Carl Axel Setterberg

Carl Axel Setterberg (1812-1871) was an architect from Bogsta parish in Södermanland, Sweden. He studied to become an architect at the Swedish Art Academy in Stockholm from 1834-1841. In May 1841, he got a job as building contractor in Gävleborg province, where he worked the following ten years. In this position he led many important building projects in Gävle and designed several public buildings. When he heard that the city of Vaasa had burned down to the ground in 1852, he became interested in the opportunities surrounding the rebuilding of the city. He travelled to Vaasa where the job as county architect was open, and in January 1853 he was temporarily appointed for the job after impressing the county governor Berndt Federley. In 1855 he was appointed permanently, after he had become a citizen of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
Carl Axel Setterberg became the creator of the new Vaasa. In 1854 he became the city architect and was commissioned with drawing up the new city plan on the isthmus of Klemetsö, a few kilometers away from the ruins of old Vaasa. He also designed many of the city's public and private buildings.
In year 2006 Setterberg was voted the most significant person from Vaasa of all time. The poll was a part of Vaasa's 400th anniversary celebration.
Setterberg died in Vaasa (then named Nikolainkaupunki) on January 7, 1871.