Baggensgatan is a street in

Gamla stan Gamla stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Officially, but not colloquially, Gamla stan ...

, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Forming a southern extension to the street

Bollhusgränd Bollhusgränd (Swedish: "Ball House Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Named after Bollhuset, a historical theatre, it connects Slottsbacken to Köpmantorget, and as Baggensgatan extends the alley furth ...

near the square Köpmantorget, it stretches to the southern end of

Svartmangatan Svartmangatan ( sv, (literally)) "Black Man Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south-east from the central square Stortorget to Södra Benickebrinken and Norra Benickebrinken leading to the easter ...

. It forms a parallel street to Själagårdsgatan and

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 ...

, while being intercepted by Tyska Skolgränd.

Origin of the name

Appearing in historical records as ''Jakob Baggæs gathe'' in 1596, the street was named after the then admiral

Jakob Bagge Jakob Tordsson Bagge (1 May 1502 – 14 January 1577) was a Norwegian born, Swedish admiral and nobleman. Biography Bagge was born the son of Norwegian nobleman Thord Olofsson Bagge and his wife Ingeborg Jakobsdotter. Both he and his father ...

(1502–1577) (later governor at the Royal Palace) who was given a lot by King

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

at number 30 in 1536. It is mentioned as ''Baggenss gatu'' 1638.

History

Together with

, Baggensgatan formed a thoroughfare passing just inside the eastern city wall, just like Prästgatan passed just inside the western wall. The difference in altitude between these thoroughfares and those who passed just outside the city walls, is biggest between Österlånggatan and Baggensgatan, almost ten metres. In the southern end, the lowest section of the street, was the

Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm The Black Friars' Monastery, ''Svartbrödraklostret'', also called the convent of Stockholm, was a Dominican monastery on the island of Stadsholmen (''City Island'') in central Stockholm, founded by King Magnus IV in 1336 when he donated a plot ...

Notable buildings

On Number 14 lived the opera diva Elisabeth Olin, at the age of 33 she became the first

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage per ...

at the inauguration of the opera of King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

on January 18, 1773. Her voice was described as supernatural and though she retired from singing after ten years, she is said to have kept her beauty until her death at the age of 87. The building on Number 23 was known as ''Ahlströms jungfrubur'' ("The Maiden Cage of Ahlström"). It was bought in 1762 by a captain Magnus Ahlström who is described as having created a "virtual temple of Venus with space for the priestesses on all three floors". Though the brothel made Ahlström rich, it often resulted in squads of prostitutes spending time at the

Långholmen prison Långholmen Prison, officially Långholmen Central Prison ( sv, Långholmens centralfängelse), was historically one of the largest prison facilities in Sweden with more than 500 cells, located on the island of Långholmen in Stockholm. It was b ...

while all the taverns and other brothels gave the street a bad reputation for a long time. The building on Number 25 used to be a stable, the shutters were the only thing protecting the horses from the harsh Swedish winters. On the façade of Number 27 is the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of Scotch Anders Keith and his wife who lived in the building in the end of the 16th century when he served King John III. He sold the building to Sigismund of Sweden and Poland, who, wanting to reintroduce Catholicism in Sweden, used it as a presbytery and a chapel, a failed propaganda campaign which gave the building the name ''Paptistkyrkan'' ("The Papist Church").

In culture

The troubadour

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

(1740–1795) dedicated one of his songs to Baggensgatan: : ''Sång 54'' : Mollberg höll flaskan - Om Baggensgatan : Song 54 : Mollberg held the bottle - About Baggensgatan The song gives a burlesque description of the alley, detailing maidens nodding in every corner, buildings filled with girls up to the attic busy sharing songs, kisses, and beds. The song ends: ''Släck ljuset! Nu ä Lotta min.'' / "Turn off the light! Now, Lotta is mine."

Gallery

Image:Baggensgatan solgata mars 2007.jpg, Intense contrasts between sun and shadow during the bright season. Image:Baggensgatan 25 070329.JPG, Shutters at Number 25. Image:Baggensgatan 17-19 070329.JPG, Façades of number 17-19. Image:Baggensgatan 27 stentavla 29mars 2007.jpg, Stone table at Number 27.

Notes

# ''Bagge'' also means

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

in Swedish.

References

External links

hitta.se - location map and virtual walk
{{Coord, 59, 19, 27.9, N, 18, 04, 24.3, E, display=title, region:SE_type:landmark Streets in Stockholm