Riddarhusgränd (
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 ...
: "House of Knights' 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 ...
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
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 north from the square
Riddarhustorget Riddarhustorget (, "Square of the House of Knights") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, named after its location in front of the House of Knights (''Riddarhuset'').
The present square, largely occupied b ...
to the bridge
Vasabron
Vasabron (Swedish: "The Vasa Bridge") is a bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm, Sweden connecting Norrmalm to Gamla stan, the old city.
The bridge is, unintelligibly, named after King Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), perhaps because of the vicin ...
, it passes between the
Swedish House of Knights
The House of Nobility ( sv, Riddarhuset) in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility.
Name
The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', ...
(''Riddarhuset'') and the
Bonde Palace
The Bonde Palace ( sv, Bondeska palatset) is a palace in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the House of Knights (''Riddarhuset'') and the Chancellery House (''Kanslihuset''), it is, arguably, the most prominen ...
forming a parallel street to
Rådhusgränd
Rådhusgränd (Swedish: "Town Hall Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from the junction between the street Myntgatan and the square Riddarhustorget, and passing between the Bonde Palace and K ...
. On either side of its northern end are the quays
Riddarhuskajen and
Kanslikajen
Kanslikajen (Swedish: "Chancellery Quay") is a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, leading west along the southern shore of the canal Stallkanalen from Stallbron and Mynttorget to Vasabron.
The name was first proposed in 1921, ...
.
History
While the House of Knights was built to the design of
Simon de la Vallée
Simon de la Vallée (1590–1642) was a French-Swedish architect. The first architect in Sweden to have received formal academic training, he created the Swedish school of architecture.
Biography
Born in Paris, he was the son of Marin de la Val ...
in 1641–1674, and the Bonde Palace was originally designed as a private palace by
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder
Nicodemus Tessin the Elder () (7 December 1615 in Stralsund – 24 May 1681 in Stockholm) was an important Swedish architect.
Biography
Nicodemus Tessin was born in Stralsund in Pomerania and came to Sweden as a young man. There he met and wo ...
and
Jean De la Vallée
Jean de la Vallée (ca 1620 – 12 March 1696) was a Swedish architect.
Biography
Born in France, he was the son of architect Simon de la Vallée (ca 1595–1642).
He made early trips in France and Italy where he studied the new baroque forms ...
in 1662–1667, the alley passing between them and named after the vicinity to the former, first appears in historical records in 1718 as ''Riddarhuus Gränden''. It was initially intended as the northern extension of
Stora Nygatan, a street stretching north through the old town to Riddarhustorget, and in turn the result of the reconstruction of the western part of the old town following the great fire of 1625.
Before the bridge Vasabron was constructed in the 1870s, the alley was a peripheral passage leading to a remote quay and, as its width of 7 metres still knows to tell, it was not designed to take up heavy traffic loads. With the completion of the bridge things changed considerably, and, as intimated by the bridge, the intention in the 19th century was to widen the alley at the expense of the Bonde Palace to give space to a second roadway. As these plans were never carried out, traffic is still forced to make a detour around the intact palace.
The eastern façade of the House of Knights is one of the most elaborate of its kind in Sweden, richly decorated with
acorn
The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally
two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...
s,
oak leaves, and a great variety of flowers in
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
, while the half metre tall letters on the frieze of the roof, ornamented in
gold leaf
Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
proclaim
DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI ("Delightful and honourable it is to die for the Patrimony/Country"). The façade and all the details were carefully restored by specialists in 2004.
Lately, selected buildings and historical structures in central Stockholm have been the subject for a project entitled ''Projekt Nattljus'' ("Project Night Light"), intended to give the city a face-lift by letting spotlights illuminate façades, bridges, fountains, etc. Riddarhusgränd is included in the project as part of the lighting design for Riddarhustorget.
[ ]
See also
*
List of streets and squares in Gamla stan
This is an alphabetical list of streets, alley, squares, and other structures in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, including the islands Stadsholmen, Helgeandsholmen, Strömsborg, and Riddarholmen.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Streets And Squares In Ga ...
Gallery
Image:Riddarhuset corner March 2007.JPG, Detail of the House of Knights.
Image:Riddarhuset detail east facade March 2007.JPG, Detail.
References
External links
Stockholmskällan - Historical photo from the alleyhitta.se - Location map and virtual walk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddarhusgrand
Streets in Stockholm
Odonyms referring to a building