Rådhusgränd (

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 ...

: "Town Hall 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 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 from the junction between the street

Myntgatan Myntgatan (, "the Coin Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching west from Mynttorget over to Riddarhustorget, it is crossed by the streets Salviigränd, Rådhusgränd, Riddarhusgränd, and St ...

and 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 ...

, and passing between 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 ...

and Kanslihuset ("The Chancellery House"), it leads north 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 ...

, while forming a parallel street to

Riddarhusgränd Riddarhusgränd (Swedish language, Swedish: "House of Knights' Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching north from the square Riddarhustorget to the bridge Vasabron, it passes between the Swedish Hou ...

. Along the waterfront north of the alley passes the quay

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, ...

. The alley is named after the vicinity to the Bonde Palace, originally built in 1662-1667 as the private residence of Gustaf Bonde (1620–1667), but serving as the Stockholm Town House during the period 1732–1915. The southern wings of the buildings are additions from 1754. While the building's present eastern front, today hiding the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, is less than extrovert, it did include an entrance to a "public boudoir" during the 18th and most of the 19th century. The alley was, however, entirely closed during the period 1850–1913, to accommodate the prison of the Town Hall, finally demolished in 1929-1930 to give space to Kanslihuset, the offices of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In contrast, the voluminous and heavy mass of Kanslihuset on the alley's eastern side, designed by

Wolter Gahn Wolter is a given name and surname of Low German and Low Franconian origin. It is equivalent to the English Walter, High German Walther, Dutch Wouter and French Gauthier. People with the name Wolter include: Given name * Wolter von Plettenberg (c. ...

and Gustaf Clason and completed in 1936, opens up to the alley in form of the western end of the series of courtyards which pierces the building. The façade is decorated with a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

frieze called ''Departementsfrisen'' (The Department Frieze") by Sig Blomberg.

References

See also