In Stockholm's old town, Gamla stan, history comes alive! It was on this island in the archipelago that the capital of Sweden to be, started to grow. At that time, people just said "the town" about the settlement here. In 1252 the man closest to the king, Birger Jarl, wrote a letter in which he mentioned the name of "Stockholm". That letter is preserved, and that is why we say that Stockholm was founded in 1252. 
Gamla stan is one of Europe's largest and best preserved medieval city centers, and therefore one of Stockholm's greatest attractions. 
But, why was the future capital built here - on a couple of islands in swiftly-flowing water? It all depends on the position of the island - between the lake, Mälaren, in the west and the ocean, the Baltic, in the east. Stockholm is said to be like a lock for Mälaren - the one that controlled the lock, also was in control of power. 
In the 12th century the island was only a third of today's size. It was already the place for transshipment for German merchants who bought iron and wood in the north of Sweden. In the middle of the 13th century, Birger Jarl was the mightiest man in Sweden. First of all, he realized that those who wanted to enter into Mälaren by boat, had to come this way. And the one that controlled Stockholm, also controlled great part of the trade. Birger Jarl had the watch tower on the northern part of the island developed into a castle. In the water around the island, he had poles put down stop hostile ships from entering Stockholm. 
400 years later, in the 17th century, Sweden had become a great power. Noble people and rich merchants built big, stylish palaces here. Houses of wood, as well as smelly professions like tanning and boiling of fat from seals, was deported to other islands - to "malmarna". Great parts of Gamla stan still have the straight streets and square blocks which were built in the 17th century. In 1634, Stockholm officially became the capital of Sweden. 
All of Gamla stan is like a living museum. Inside the two main streets, Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan, the wall stood which surrounded the medieval Stockholm. Many houses are built on medieval ground, and restaurants often are placed under old vaults. Lime paintings from medieval time are everywhere. Today 3000 people live in Gamla stan, but as many as 15000 have lived here at the same time. That was in the 19th century, and Gamla stan was very poor and unhealthy. Many felt that this was a disgrace for Stockholm. They wanted to get rid of it. 
But, luckily, Gamla stan was never demolished. The reason was that it would have cost a great deal of money, but also that the politicians of Stockholm were busy building new parts of the city on other islands for all those who moved to Stockholm at that time. Today, almost all of Gamla stan is classified as culturally valuable, and those who want to repair or change anything may only do so with the consent of the city's own architect.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_1560s_copperplate_Frantz_Hogenberg.JPG" target="_blank">Stockholm 1560s copperplate Frantz Hogenberg</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_1560s_copperplate_Frantz_Hogenberg.JPG" target="_blank">Mats Halldin</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

Gamla Stan Brief History

Stop for a while at the corner of Kåkbrinken-Prästgatan. 
If we had come here in medieval times, we had - if we were let in - just passed Vattuporten (the Water gate). It was one of the gates in the oldest city wall, which was built in the 13th century. Prästgatan, which we have reached now, was situated inside the wall and is one of the oldest streets in Gamla stan. This means that houses with even numbers on Prästgatan, have replaced the first city wall. 
You are near crossing, look around you and search for something special on these corners. 
In this street crossing, something doesn't belong here - a rune stone! 
It sits in the wall as a decoration in the house foundation of Prästgatan number 17. It probably came here as construction material. The medieval Stockholmers who built the house put the runes outwards, to make them show well. Because they thought they were beautiful! 
The runes say: "Torsten and Frögunn had this stone raised to remember their son". The stone was carved about a thousand years ago. Maybe the son had sailed off, like many young men did at the time, on adventures - he had been a "Viking", and maybe he had not returned. 
And the cannon pipe? It was put there to protect the house. In the 17-th century noble families on the outskirts of Stockholm were offered land by the king to build nice palaces here. Living here, they continued to go by horse and carriage in the narrow alleys. So, the cannon pipe was put there to protect the house. Sometimes, there is a stone instead in the corner.

Photo <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sweden._Stockholm._Gamla_stan_014.JPG" target="_blank">Sweden. Stockholm. Gamla stan 014</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Albertyanks" target="_blank">Albertyanks</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

The Rune Stone

"Stortorget", or "the main square", is situated at the Old Town's highest point. Here, paths on the whole island came together, and people gathered here long before Stockholm became a town. This is where everything began, and where everything happened after that. The daily market was held here, news was delivered and at the pillory the inhabitants could amuse themselves by looking at criminals who had been chained there as a punishment. 
The medieval Stockholm was influenced by the Germans, and that is why Stortorget's model is the German squares at that time. What was then the Town Hall, and the church, are situated here. The church was originally only a small chapel. From the 14th century, the mayor of Stockholm and his council held their meetings in the town hall. Here was also the jail, "the White Horse". In the 1730' the council moved from here and the City Hall was demolished. Instead, the Stockholm stock exchange moved here. Since 2001, the house is the home of the Nobel museum. The Swedish Academy, which was founded in the house in 1786 and which among other things every year elects the Nobel prize laureate in literature, has the second floor of the house at its disposal. 
The houses around the square were constructed in the 17th or 18th century, often on medieval foundation or with several floors of medieval walls. 
The well, known as Stortorgsbrunnen, was created in 1778 by the architect Erik Palmstedt who also designed the stock exchange building. 
On Stortorget, the Stockholm blood bath took place in 1520.

Stortorget

The narrow alleys and streets in medieval Stockholm could be a very dangerous place. The crime rate was high. In the Town Hall, here on Stortorget - the Main Square - they were sentenced: thieves and murderers, those who had committed adultery and those who had insulted somebody. The hardest punishment was death. Decapitation was more honorable than hanging. And the more brutal the crime, the higher the criminal had to hang. He, or she, should be dishonoured all the way to death. 
Poor servants or people who didn't have a job or a home, were sentenced harder. Small thefts were enough to hang a maid or a farmhand - especially if they had stolen from their master or the church. 
In the medieval Stockholm people were also punished for making noise at night, and waking people up. All it took was tripping over a sleeping pig in a jet black alley! 
To insult somebody was expensive - especially if you called the person "bödel", which was the name for the executioner. He was the most despised person in Stockholm. He often was a criminal who was sentenced to death but who had escaped his own punishment by taking this job. People kept away from him, and since he had been branded with the town's mark and had his ears cut off, he was easily recognized. His wife had to wear the same kind of hat as did the prostitutes. To call somebody "executioner", who wasn't one, could be expensive. However, if you happened to kill the executioner, the punishment was not very hard. 
To speak badly about the mayor or the members of the town council also cost a fine. And - if you spoke badly about the King, and was caught ... the punishment was death.

Photo <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_Bloodbath.jpg" target="_blank">Stockholm Bloodbath</a>&nbsp;by is licensed under&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

Punishments in Medieval Stockholm

In November 1520 Stortorget was the scene of one of the darkest episodes in the history of Stockholm, "the Stockholm bloodbath". In a few days close to a hundred people were executed and murdered on the order of Danish King Kristian II - he, who in Sweden was called Kristian the Tyrant. 
It all started when Kristian came to Stockholm to hold a national meeting. He had reestablished the union between Sweden and Denmark, and decided to break the Swedish resistance. 
After he was crowned in the church here, on the 4th of November, festivities were held for three days at the castle. Dignitaries from all parts of Sweden were invited to participate, and had come. They trusted king Kristian when he said he would spare the former enemies of the Danish union kings. On the third day, though, Kristian had the doors to the banquet hall locked. His promise to grant amnesty was no longer valid. The next morning death sentences were quickly pronounced and carried out. The executioners beheaded knights, bishops, three of Stockholm's mayors and 14 members of the town council. Burghers were taken from their homes and beheaded, or hanged if the gallows were occupied. The bodies and the cut off heads were transported on carts to the height of Södermalm just south of here, and burnt on three bonfires which were seen all around. 
The year after the blood bath, Kristian II - Kristian the Tyrant, was removed from the Swedish throne. Gustav Eriksson Vasa was elected Riksföreståndare - or "head of Sweden". His father, the council member Erik Johansson Vasa, was one of the many who lost their lives in the blood bath. Two and a half years later, the 6th of June 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden.

Photo <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sten_Sture_d.%C3%A4._int%C3%A5g_i_Stockholm_(1864)_m%C3%A5lning_av_Georg_von_Rosen.jpg" target="_blank">Sten Sture d.ä. intåg i Stockholm (1864) målning av Georg von Rosen</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_von_Rosen" target="_blank">Georg von Rosen</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

The Stockholm Bloodbath

One of the houses you easily notice at Stortorget is the high, red one on number 20 - the Schantzka huset. Johan Eberhardt Schantz was a secretary working for the King, Karl X Gustav (the 10th), and in 1650 he had the medieval house rebuilt. He also wanted that the bloodbath which had taken place in front of his house 130 years earlier, should be acknowledged. He had a white stone put on the house for each one of the 92 persons who were executed. The legend says that as long as the stones are left on the house the people who were killed in the bloodbath will have peace. But if a stone disappears, the person whom the stone represents will walk around as a restless soul on the streets for ever. 
Almost a hundred years ago, the city of Stockholm bought the Schantzka house as well as the Seyfridtska next to it, in order to preserve them in their original state. The Seyfridtska house has walls from medieval times all the way up to the third floor, and its façade is from the beginning of the 18th century. 
Stay with your back towards Stortorget. Now look on the house to your left, in the corner between Stortorget and Skomakargatan. A couple of meters up in the wall, sits a cannon ball! 
The observant person may already have noticed the sign of war here on Stortorget - a cannon ball in the wall in the corner between Stortorget and Skomakargatan! 
The legend says, that the cannon ball was fired from Brunkeberg, which is a good way from here, when Gustav Vasa besieged Stockholm in 1521. It is said to have been meant for the Danish king Kristian "the Tyrant". It is also said to have been close to hitting him! 
But - that is just a legend. The house where the cannon ball sits wasn't built until 1795. But the furniture salesman who had it built, put it there for us to remember the events here on Stortorget, among them the terrible blood bath.

92 White Stones & Canon Ball

Börshuset was built 1773-1778 after the medieval Town Hall had been demolished and the town council had moved to the Bonde palace close by. The Stockholm stock exchange was here for almost 200 years, until it moved in 1998. In the beginning, trade with commodities like groceries, aquavit and grain also took place here. Not until 1863 the first real stock auction was held in Börshuset. 
On the second floor, the burgher class had its meetings until the class parliament was abolished in 1866. 
In 1786, King Gustav III founded the Swedish Academy in the house. The Academy every year appoints the Nobel prize laureate in literature. Since 1914 the Academy has Börshuset's second floor at its disposal. 
Since 2001 the ground floor is home to Nobelmuseet, the Nobel Museum.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSC00738,_Gamla_Stan,_Stockholm,_Sweden_(336816612).jpg" target="_blank">DSC00738, Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden (336816612)</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/21203533@N00" target="_blank">Jim G</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a>

Stockholm Stock Exchange Building

In medieval times, there was only one parish church in Sweden's future capital. People called it "the town church", not to confuse it with the Grey Friar monastery church on the island of Riddarholmen. Both churches were built in the 13th century. To show that Stockholm was close to water, Storkyrkan bears the name "Saint Nicolaus" who is the patron saint of all navigators. 
Already in 1336, a crowning took place in Storkyrkan - the one of King Magnus Eriksson and Queen Blanka of Namur. In the 17th century, the people of Stockholm started saying "Storkyrkan" - the Great Church - about what in 1942 became the cathedral of Stockholm. 
Not much remains of the old town church from the 13th century. It has been ravaged by fire several times, been rebuilt and had new structures added. In the 16th century one part was torn down. King Gustav Vasa felt that it was in the way, if he would have to shoot at the enemy from the castle. The King wanted to demolish the whole church, but was stopped by people who cared more about the church than he did. The most eastern part of the church disappeared at that time, though. 
In the 18th century, the exterior was altered in order to agree with the royal palace in baroque style, which was reopened in 1754 after an extensive rebuilding.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20130430_Storkyrkan_Stockholm_3260.jpg" target="_blank">20130430 Storkyrkan Stockholm 3260</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jakubhal" target="_blank">Jakub Hałun</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Storkyrkan

The Royal Palace in Stockholm started with a defense tower. Probably it was there as early as the 12th century. Those who built it, and those who continued to build it during the centuries, understood the importance of surveillance here where hostile navigators otherwise would find their way into Lake Mälaren. 
Eventually, the expanded tower had grown into a castle and around this castle the town grew. To protect the town, a wall was built. And when the first settlement grew out of its walls, a wider wall was built. 
The castle was named Tre Kronor - Three Crowns, and became home of the Swedish kings until 1697. Every king who lived here until then expanded and changed the castle after his own taste. When the fire started in Tre Kronor on May 7th 1697, only the northern building - which was being rebuilt at the time - did not get completely destroyed.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slottet_Tre_Kronor_1661.jpg" target="_blank">Slottet Tre Kronor 1661</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govert_Camphuysen" target="_blank">Govert Camphuysen</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

The Castle Tre Kronor

Kristina Gyllenstierna was the aunt of the man who would defeat the Danish and in 1523 become the king of Sweden, Gustav Vasa. The statue of her on the Royal Palace's outer court yard was made by Theodor Lundberg in 1912. It was not put there because Kristina Gyllenstierna was related to the king, but because she in May 1520 led the defense of Stockholm against Danish king Kristian II (the 2nd) - in Sweden called "the Tyrant". Kristina had become the leader of the Stureparty when her husband, Sten Sture the younger, was killed in battle against the Danish only 27 years old. The Stureparty wanted to free Sweden from the union with Denmark. 
The Danish siege of Stockholm lasted for three months, before the town surrendered to the Danish king. In November he came back and arranged the Stockholm blood bath. No women were executed, but Kristina was taken to Denmark as a prisoner. When she returned, she was forced by her nephew Gustav Vasa to promise never to engage herself in politics again.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kristina_Nilsdotter_Gyllenstierna_(ur_Svenska_Familj-Journalen).png" target="_blank">Kristina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna (ur Svenska Familj-Journalen)</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svenska_Familj-Journalen" target="_blank">Svenska Familj-Journalen</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

Kristina Gyllenstierna

You can visit the Palace and the Royal Apartments, as well as several museums devoted to the Swedish regal history. To learn more about the early history, visit Museum Tre Kronor or Livrustkammaren. Museum Tre Kronor describes the old castle's development from being just a defense tower, to today's renaissance palace. To enter the museum you walk through more than 5 meters of city wall from the 13th century. Museum Tre Kronor is situated in the palace's north wing. 
Livrustkammaren - the Armoury, on the other side of the palace, is the oldest museum in Sweden. It was created in 1628, when king Gustav II Adolf (the 2nd) decided that the clothes he wore while in war with the Poles, should be preserved. Among his possessions is also his shirt from November 6th 1632 when he was killed in battle in Lützen. His faithful horse Streiff is also here - or, rather, the hide which was put over a wooden stand. Livrustkammaren has one of the world's finest collection of robes, weapons, wagons and saddles. 
Also in the north wing is the Museum of Antiquities of Gustav III (the 3rd). It opened in 1794, and is based on the sculptures which the king bought in Italy in the end of the 18th century. The 200 sculptures are shown as an honor to Gustav III, who was murdered at a masquerade ball at the opera house in 1792. 
In dark cellar vaults underneath the palace you can see the monarchy's most important symbols - the regalia.

Photo <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yttre_borgg%C3%A5rden_fr%C3%A5n_Storkyrkans_torn.jpg" target="_blank">Yttre borggården från Storkyrkans torn</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Maukie" target="_blank">Maukie</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

The Royal Museums

Not until 1754, 57 years after the devastating fire, the royal family could move into the new palace. From the old castle Tre Kronor only the northern part remained. It was undergoing rebuilding when the fire started, and was hardly damaged at all. The reconstructed palace had been built after the plan architect Nicodemus Tessin presented just a few weeks after the fire. The royal family in 1754 consisted of king Adolf Fredrik and queen Lovisa Ulrika with their four children. The twelve year old son would inherit the throne under the name Gustav III (the 3rd). 
The long and very expensive war which Sweden had fought with Russia from 1700, is the reason why the palace took so long to build. The reconstruction completely stopped in 1707, when the state's cash box was empty. Six years after the end of the war, in 1727, the building of the new palace started again. 
The palace still is the official residence of the king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf (the 16th) and much of his representation takes place here. The palace has more than 600 rooms, divided between seven floors. Many are open to the public including the Royal Apartments, the state room and the treasury with the regalia, the symbols of the monarchy.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_palace_Stockholm.jpg" target="_blank">Royal palace Stockholm</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kulmalukko" target="_blank">Tiia Monto</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

The Royal Palace

This was the home of architect Nicodemus Tessin the younger. He is known as "the palace architect" - he created the new royal palace, which we see today. This building replaced the medieval castle that was destroyed in a fire 1697. Only the north wing remained after that fire. At the time it was undergoing rebuilding after Tessin's plan. 
Short after the fire a rumour spread, saying that Tessin had arranged the fire - so that his idea of a completely new palace could be realized. Actually, he had warned about what could happen; the old castle hade roofs covered with peat, and several wooden houses were connected to the castle. 
Nicodemus Tessin's own home was built 1694-1700. So, he had a good view when the fire struck on May 7th 1697. His palace in baroque still has the yellow colour that the new royal palace originally had, and which a lot of the people in Stockholm today woud prefer on the palace. 
Nicodemus Tessin's son Carl Gustaf was by economic reasons forced to sell the family home in the 1740's. It is now owned by the state and the home of the county governor of Stockholm.

Image: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tessinisches_palais_stockholm.jpg">"Tessinisches palais stockholm"</a> by&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nordelch" title="User:Nordelch">Udo Schröter</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Tessin Palace

On August 19th 1252 Birger Jarl, the then mightiest man in Sweden, sent a letter from "Stockholm". That was the first time the name was used in writing, and the first known date in the history of the city. Birger Jarl told peasants outside of Stockholm that they would have to pay taxes to the church - the so-called "tithe". The letter is preserved in the Swedish National Archives. 
But what does "Stockholm" mean? Well, there is no simple answer. A legend tells of pirates who burnt the town of Sigtuna in the end of the 12th century, and that the inhabitants there rescued their valuables in a hollow log - the name for "log" in Swedish is "stock". Where the log reached land their new town was founded, and given the name "Stockholm". The medieval merchants called the town "Holm", which in latin became "Holmia". The most probable explanation, though, is that the name came from the poles - "stockar" - which were put in the water outside of the island to stop hostile enemies from entering. 
For those who lived here, Stockholm was for a long time simply called "Staden" - "the Town".

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm-Storkyrkan_01.jpg" target="_blank">Stockholm-Storkyrkan 01</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Godewind" target="_blank">Jürgen Howaldt</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>

Stockholm Name

Köpmangatan is among the oldest streets in Stockholm. In medieval time there were small booths on both sides of the street where food, handicrafts and other merchandise was sold. Already in 1323 Köpmangatan was mentioned in the town's documents, which makes it the oldest known street name in Stockholm. Köpmangatan begins at Stortorget, the town center during medieval times, then goes east to where the harbor was. In the end of Köpmangatan stood the city wall, and the gate called "Köpmanporten". 
The street is 120 meters long, and if you follow it eastwards today you do not reach the water - in fact, you get only half way there. That is because Lake Mälaren west of the island, and the Baltic east of it, reached higher when the street was built. Also, the early stockholmers threw their garbage in the water and large fillings were made here in the 17th century to make possible the building of big palaces here.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%B6pmangatan_julbelysning_2011.jpg" target="_blank">Köpmangatan julbelysning 2011</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Holger.Ellgaard" target="_blank">Holger.Ellgaard</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Köpmangatan

In almost every house along Köpmangatan merchandise of some kind was sold. The craftsmen had their workshops in the basement and the stalls towards the street. They lived upstairs. Windows was a luxury, which only the church and a few rich people could afford. Instead, the craftsmen used a flap which they opened in the daytime. When the bottom flap was open, it could be used as a counter. Keep your eyes open, and you will see several medieval flaps . Look, for example, on those on Köpmangatan number 9, or on the other side of the street - number 16. There are flaps everywhere! 
In medieval Stockholm merchants, the burghers, were a favoured group. Most successful, and therefore with most power, were the German merchants. Beneath them on the social ladder stood the craftsmen. They were organized in guilds. And only if her husband had died, could a woman operate a business. 
Maids and servants, farmhands, the merchants' assistants, working women, those who lacked a job and beggars were more or less looked upon as "vagrants". Social borders were sharp.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tintin_aff%C3%A4ren_01.JPG" target="_blank">Tintin affären 01</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Egon_Eagle" target="_blank">Egon Eagle</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 3.0</a>

Stalls

This open place is called "Brända Tomten" - "the Burnt Site", because that is what it is: a site which is not settled. Once upon a time, though, there was a house here. It was destroyed in a fire. 
Because there were few open places between houses, fires were common in the old Stockholm. The results were disastrous. Eventually, houses made of wood were forbidden. Especially during the 15th century many fires ravaged Gamla stan. One of them, in 1407, was caused by lightning and according to some sources 1600 people died and only a couple of houses remained. 
The house that stood here, on Brända Tomten, burnt in 1728. A new house was built here, but smaller in order for the fire brigade to get through and maybe even for the vehicles to turn around.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br%C3%A4nda_tomten_2010.jpg" target="_blank">Brända tomten 2010</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Holger.Ellgaard" target="_blank">Holger.Ellgaard</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Brända Tomten

Try to look upwards on the façades of the houses in Gamla stan, as much as you can. Most houses have some sort of iron mounts - they are called "ankarslutar". They have different shapes and sizes depending on when they were made. Look for example on the houses in the beginning of Själagårdsgatan, close to Köpmangatan! 
The iron mounts are sitting in the end of the log holding up the building. Sometimes old mounts have been reused, and don't fit with the age of the house they're used on. But, since the styles have changed through the centuries, it is else possible to through the mounts closely establish the age of a house. 
In medieval times, but also from the middle of the 18th century and onwards, the mounts most often were rather simple. The centuries in between, they were bigger and more stylished. On this street, Själagårdsgatan numbers 1-7, you can see examples of several different ones.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%B6pmantorget_10_ankarslutar_mars_2007.JPG" target="_blank">Köpmantorget 10 ankarslutar mars 2007</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Mats_Halldin&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" target="_blank">Mats Halldin</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Ankarslutar - Iron Mounts

Själagårdsgatan has its name after Själagården, which was situated on Själagårdsgatan number 13. Today's building at that place is not even a hundred years old, but if you enter and go down into the basement you will come to the 1420s. Själagården belonged to the church, and preachers lived and ate for free there. However, preachers were not entrusted with keys since it wasn't sure that they would be able to stay away from wicked acts going on in the town at night! 
Själagården was run by a foundation which also helped poor people with food, and once a month invited them to a bath. Old people with money could buy themselves a place here for the rest of their lives. 
In the beginning of the 16th century, when Sweden broke with the Catholic church, Själagården was closed. Instead, the royal printing house moved in. One of the books printed here was Olaus Petri's Swedish translation of the New Testament. Eventually, the premises deteriorated and the house was demolished. Since the 1930' the church's home for retired people is situated here. Again. 
 
The medieval Stockholm was a crowded place. Houses were very close to each other, and families were big. Not only the many fires struck hard; also contagious diseases, like the plague, spread rapidly and epidemics caused many deaths. In one outbreak of the plague in 1495, a sixth of the inhabitants died - around a thousand people. 
Stockholm was a dirty, smelly and unhealthy place to live. The person who owned a house was responsible for the cleaning of the street in front of it, and swept the trash downwards. Since everybody threw their garbage in the streets, it was more practical to live on a higher level. The wealthy merchants and craftsmen who worked with gold and other luxury products, therefore built their houses close to the Main Square - Stortorget. 
In the 17th century the inhabitants of Stockholm were forbidden to throw garbage in the castle's moat water, since the smell already was so bad. 
The people here didn't only live very close together; they also shared their space with cows, pigs, goats and hens. In the summer animals were not allowed inside the walls, but many people didn't care and hid their animals in the basement or in the attic. 
There were many baths in medieval Stockholm. The nobility usually had their own private baths, while merchants and craftsmen visited the official baths. There were also illegal bath houses where farm hands, maids and sailors could get clean for less money. And, if you were poor and couldn't afford a bath, there were charity institutions in medieval Stockholm which helped with that.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sj%C3%A4lag%C3%A5rdsgatan_2009.jpg" target="_blank">Själagårdsgatan 2009</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Holger.Ellgaard" target="_blank">Holger.Ellgaard</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Själagårdsgatan

In medieval Stockholm monks and nuns were a common sight. The Dominican monastery, or the Black Friar's convent, was the 2nd largest building after the castle Tre Kronor. It had been founded in 1343, and the abbey opened a year later. The Dominican brothers wore a long, black cover over a white garment and were therefore called Black Friars. It's after them the street we just walked on and where their convent was situated, is called Svartmansgatan - it means "the street of black men". 
Convents and monasteries were a part of the Catholic church, and the reformation in 1527 meant the end for them. The last Black Friar's left the convent in 1533, and their church was demolished in 1547. Left of the once so big building are the cellars, with the entrance via a discrete door on Benickebrinken number 4. When the convent existed, the cellars hosed a shelter. 
When king Gustav Vasa closed the convent, he also had a plate melted down which belonged to the Black Friars'. The plate was made from 11 kilos of silver and showed how Jesus was lifted from the cross. The plate was believed to cure diseases, even to make people rise from the dead. The king used the silver to pay off a war debt. 
At the time of the reformation there also were Franciscan monks, or Grey Friars, in Stockholm. In Saint Klara's convent there were about 30 nuns.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dominikanerkyrkan,_Vadersolstavlan.jpg" target="_blank">Dominikanerkyrkan, Vadersolstavlan</a>"&nbsp;by Unknown&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

The Black Friars

Feel the sent from exotic spices - cloves, ginger, nutmeg and pepper! Look at the groceries from abroad! Admire the colors and the patterns on glass and ceramics, silk and velvet! Listen to the merchants - all claim their commodities to be the best. And cheapest! 
This is the Iron Square - Järntorget. It had this name already in 1489. The square was the center for commerce and shipping on Stockholm, dominated by the Germans. Stockholm's richest people lived here. The square got its name from being a store for iron from northern Sweden . Here, tolls and fees were drawn, and that is why Stockholm came to be placed right here. 
On Järntorget stood the scales where heavy merchandise like iron, butter and fat from seals was weighed and taxed before export. In 1662 the scales were moved from here to the other side of the locks, south of here. 
Try to imagine what this place looked like then - with sailors of different nationalities, fishermen from other islands, port workers, iron carrier and iron controllers, customs officers, book keepers and assistants from firms in towns around the Baltic. Here were merchants from abroad with permission to operate in Stockholm, as well as the town's own merchants - all had to obey the rules of the commerce union the Hanseatic league. 
Through Järntorget came iron and copper from northern Sweden, grain, furs, hides, butter, fat and salmon for export. In the opposite direction - into Sweden - came salt, fabrics, beer, wine and luxuries like groceries, spices, glass and ceramics. 
 
The Hanseatic league - here called "Hansan" - was Europe's first common market. This powerful German union was founded in the 12th century and dominated commerce in Northern Europe for 400 years. The league's center was Lübeck. During its heydays, it had many hundreds of member cities from England in the west to Venice in the south. Even though Stockholm officially was not a member, the German merchants dominated commerce here until the 16th century. Only Visby in Sweden, on the island of Gotland, was an official member of Hansan. 
The power of the Hanseatic League was broken in the middle of the 16th century. Commerce continued, but was taken over by whole states.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J%C3%A4rntorget_Stockholm_Gamla_Stan.jpg" target="_blank">Järntorget Stockholm Gamla Stan</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Olaf2" target="_blank">Olaf Meister</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>

Järntorget

Västerlånggatan has had, and still has, many different functions. It is Gamla stan's largest shopping and tourist street. In summer and during weekends it is often very crowded. 
In medieval times Västerlånggatan was only a path close to the shore of Lake Mälaren, and a part of the main road between the region Uppland, north of Stockholm, and Södermanland, south of Stockholm. It was also the road on the outside of Stockholm's defense wall. If you follow Västerlånggatan from Järntorget and north, you should try to "think away" the houses on the right side of the street and instead imagine the high wall standing there. At that time, Västerlånggatan was named something like "the long street west of the wall". When the town in the 15th century grew out of the wall, Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan on the other side of the wall became the main streets. 
Västerlånggatan is 490 meters long. There are many beautiful portals along the street, which shows that it was the prime street in the medieval Stockholm.

Image: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:V%C3%A4sterl%C3%A5nggatan_January_2015.jpg">"Västerlånggatan January 2015"</a> by&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ArildV" title="User:ArildV">Arild Vågen</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>

Västerlånggatan

Be attentive now - we will walk into a lane so narrow, that you can pass it without even knowing that you did: Mårten Trotzigs gränd! 
Mårten Trotzig's last name was Traubtzich when he came from Germany in 1581. He soon became one of the richest merchants in Stockholm. He traded with iron and copper, ran a market booth and an inn. His life ended dramatically - on a business trip to Dalarna, a region north of Stockholm, in March 1617 he was attacked and killed. 
Mårten Trotzig owned several houses around this lane. It is the narrowest in Gamla stan, only 90 centimeters in some places. It is also the only preserved step lane in Gamla stan. The 36 steps tie together Västerlånggatan and Prästgatan, and this probably is the place where the difference of altitude on the island become most evident.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marten-Trotzigs-Graend.jpg" target="_blank">Marten-Trotzigs-Graend</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mastad" target="_blank">Mastad</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

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Mårten Trotzigs Gränd

The medieval wall around Stockholm was demolished towards the end of the 17th century, when the town grew and had to be defended further away from the houses. In cellars and house foundations parts of the wall remain. Left of us, between Prästgatan and Västerlånggatan which we just left, stood the wall. 
In the 15th century 6000 people lived inside the wall. That was about the same amount as in Rostock and Stralsund, which also were situated at the Baltic. The most important trading partner, Lübeck in Germany, was four times as big. 
Stockholm was well fortified. To the east, the wall was steadier since the risk of an attack was greater there. On the other side, towards Lake Mälaren, it was thinner and because of the trading that took place around Järntorget there was no wall at all in the southern part of the island. 
At the two main gates, it was decided who were allowed to stay in the town - those not desired were thrown out. 
The wall had 17 towers. Some of these had a smaller gate, which was locked at nighttime. If the enemy came close, the drawbridges were pulled. 
Look at the map of Gamla stan, and it is evident where the wall stood. Most streets are straight, but Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan are not - because they, in medieval times, followed the wall on either side of it. At that time both streets were close to the shore.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_karta_1547_stadsmurar.jpg" target="_blank">Stockholm karta 1547 stadsmurar</a>"&nbsp;by Holger Ellgaard&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a>

The City Wall

In front of you now, while walking along Prästgatan, is one of Gamla stan's most medieval views. Prästgatan was next to the wall - on the inside, and is one of the oldest streets in Stockholm. In some houses here remain parts of the city wall. If we were to continue until the end of Prästgatan, we would reach Helvetesgränden, which means "Hell's Lane". People believed that the world you came to after death was situated in the North, so that is why. Also, during some time in medieval Stockholm the most despised citizen, the executioner, lived here. 
"Prästgatan" is called so, because of the preachers who lived in this street - from Storkyrkan and from the German church. The street was divided in "Svenska prästgatan" - the Swedish Preachers' Street, and "Tyska prästgatan" - the German Preachers' Street.

Image: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pr%C3%A4stgatan_juni_2010.jpg" target="_blank">Prästgatan juni 2010</a>"&nbsp;by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Holger.Ellgaard" target="_blank">Holger.Ellgaard</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Prästgatan

The Germans have played an important part in Stockholm's earliest history. Merchants in Germany sent their sons to Sweden to look after their economic interests in the iron and copper trade. The town law, which was written in the 14th century, stated that there should be as many German as Swedish mayors - three of each. It was the same for the members of the town council - half of them should be Swedish. This was primarily a protection for the Swedish merchants; if there was no law on how many could be Germans, these would take over completely! 
In the end of the 16th century around twelve per cent of the citizens of Stockholm were Germans. For more than 300 years already, the town had been influenced by the German culture. By then, the power of the dominant trade organization the Hanseatic League had begun to decrease. 
Northern Europe had been influenced also by the merchants and craftsmen who moved here. They organized the towns after German model - with a mayor and a council who made the decisions and had everything under control, and with guilds for the craftsmen. The member towns of the Hanseatic League were influenced also by German architecture and culture, as well as by the language.

The German Stockholm

It is only natural that the German Church - "Saint Gertrud" - is higher than everything else in Gamla stan. The rooster on its tower looks down on the old "German" town from 96 meters. 
Before the church came here, the German population had since the 14th century met in a house belonging to Saint Gertrud's guild. After 1527, when the Swedish church separated itself from catolicism, sermons should no longer be held in Latin but in Swedish. There was a need, then, for a church for the many German citizens of Stockholm. In 1642 the church got its present appearance and size. The tower is from the end of the 19th century - the original one was destroyed in a fire in 1878. 
The German parish also had a school in the church, and in the beginning of the 17th century king Gustav II Adolf (the 2nd) gave his permission to the establishment of a regular German school for boys in the corner of today's streets Tyska skolgränd and Själagårdsgatan. 
Every day the church reminds visitors to Gamla stan about life in medieval Stockholm, when the Germans ruled over almost all of it. Four times a day, the chime of bells plays old German religious songs with their original tunes. 
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The German Church

Welcome to the tour “Gamla Stan”. As you probably already know by now, Gamla Stan means old town and we would like to&nbsp;invite you to walk through the beautiful and historic old town of Stockholm. You will learn about the origins of Stockholm and get to take in the feel of life that had happened on medieval streets of this area in the middle ages. Stockholm bloodbath, punishments, legends and even more await you! Let's discover Gamla Stan together!

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Gamla Stan

Stockholm

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Stockholm

Gamla Stan

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