Bollhusgränd (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: "Ball House Alley") is an

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

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 Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

. Named after

Bollhuset Bollhuset, also called (The Big Ball House), (Ball House Theater), and Gamla Bollhuset (Old Ball House) at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater buildin ...

, a historical theatre, it connects Slottsbacken to

Köpmantorget Köpmantorget ( Swedish: "Merchant's Square") is a small public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located between the street Köpmangatan to the west and between two slopes collectively named Köpmanbrinken, ...

, and as Baggensgatan extends the alley further south beyond

Köpmangatan Köpmangatan ( Swedish: "The Merchant Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. A parallel street to Trädgårdsgatan, it stretches from the central square Stortorget to Köpmantorget, intercepted by Trädgårdstvä ...

, together they form a parallel street 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 ...

and

Själagårdsgatan Själagårdsgatan ( Swedish: "The Charitable Institution Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south from Köpmangatan to Tyska Brunnsplan, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan. It cro ...

History

The alley is named after its vicinity to the two royal

ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: *Bat-and- ...

buildings constructed in 1627-1792 and 1648–53, the bigger of the two used as a theatre from 1667 and torn down in 1792–93, the smaller transformed into the Finnish Church in 1725 and still existent. In 1648 the alley was known as ''Donat Apotechars grend'' ("Alley of Pharmacist Donat") in reference to a Donat Deutschman living on the southeasternmost corner house facing the square Köpmantorget. On the north-west side of the street is the

Tessin Palace The Tessin Palace ( sv, Tessinska palatset) is a baroque town house located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Located next to the Royal Palace, it is facing Slottsbacken, the major approach to the Stockholm Palace, and flanked b ...

, and on the opposite corner is the

Royal Coin Cabinet The Economy Museum - Royal Coin Cabinet ( sv, Ekonomiska museet - Kungliga Myntkabinettet) is a museum in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the history of money and economic history in general. Function The Economy Museum is an institu ...

. On the latter location was until 1903 a restaurant called ''Skomakare-Källaren, Café & Restaurant'' ("Shoemaker-Basement") known as one of the best eating houses in town and decorated with a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...

ed ceiling,

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

cocklestove A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature ...

, and the symbol of the shoemaker's guild, a silver shoe with a jingle on the toecap. The restaurant was preceded by another called ''Drufvan'' ("The Grape"), later renamed to ''Draken'' ("The Dragon"). The restaurant is today part of the museum of the Royal Coin Cabinet. Together with Baggensgatan, Bollhusgränd used to run along the interior of the eastern city wall, from the open space surrounding the castle

Three Crowns Three Crowns ( sv, tre kronor, links=no) is the national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background. Similar designs are f ...

(today still present as Slottsbacken) south to the Blackfriars monastery (until the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

located north of Järntorget between

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 ...

and

Prästgatan Prästgatan ( Swedish: "The Priest's Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, stretching from a cul-de-sac west of the Royal Palace to the street Österlånggatan in the southern corner of the old town. Präst ...

). While the northern end of the alley is narrow, it widens where the carriages and horses of Tessin entered their palace on the alley's east side. The

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

portal on Number 3A indicates the building was the private palace of the councillor Per Banér, as it displays his and his wife's (Hebbla Fleming) coat of arms together with two lions.

Gallery

Image:Bollhusgränd 3A 070329.JPG, Portico of 3A. Image:Bollhusgränd 3A mars 2007.JPG, Close-up. Image:Bollhusgränd Tessinska stallportar mars 2007.JPG, Old stable doors of the

at Number 4. Image:Bollhusgränd 5 stentavla mars 2007.JPG, Stone table at Number 5. Image:Järnpojke, little boy who looks at the moon.jpg, Järnpojke, little boy looking at the moon, the smallest statue in Stockholm.

References

External links

*
hitta.se - Location map and virtual walk

Stockholmskällan - Historical photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollhusgrand Streets in Stockholm Odonyms referring to a building

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links