Bredgränd ( sv, Wide Alley) is an
alley in
Gamla stan, the old town of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Stretching from
Skeppsbron to
Österlånggatan
Österlånggatan () is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron. Major sights include the statue of Saint George ...
, it forms a parallel street to
Skeppar Karls Gränd
Skeppar Karls Gränd (Swedish: "Skipper Karl's Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Skeppsbron to Österlånggatan, it forms a parallel street to Telegrafgränd and Bredgränd.
History
The alley is ...
and
Kråkgränd
Kråkgränd (Swedish: "Crow Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching between Skeppsbron and Österlånggatan, it forms a parallel street to Bredgränd and Nygränd.
The alley is named after Knut Nilsson K ...
.
Names
Bredgränd appears in historical records as ''östan mur i bredha grandena'' ("east of the wall in the broad alley") in 1476 and as ''Östre Bredgränden'' ("East Broad-Alley") in 1570. The alley was called ''Tunnbindargränden'' from 1612 (''Tunnbindargränd'', "The Barrel Binding Alley") until 1711 when street names were regulated and it was named ''Bredgränd''. It was given the name ''Bredgränd'' because it actually is wider than neighbouring alleys closest to the waterfront while the vault in the western end makes the name slightly hilarious.
It was far from the only historical alley to be called 'wide' however; during 1400–1700, in the old town alone,
Ferkens Gränd was called ''Breda gränden östantill'' ("The Wide Alley on the East");
Funckens Gränd ''Breda gränden vid Kornhamn'' ("The Wide Alley at
Kornhamn"); and
Skräddargränd
Skräddargränd (Swedish: "Tailor's Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Västerlånggatan to Stora Nygatan, it forms a parallel street to Bedoirsgränd and Tyska Brinken.
History
The alley ...
''Breda gränden västantill'' ("The Wide Alley on the West"). On
Södermalm,
Bellmansgatan was also called 'Bredgränd'.
Archaeology
Archaeological excavations in 1944 unveiled a part of the city wall from the late Middle Ages. This section of the wall was built in stone, two metres at the base, and narrowing off towards the top. Other sections of it were built in brick and occasionally even half-timbered.
See also
*
List of streets and squares in Gamla stan
Gallery
Image:Bredgränd Marsyas 070405.JPG, Old warehouses on the southern side.
Image:Bredgränd valv B 070405.JPG, Western vault.
References
External links
hitta.se - Location map and virtual walkStockholmskällan - historical photos
Streets in Stockholm
{{Stockholm-road-stub