The Old Stockholm telephone tower (Swedish: ''Telefontornet'') was a metallic structure built to connect approximately 5,500

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...

lines in the Swedish capital of

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 metropolita ...

. Constructed in 1887, the tower was used until 1913. It was damaged by a fire in 1952 and demolished the following year.

History

In 1887, Stockholms Allmänna Telefon AB ordered the construction of a tower allowing the connection of about 5,500 overhead telephone lines. The quadrangular metallic structure was 80 metres tall and soon fell out of favour with the local population. The company requested the architect

Fritz Eckert Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert, (25 April 1852 - 6 March 1920) was a Swedish architect. Biography Fritz Herman Vilhelm Eckert was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts from 1871-1878 and spent 1879 travelling a ...

to carry out embellishment work, which was when the four turrets were added. The tower was quickly made obsolete as telephone companies began using underground cables in urban areas. In 1913, underground cabling for telephones was fully completed and the tower no longer served its original purpose. After 1939 it carried advertising for

Nordiska Kompaniet Nordiska Kompaniet (colloquially NK, and literally ''The Nordic Company'') is the name of two department stores located in Stockholm and Gothenburg, in Sweden. The store in Stockholm receives some twelve million visitors annually, with the figur ...

. On 23 July 1952 a fire weakened the structure, resulting in its demolition in 1953 on safety grounds.

Gallery

Stockholm, Brunkebergstorg med telefontornet 1891 - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0000293.jpg, The telephone tower in 1891 Telefontornet6984272451.jpg, Tower seen from up close Telefontornet.jpg, The telephone tower in 1952 Klara södra med Telefontornet.jpg, Tower from far away in 1952

References

External links

{{commonscat, Telefontornet
Album of pictures on imgur
Communication towers in Sweden Buildings and structures demolished in 1953 1887 establishments in Sweden Buildings and structures in Stockholm Demolished buildings and structures in Sweden