Ehrenström, the commander of the fortress of Vaxholm. At the end of the 18th century his son Johan Albrecht was the owner of the manor of Djurönäs. Johan Albrecht had a brilliant career as the king’s private secretary at the court of Gustav III. He was constantly close to the king and followed him in his daily work.

Everything changed when Gustav III died in 1792. The statesman, Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, who took over political power, was very suspicious of the late king’s friends. Ehrenström was dismissed and arrested accused of high treason and of having taken part in a plot to subvert the state. In 1794, at the age of 32, his lands, honour and nobility were taken from him and he was sentenced to death by decapitation. The evening before he was to be executed he said goodbye to his family and received communion. The day after he had to stand for an hour on the scaffold in an iron collar. But then his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He ended up in the fortress of Vaxholm, where his father was the commander.

Ehrenström was freed in 1800. His honour and nobility were restored to him and he moved back to Djurönäs. In 1810 he sold the manor and moved to Helsinki where he started a new career as city planner.

Ehrenström wrote a book about his life. In it he tells how one could go for a stroll in the large manor gardens at Djurönäs and meet seamen from foreign countries. The manor house, which was built at the beginning of the 18th century was situated near the shore with a view of the church. The house burnt down at the beginning of the 20th century.

This is the final stop on the trail.