He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (1816–1881) and graduated during 1860.
[3] [4] After completing his studies Zettervall took over the restoration of Lund Cathedral from Carl Georg Brunius.
As the architect of the Cathedral did Zettervall also get other commissions for both church and other works in the Scania region.
The church was inaugurated on 2 April 1893 and is a prime example of Northern European Gothic Revival architecture.
Zettervall was a proponent of Gothic Revival architecture and is most commonly associated with his design of the plans for the extensive restoration of Lund Cathedral during the late 19th century.