1.
Stockholm City Hall
–
Stockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärdens northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as halls. It is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet and is one of Stockholms major tourist attractions, in 1907 the city council decided to build a new city hall at the former site of Eldkvarn. An architectural contest was held which in the first stage resulted in the selection of drafts by Ragnar Östberg, Carl Westman, Ivar Tengbom jointly with Ernst Torulf, and Carl Bergsten. After a further competition between Westman and Östberg the latter was assigned to the construction of the City Hall, while the former was asked to construct Stockholm Court House, Östberg modified his original draft using elements of Westmans project, including the tower. During the construction period, Östberg constantly reworked his plans, resulting in the addition of the lantern on top of the tower, oskar Asker was employed as construction leader and Paul Toll, of the construction company Kreuger & Toll, designed the foundations. Georg Greve also assisted in preparing the plans, the construction took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. Nearly eight million red bricks were used, the dark red bricks, called munktegel because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory near Södertälje. Construction was carried out by using traditional techniques. The building was inaugurated on 23 June 1923, exactly 400 years after Gustav Vasas arrival in Stockholm, verner von Heidenstam and Hjalmar Branting delivered the inaugurational speeches. The building follows a rectangular ground plan. It is built two open spaces, a piazza called Borgargården on the eastern side, and the Blue Hall to the west. The Blue Hall, with its walls and arcades, incorporates elements of a representative courtyard. Its walls are in fact without blue decorations, but it has kept its name after Östbergs original design and it is known as the dining hall used for the banquet held after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony. The organ in the Blue Hall is with its 10,270 pipes the largest in Scandinavia, above the Blue Hall lies the Golden Hall, named after the decorative mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history and they were executed by the Berlin, Germany, firm of Puhl & Wagner, after nine years of negotiations by Gottfried Heinersdorff for the commission. The southeast corner of the building, immediately adjacent to the shore, is marked by a tower crowned by the Three Crowns
2.
Islet
–
An islet is a very small island. As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of isle, use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. Cay or Key – an islet formed by the accumulation of sand deposits atop a reef Motu – A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand. River island – A small islet within the current of a river, rock – A rock, in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of rock, lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation. Sandbar – An exposed sandbar is another type of islet, Sea stack – A thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water. Skerry – A small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, subsidiary islets – A more technical application is to small land features, isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Likewise, any emergent land in an atoll is called an islet. Tidal island – Often small islands lie off the mainland of an area, being connected to it in low tide. In the Caribbean and West Atlantic, islets are often called cays or keys, rum Cay in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys off Florida are examples of islets. In the Channel Islands, they are identified by the suffix -hou from the Norse -holm. In Scotland and Ireland, they are often called inches, from the Gaelic innis, which originally meant island, in Ireland they are often termed skerries. In and around Polynesia, islets are widely known by the term motu, in and around the River Thames in England, small islands are known as aits or eyots. One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of Snake Island, there are thousands of islets on Earth, approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world, Islands or Rocks, Is that the Real Question. The Treatment of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, in Myron H. Nordquist, John Norton Moore, Alfred H. A. The Law of the Sea Convention, US Accession and Globalization
3.
Stockholm
–
The city is spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago and the Baltic Sea. The area has settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC. It is also the capital of Stockholm County, Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. The Stockholm region alone accounts for over a third of the countrys GDP and it is an important global city, and the main centre for corporate headquarters in the Nordic region. The city is home to some of Europes top ranking universities, such as the Stockholm School of Economics, Karolinska Institute and it hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall. One of the citys most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is known for its decoration of the stations. Swedens national football arena is located north of the city centre, Ericsson Globe, the national indoor arena, is in the southern part of the city. The city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics, and hosted the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics otherwise held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the judiciary, and the official residencies of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister. The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag is seated in the Parliament House, and the Prime Ministers residence is adjacent at the Sager House. After the Ice Age, around 8,000 BCE, there were already a number of people living in the present-day Stockholm area. Thousands of years later, as the ground thawed, the climate became tolerable, at the intersection of the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren is an archipelago site where the Old Town of Stockholm was first built from about 1000 CE by Vikings. They had a positive impact on the area because of the trade routes they created. Stockholms location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, and in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne, the earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word meaning fortification, the second part of the name means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. Stockholms core, the present Old Town was built on the island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid 13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League, Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga during this time
4.
Sweden
–
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
5.
Gamla stan
–
Gamla stan, until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna, is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen, officially, but not colloquially, Gamla stan includes the surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg. The town dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, north German architecture has had a strong influence in the Old Towns construction. Stortorget is the name of the large square in the centre of Gamla Stan. The square was the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath, where Swedish noblemen were massacred by the Danish King Christian II in November,1520, the following revolt and civil war led to the dissolution of the Kalmar Union and the subsequent election of King Gustav I. The House of Nobility is on the corner of Gamla stan. The restaurant Den gyldene freden is located on Österlånggatan and it has been in business since 1722 and according to the Guinness Book of Records is the oldest existing restaurant with an unaltered interior. A statue of St. George and the Dragon can be found in the Stockholm Cathedral, the plaque just below the statue says its name Järnpojken. It was created by Liss Eriksson in 1967, from the 1970s and 80s, however, it has become a tourist attraction as the charm of its medieval, Renaissance architecture and later additions have been valued by later generations. The name Stockholm originally referred to Gamla Stan only, but as the city expanded, the now also refers several suburban areas. The name Stockholm means log island in Swedish, the previous capital of Sweden was located in Sigtuna. A thousand years ago Sigtuna had problems with armed gangs attacking the city, the situation became untenable and there was a need to find a new location for the capital city of Sweden. According to legend the leaders in Sigtuna then took a log of wood, cut out all the wood inside, filled it with gold, the log was floating on the water for several days and eventually hit land on the island where Gamla Stan today is located. The island was named Stockholm or log island, meaning the place where the log had hit ground and this is where they decided to found the new capital of Sweden. The island of Stockholm had the advantage that it was an island and it also had the advantage from a trade point of view, that it was situated just at the inlet of Lake Mälaren, a big lake very important to contemporary trade, from the Baltic. A sculpture symbolizing the old log is found at Stadshuset. The name Gamla stan probably dates back to the early 20th century, the word stan is simply a contraction of the word staden, meaning the town. In 1957 a station of the Stockholm metro was opened here with the name Gamla stan, even though the official name was changed to Gamla stan in 1980, modern Stockholm is occasionally called The city between the bridges
6.
Riddarholm Church
–
The Riddarholm Church is the burial church of the Swedish monarchs. It is located on the island of Riddarholmen, close to the Royal Palace in Stockholm, the congregation was dissolved in 1807 and today the church is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Swedish monarchs from Gustavus Adolphus to Gustaf V are entombed here, as well as the earlier monarchs Magnus III and it has been discontinued as a royal burial site in favor of the Royal Cemetery and today is run by departments of the Swedish Government and Royal Court. It is one of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, parts of it dating to the late 13th century, after the Protestant Reformation, the monastery was closed and the building transformed into a Protestant church. A spire designed by Willem Boy was added during the reign of John III, coats of arms of knights of the Order of the Seraphim are on the walls of the church. When a knight of the Order dies, his coat of arms is hung in the church, gamla stan Storkyrkan The Riddarholm Church at the Royal Courts website
7.
Monarchy of Sweden
–
The Monarchy of Sweden concerns the monarchical head of state of Sweden, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Kingdom of Sweden has been a monarchy since time immemorial, Sweden in the present day is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system based on popular sovereignty, as defined in the current Instrument of Government. The monarch and the members of the Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other duties within Sweden. Carl XVI Gustaf became King on 15 September 1973 on the death of his grandfather, Sweden has been a kingdom since prehistoric times. Originally, the Swedish king had combined powers limited to that of a war chief, a judge, the Royal Court of Sweden, however, does count Olofs father as Swedens first king. The king was elected from a favored dynasty at the Stones of Mora. The ceremonial stones were destroyed around 1515 and that dynasty formed a pre-Kalmar Union Sweden into a strong state, and finally king Magnus IV even ruled Norway and Scania. Following the Black Death, the union was weakened, and Scania was reunited with Denmark. In 1397, after the Black Death and domestic power struggles, Queen Margaret I of Denmark united Sweden, Denmark, continual tension within each country and the union led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The unions final disintegration in the early 16th century led to prolonged rivalry between Denmark-Norway and Sweden for centuries to come. Catholic bishops had supported the King of Denmark, Christian II, Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden by the Estates of the Realm, assembled in Strängnäs on 6 June 1523. Inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther, Gustav I used the Protestant Reformation to curb the power of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1527 he persuaded the Estates of the Realm, assembled in the city of Västerås, to church lands. At the same time, he broke with the papacy and established a state church. Legally Sweden has only been a monarchy since 1544 when the Riksdag of the Estates, through Västerås arvförening. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly the new system was perceived as fairer, a war with Lübeck in 1535 resulted in the expulsion of the Hanseatic traders, who previously had had a monopoly on foreign trade. With its own burghers in charge, Swedens economic strength grew rapidly, Sweden now built the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and an efficient bureaucracy. At the death of King Gustav I in 1560, he was succeeded by his oldest son Eric XIV and his reign was marked by Swedens entrance into the Livonian War and the Northern Seven Years War
8.
Birger Jarl
–
Birger Jarl, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland, additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have founded the Swedish capital, Stockholm around 1250. Birger used the Latin title of Dux Sweorum which in English equals Duke of Sweden, and it is known that Birger grew up and spent his adolescence in Bjälbo, Östergötland but the exact date of his birth remains uncertain and available historical sources are contradictory. Examinations of his mortal remains indicate that he was probably about 50 upon his death in 1266 which would indicate a birth around 1216. However, his father Magnus Minnesköld is assumed to have died no later than 1210 and his brothers or half-brothers — Eskil, Karl, and Bengt — were all born long before 1200, and it can therefore be assumed that they had another mother. He was also a nephew of the jarl Birger Brosa from the House of Bjelbo, the combination of this background proved to be of vital importance. During the 15 years to follow, Birger then consolidated his position and was one of the most influential men years before being formally given the title jarl in 1248 by King Eric XI. Although Birger Jarl saw many battles, some have speculated that traces of a blow in Birgers cranium might have originated from this battle. However, the original 14th-century Russian version of the battle had no information on this at all, in 1247, royal troops led by Birger at the Battle of Sparrsätra fought with Folkung forces led by pretender Holmger Knutsson, son of King Canute II. The Folkungs lost the battle and were unable to resist the central government, Holmger Knutsson fled to Gästrikland and was captured there by Birger in the following year. Quickly brought to trial, he was beheaded, in 1249, Birger succeeded in ending a decades-long period of hostilities with Norway. As a part of the Treaty of Lödöse, he managed to marry off his daughter Rikissa, then only 11 years old, to Haakon Haakonsson the Young. Presumably later that year, Birger led an expedition to Finland, later dubbed as the Second Swedish Crusade, on King Erics death in 1250, Birgers son Valdemar was elected as the new king while Birger acted as regent, holding the true power in Sweden until his death. Birger thus combined financial support from Germany with papal political support to consolidate his own position, ingeborg died in 1254 and in 1261 Birger married the widow of King Abel of Denmark, the Danish queen dowager, Matilda of Holstein. Birger died on 21 October 1266, at Jälbolung in Västergötland and his grave in Varnhem Abbey was opened in May 2002. There is a cenotaph for him at the base of the tower of Stockholm City Hall and it was originally intended that his remains be removed there, but this was never done. Several other historical structures there are named for him including the street Birger Jarlsgatan on Norrmalm. The Hotel Birger Jarl is located in Stockholms Norrmalm neighborhood and he is also the central figure of Bröllopet på Ulvåsa by Frans Hedberg
Media related to Riddarholmen at Wikimedia Commons