Introducing… Ernst Kirchsteiger

Introducing... is The Local's guide to Swedish celebrity. In this instalment Rebecca Martin finds out more about Ernst Kirchsteiger - the softly spoken interior decorator-cum-philosopher who annually invades TV screens all over Sweden.

Ernst? Well, hes more of an institution really. "No summer without Ernst" is something that Swedes seem to all agree on. Ernst is the epitome of the word folkkr or loved by the people - which doesnt mean that everyone loves him really, but rather that everyone knows who he is and will have an opinion on him.

Fine but what does he do and why are you going on about him?

Ernst is the hugely popular interior decorator who hosted the TV-show Sommartorpet ("Summer Cottage") on the national public broadcaster SVT between 2000 and 2007, where the decorating team chose a random old shack somewhere in the countryside and did it up over the course of one summer. Swedes were glued to their screens.

Seriously you are telling me about some old interior decorator guy? Whats the fuzz with him?

Easy tiger, I was getting to that. I said Ernst has become an institution. Theres a reason. How many people do you know who can deliver one-liners such as Has it ever happened that you have found yourself falling in love with a stone? or I want to feel summer all over my body not just dip my toes in it! in every show he hosted? I mean, come on! The guys a philosopher.

Ok, I admit thats pretty... unusual. But why are you telling me about him now?

Its summer and as I said before no Swedish summer is complete without Ernst. After leaving SVT, Ernst went over to commercial TV station TV4 which probably meant a heftier pay cheque and started filming similar programmes with them.

On Thursday, the latest season of the Summer with Ernst show will begin airing on TV4. This season Ernst and his crew have found an empty power station that they are doing up. Riveting stuff!

Power station, you said? What on earth for?

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Introducing... Ernst Kirchsteiger