Torgdragargränd (

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 ...

: "Market Draughter's Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in

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 street

Västerlånggatan Västerlånggatan ("the Western Long Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward between the squares Mynttorget and Järntorget, it follows the course of the city's now demolished 13th-century def ...

to the square

Kornhamnstorg Kornhamnstorg (Swedish: "Grain Harbour Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Known as ''Kornhaffn'' (1427), ''Jernboen'' (1586), ''Åkaretorget'' (1644), and ''Kornhampns torget'' (1651), it is connec ...

, it forms a parallel street to

Tyska Brinken Tyska Brinken ( sv, The German Slope) is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Extending Kindstugatan past the German Church down to the square Mälartorget, it is crossed by Skomakargatan, Prästgatan, Västerl ...

and

Funckens Gränd Funckens Gränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Leading south from the street Västerlånggatan to the square Kornhamnstorg, it forms a parallel street to Torgdragargränd and Triewaldsgränd. Origin o ...

. Prior to 1981, Torgdragargränd was closed with a gate at Kornhamstorg and a low building at the other end. The present name commemorates the people working at the market next to the alley.

Naming contest

The daily paper Dagens Nyheter arranged a naming contest in 1981, and the winning proposal was produced by Gunnar Rönn, a man who worked in the alley. Rönn's proposal referred to the people working at the market on Kornhamnstorg who used to literally 'draught' their goods and market stalls from the alley to the square every morning (called ''Torgdragare'', literally: "Square draughters"). He also told the paper how these people used to seek the darker corners of the alley whenever they needed something stronger to drink than water, occasionally ending up sharing a dinner, including

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

loaf A loaf ( : loaves) is a (usually) rounded or oblong mass of food, typically and originally of bread. It is common to bake bread in a rectangular bread pan, also called a loaf pan, because some kinds of bread dough tend to collapse and spread ...

and schnaps, on a shutter placed upon the dustbins standing in the alley.

Gallery

Image:Torgdragargränd sun 070404.JPG, The sun reaches the alley for a short moment daily. Image:Torgdragargränd sigill 070404.JPG, Seal of the Stockholm Masonry Master's Guild (Murmestare Embetet i Stockholm)

References

External links

Stockholmskällan - Historical photos
Streets in Stockholm {{Stockholm-road-stub

Naming contest

Gallery

See also

References

External links