Features
A Stroll Around Gamla Stan
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A Stroll Around Gamla Stan
Stockholm's Gamla Stan (Old Town) - or staden mellan broarna, “the city among the bridges,” as it is more lyrically known
to Swedes - is not a perfectly preserved medieval townscape by any means. Disastrous fires in 1407 and 1640 destroyed the
original wooden buildings of medieval Gamla Stan. But the island nature of the settlement, its small area and its crowded
layout have spared Gamla Stan from too much modernization. What remains today is a superb enclave of old stone buildings dating
from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
You can wander at will through the Old Town without getting lost. On this tiny island you are never far from the waterside
or a bridge to re-orient yourself. Pick up an enlarged Gamla Stan map, widely available in stores, restaurants and tourist
venues, to help you find specific places.
There are many easily missed treasures hidden away from the busy main streets of Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan. Pay a
visit to the Great Church (Storkyrkan), Stockholm's 13th-century cathedral, which lies just south of the courtyard of the
Royal Palace. The church's finest artifact is the oak- and elkhorn-gilded sculpture of St. George and the Dragon, a 15th-century
Gothic masterpiece of thorny carving. You may be lucky and catch a lunchtime organ recital or other musical performance in
the church.
From the church, go into the narrow street of Trångsund and then turn left past a charming old phone booth to reach Great
Square (Stortorget). This was the scene in 1520 of the notorious Stockholm “Blood Bath,” when Christian II of Denmark slaughtered
82 Swedish nobles and citizens in a bid to seal with blood his overlordship of Sweden. This brutal act inspired Gustav Vasa,
son of a murdered nobleman, to rebel successfully against Denmark and to secure Sweden's independence. On the west side of
Great Square is a row of splendid gabled houses with little cafés and restaurants on their ground floors. The 18th-century
Bourse, or Stock Exchange, commands the north side of the square. The Swedish Academy, the body that selects Nobel prize winners,
meets at the Bourse.
Leave the square via the east side and walk down Köpmangatan, “Street of the Merchants,” the oldest street in the Old Town
and home to several fine antique shops with attractively painted ceilings. At the end of Köpmangatan, in the little square
of Köpmantorget, is a dramatic reprise of the Great Church's statue of St. George and the Dragon, this time in bronze but
just as powerful. Farther east is Österlånggatan, a long, winding street that was once the Old Town's shoreline.
Bear right, down the short slope of Köpmanbrinken street, and then keep right along Österlånggatan, past stylish restaurants,
antique and craft stores, and fashion salons. There are lots of gift possibilities here, especially for children, in shops
such as Textilarna, Kalikå and Tomtar & Troll. The narrow streets running east to the sea, such as Drakens Gränd, Ferkens
Gränd and Packhusgränd, mark the old piers of the early medieval era. Near the end of Österlånggatan is the well-known restaurant
Den Gyldene Freden.
Soon you reach Iron Square (Järntorget), a name probably derived from the days when the Old Town's fortunes were built on
its status as the main outlet for the Swedish iron and copper trade. Here, against the wall of the old Central Bank, is the
remarkably lifelike statue of Stockholm poet Evart Taube, a popular performer who died in 1976. Take a break at the nearby
Sundbergs konditori, a long-established institution selling coffee and delicious pastries.
From Järntorget, turn right onto Västerlånggatan, the busiest street in the Old Town, crammed with stores and tempting restaurants
and cafés. On the right, just past the Mårten Trotzig restaurant, you'll pass the narrow entrance to Mårten Trotzigs Gränd,
reputed to be the narrowest alleyway in Stockholm and named after a German medieval copper trader who had a business here.
All the way along Västerlånggatan you will be tempted by souvenir stores; Swedish craft stores, such as Handcraft Swea at
No. 24; Hemlin's Bokhandel at No. 6, selling prints and lithographs; and a host of specialty shops. Note the glass-paneled
ceilings of many of the stores. Wandering along the delightful side streets is equally rewarding.
To end your Old Town excursion, stroll to where the bridge over the canal Stallkanalen leads through the arched passage to
the gate at Riksgatan. Follow this back into Stockholm via the shopping street of Drottninggatan.
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