Kåkbrinken 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 of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from the western waterfront Munkbroleden, to the central square

Stortorget Stortorget (, "the Grand Square") is a public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre on which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being. To ...

, it forms a parallel street to Yxsmedsgränd,

Solgränd Solgränd (Swedish: "Sun Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. It connects the Stortorget square to the street Prästgatan. It is a parallel street to Storkyrkobrinken, Ankargränd, Spektens gränd, and Kåkbrink ...

, and

Bedoirsgränd Bedoirsgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Västerlånggatan to Stora Nygatan, it forms a parallel street to Kåkbrinken and Skräddargränd. History The alley is named after the merchant Je ...

, while being crossed by Munkbrogatan, Lilla Nygatan, Stora Nygatan, Västerlånggatan, and Prästgatan.

Origin of the name

First mentioned in 1477, and in more detail in 1496, the street is initially called ''Kakbringkin.'' This derives from the old Swedish word ''kak'' which is the equivalent of the

modern Swedish Modern Swedish ( sv, nysvenska) is the Linguistics, linguistic term used for the Swedish language from the Bible translation of 1526 to the development of a common national language around 1880. The period can further be divided into ''Early Mode ...

''kåk'', meaning "ramshackle house" or "prison", but at the time it referred to a pillory placed on Stortorget. The pillory is first mentioned in connection with the so-called " Käpplinge murders" (''Käpplingemorden''). This was an incident in 1389 when a group of German burghers imprisoned about 70 prominent citizens in a hovel on Blasieholmen (at the time called Käpplinge) and burned them alive. The Germans are said to have been led from the Royal Palace to the pillory. A copper statue of a man holding a

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

in his right hand, placed on top of the pillory in 1602, was replaced in 1647 by a new one in bronze which is still preserved in the Town Hall. The pillory was moved to

Norrmalmstorg Norrmalmstorg () is a town square in central Stockholm, Sweden. It connects shopping streets Hamngatan and Biblioteksgatan and is the starting point for tram travellers with the Djurgården line. Close to the southwest is the park Kungsträdgår ...

in 1776, and from there to Eriksbergsplan in 1810. On a map dated 1733, the upper part of the street, between Stortorget and Västerlånggatan, is called Kåkbrinken, while the lower part is given several names: ''Kocks gränd'' (referring to the burgher Ragvald Kock); ''Jokum bagares'', ''Bagare gränd'', ''Schultens gränd'', and ''Nedre Schult gränd'' (referring to the baker Joachim Schult); ''Söte Gudmunds gränd'' ''Söte gummans gränd'' ("Alley of the Sweet Old Woman", Gudmund is also a proper name), ''Lasse Månssons gränd'', ''Björn Perssons gränd'', ''Mäster Eriks gränd'' (referring to men with those names), and ''Påfvel murmästares gränd'' ("Alley of Masonry master Paul"). Before the names of the streets of Gamla stan were fixed in 1885, the name 'Kåkbrinken' was used for various parts of its present extension.

The runestone

In the corner of Prästgatan and Kåkbrinken is a

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...

set into the wall, which carries the inscription "Torsten and Frögunn had the stone erected after their son". The stone was probably brought to Stockholm to be used as building material, but it is not known from where. As the female name Frögunn is known as a pagan name, the stone is believed to date from around AD 1000, the stone thus being about 200 years older than the city. A laser range scanner analysis conducted in 2002, showed variations in stroke patterns in the grooves of the stone, and that the stone was probably carved by a master carver and an apprentice. It is one of three runestones found in the old town: A second, U 274, originally located in a wall by the southern city gate near Slussen, is today kept in the

Museum of Medieval Stockholm The Museum of Medieval Stockholm ( sv, Stockholms medeltidsmuseum), centrally located north of the Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments excavated in an extensive archaeological dig (dubbed ''Riksgropen'', "National/State Pit") in t ...

. It contains the words "Karl and Adisla had his stoneerected fterArnsil, heirfather" and is similar in style to stones found in

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...

, south of Stockholm. The third runestone, U 54, is now lost but was once located in a stairway in the church

Riddarholmskyrkan Riddarholmen Church ( sv, Riddarholmskyrkan) is the church of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most Swedish monarchs. Riddarholmen Church is located on the island o ...

References

External links

hitta.se - location map

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakbrinken Streets in Stockholm

Origin of the name

The runestone

See also

References

External links