Högvaktsterrassen
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Högvaktsterrassen (, "Main Guard Terrace") is a
street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...
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. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...
, the old town in central
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
passing west of Yttre Borgården, the outer court of the
Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...
. The street stretches north from the Stockholm Cathedral at Storkyrkobrinken and ends in a
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
offering a panoramic view of the Riksdag Building, the square
Mynttorget Mynttorget (, "the Coin Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Setting From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan l ...
and the northern ramp of the palace, Lejonbacken. It is delimited to the east by the two curved western wings of the Royal Palace, and to the west by a state-owned annex composed by the Oxenstierna Palace and Beijer House and serving as offices and the workrooms of the court.


History

The area north of the cathedral and west of the Medieval palace Tre Kronor ("Three Crowns"), burnt down in 1697, was known as ''Helvetet'' ("
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
"). The background of this atrocious name have been subject for some scholarly disputes; some suggesting it reflexes the popular belief the area north of churches were the location of evil (and therefore suitable for suicides and criminals), while other found references in Norse folklore where the "Kingdom of the Dead" was believed to be located to the north, and, 'Hell' still not associated with the pejorative meaning of today, was simply used to indicate northern locations in general. Historical records from the 15th century describes the area as the location for the city's
executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who effects a sentence of capital punishment on a condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to ...
during the years 1491–1528, and for the city's school building and the royal
mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
in the 1430s. Among the numerous alleys once found in the area were many craftsmen's workshops - shoemakers, saddlers, blacksmiths, bakers, etcetera. On a 16th-century map, the area is taken up by a slope leaning north with a block occupying the location for the present street, a block not present on a map dated 1626, instead suggesting the royal gardens were located here. In 1653, the Chancellor
Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (; 1583–1654) was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of ...
(1583–1654) started to build his palace still present on the south-western corner of the street, while both his old residence and that of
Herman Wrangel Herman Wrangel (born 1584/1587 – 10 December 1643) was a Swedish military officer and statesman of Baltic German extraction. Biography Herman von Wrangel was born in Livonia. He came to Sweden around 1608. In 1612, he participated in the ...
(1587–1643) were demolished in the 1740s when the wings of the Main Guard were built. In 1921, it was suggested the street should be named ''Kristina Gyllenstiernas skans'' (" Sconce of. .") after Christina Gyllenstierna (1494–1559), wife of
Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger () (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) and Iliana G ...
(1493–1520), whose statue, found nearby at the time, reminded of her bravely defence of the palace against the Danish army in 1520. However, some discussions concerning the city's right and need to name the location in the first place, eventually resulted in the present name suggested by the linguist
Adolf Noreen Adolf Gotthard Noreen (13 March 1854 in Östra Ämtervik, Sunne Municipality – 13 June 1925 in Uppsala) was a Sweden, Swedish Linguistics, linguist who served as a member of the Swedish Academy from 1919 until his death. Noreen studied at Upps ...
(1854–1925).


Oxenstierna Palace

Designed by Jean de la Vallée (1620–1696), the palace of the mighty chancellor Axel Oxenstierna was started in 1653 shortly before the death of the proprietor. The present building, merely a wing of the huge palace originally intended for the site, introduced the Roman palace architecture acting by means of elaborately decorated windows on a plain plastered wall. The interplay with the urban setting is underlined by the projecting parts of the southern façade being aligned to the street and thus not perpendicular to the façade. The building is unique for the well preserved exterior, including the various sandstone decorations, and the alternating mezzanines of the five storeys, and the interior, including decorative 17th century hinges. Notwithstanding the name, the Oxenstierna dynasty never actually lived in the building, instead serving as offices since its completion. The equivalent of the Bank of Sweden occupied the building in the end of the 17th century, and it has been the property of the Swedish State since. (.)


Beijer House

Named after Johan von Beijer (-1669), a man of German origin appointed postmaster in 1642, who bought two buildings on the site that same year to replace them with his own residence, accordingly the only post office in the capital until his death. The brick cellar vaults of the two Medieval buildings are still preserved, and the building is the only burgher residence with a preserved 17th century courtyard. Two storeys were added during the 18th and 19th centuries, and in 1918 it became the property of the state and was subsequently merged with the Oxenstierna Palace. The building was declared a historical monument in 1949 and is today occupied by the accountants of the Parliament, the unique interiors and courtyard thus not accessible to the public.(.)


See also

* List of streets and squares in Gamla stan *The
Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...
article contains a panorama from Högvaktsterrassen


References


External links


Stockholm City Museum - Högvaktsterrassen
main source for this article containing several maps over the area showing archaeological traces of older structures.
4πSr - Panorama of Högvaktsterrassen
(fifth from bottom, 2.7 MB QTVR)
hitta.se - location map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hogvaktsterrassen Streets in Stockholm