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Stockholm (; ) is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and most populous city of
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 ...
, as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately 1 million people live in the
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, with 1.6 million in the
urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
, and 2.5 million in the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
. The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. Outside the city to the east, and along the coast, is the island chain of the
Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...
. The area has been settled since the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman
Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...
. The city serves as the county seat of Stockholm County. Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. The Stockholm region alone accounts for over a third of the country's GDP, and is among the top 10 regions in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
by
GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...
. Considered a
global city A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
, it is the largest in
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and the main centre for
corporate headquarters Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corporate headqu ...
in the Nordic region. The city is home to some of Europe's top-ranking universities, such as the
Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...
(medicine),
KTH Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a Public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in Institute of technology, engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest te ...
, Stockholm School of Economics and
Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
. It hosts the annual
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
ceremonies and banquet at the
Stockholm Concert Hall The Stockholm Concert Hall () is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also wh ...
and
Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...
. One of the city's most prized museums, the
Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum () is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sank on her maid ...
, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is well known for the decor of its stations; it has been called the longest art gallery in the world. The city was the host of the
1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
, and has played host to several other international sports events since. Stockholm is Sweden's primary
financial centre A financial centre (financial center in American English) or financial hub is a location with a significant concentration of commerce in financial services. The commercial activity that takes place in a financial centre may include banking, ...
, one of the largest in Scandinavia, and hosts several of Sweden's largest companies. Furthermore, the headquarters of most of Sweden's largest banks are in Stockholm. Stockholm is one of Europe's major tech centres; the city has sometimes been called Europe's innovation hub. The Stockholm region has a GDP of around $180 billion, and Stockholm County has the highest GDP per capita of all counties in Sweden. Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
, and the
official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...
s of the
Swedish monarch The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...
and the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
(Swedish parliament) is seated in the Parliament House, and the prime minister's residence is adjacent at the Sager House. Stockholm Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the Swedish monarch, while Drottningholm Palace in neighbouring Ekerö serves as the
Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
's private residence.


History

The location of Stockholm appears in
Norse sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...
as Agnafit, and in
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
in connection with the legendary king Agne.
Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continent ...
, located near Stockholm, was one of Sweden's major trade centres during the
Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
, and its restored remains are one of Stockholm County's most-visited sites. The earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name () means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word () meaning
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
. The second part of the name () means islet and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. One theory for the name is that it refers to pile barrages. According to '' Erik's Chronicle'' the city is said to have been founded by
Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...
to protect Sweden from sea invasions made by
Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely ...
after the pillage of Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren in the summer of 1187. Stockholm's core, the present Old Town (
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 ...
) was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
(Danzig),
Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
,
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
(Reval), and
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
during this time. Stockholm's oldest preserved
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
, the ''Letter of Privilege from the Privy Council (')'', was issued by the
Privy Council of Sweden The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council ( or : sometimes in ), was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates () which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the King of Sweden. The 1634 Instrument of Government, Sweden's fir ...
on 1 May 1436 as a reward for the city's loyalty and service to the realm. The document granted Stockholm significant rights and freedoms, affirming its role as the political and economic centre of Sweden. It is regarded as marking the beginning of Stockholm's status as the de facto capital of Sweden. The strategic and economic importance of the city made Stockholm an important factor in relations between the rulers of the
Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...
and the Swedish anti-unionist movement in the fifteenth century and early sixteenth century. The Danish union monarch Christian II was able to enter the city in 1520 and on 8 November of that year, a massacre of opposition figures called the Stockholm Bloodbath took place and set off further uprisings that eventually led to the breakup of the Kalmar Union with the reattainment of Swedish independence. With the accession of
Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...
in 1523 and the establishment of royal power, the population of Stockholm began to grow, reaching 10,000 by 1600. The seventeenth century saw Sweden grow into a major European power, reflected in the development of the city of Stockholm. From 1610 to 1680 the population multiplied sixfold. In 1634, Stockholm became the official capital of the Swedish empire. Trading rules were also created that gave Stockholm an essential monopoly over trade between foreign merchants and other Swedish, Baltic and
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n territories. In 1697, Tre Kronor Castle burned down and was replaced eventually by Stockholm Palace; the time of the
Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...
also saw several architectural modernisations of the city. The beginning of the Swedish Empire saw a renaissance in the arts and sciences; the new queen, Christina, was a strong supporter of science and culture.
René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...
, one of the most prominent European philosophers of his time, died in Stockholm; he had been hosted by the queen for several years prior to his death. Inventors, like
Christopher Polhem Christopher Polhammar (18 December 1661 – 30 August 1751) better known as Christopher Polhem (), which he took after his ennoblement in 1716, was a Swedish scientist, inventor, and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the econ ...
, moved to the city during the time of the Swedish Empire. Academics also spent much time in Stockholm, like
Olaus Rudbeck Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, and occasionally with the surname Latinized as ''Olaus Rudbeckius'') (13 September 1630 – 12 December 1702) was a Swedish scientist and writer, professor ...
, rector of the
Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
. Throughout Sweden's history,
walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States *Walls, Ontario Perry is a township (Canada), ...
were created in Stockholm to defend the city from attacks. These defensive walls were modified throughout the 13th to the 16th century. In 1625, the Great Stockholm Fire of 1625 destroyed the southwestern section of Stadsholmen, an island in the centre of Stockholm. The amount of destruction led to the beginning of the demolition of the Stockholm walls. Today, most of the younger city walls cannot be found anywhere above ground. However, parts of the northern city walls are preserved in the modern
Museum of Medieval Stockholm The Museum of Medieval Stockholm (), centrally located north of the Stockholm Palace, Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments excavated in an extensive archaeology, archaeological dig (dubbed ''Riksgropen'', "National/State Pit") in th ...
. In 1710, a plague killed about 20,000 (36 percent) of the population. After the end of the
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
the city stagnated; population growth halted and economic growth slowed. The city was in shock after having lost its place as the capital of a
great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...
. However, Stockholm maintained its role as Sweden's political centre and continued to develop as the country's economic and cultural capital. During the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
in the late eighteenth century, the city flourished. The new monarch,
Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...
, proved an able and energetic regnant; his economic policies helped the Swedish economy develop, and his partially successful war against Russia restored some of Sweden's international reputation. The king was an avid patron of the arts, and scientists and cultural figures flocked to Stockholm on a scale unprecedented since the reign of Queen Christina. During this time, Carl Michael Bellman and Joseph Martin Kraus helped develop the city's music, a process further accelerated by the founding of the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
. Various artists and writers became prominent, funded by the king and other cultural patrons like
Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...
; the two aforementioned figures laid the base for Sweden's
Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...
at this time. Science also became prevalent; renowned figures like
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
and
Anders Celsius Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedes, Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories ...
spent time in Stockholm, and various research institutes, like the Stockholm Observatory, were founded. The early nineteenth century saw a major economic decline of Stockholm and Sweden as a whole, but by the second half of the nineteenth century, Stockholm had regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged with industrialisation and Stockholm was transformed into an important trade and service centre as well as a key gateway point within Sweden. The population also grew dramatically during this time, mainly through
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
. At the end of the nineteenth century, less than 40% of the residents were Stockholm-born, with most migrants being from poorer rural Sweden; major settlement began to expand outside the historical city limits. The nineteenth century also saw the establishment of a number of scientific institutes and universities, including the
Karolinska Institutet The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally. ...
and
KTH Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a Public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in Institute of technology, engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest te ...
. The General Art and Industrial Exposition was held in 1897, drawing international attention. From 1887 to 1953 the
Old Stockholm telephone tower The Old Stockholm telephone tower () was a metallic structure built to connect approximately 5,500 telephone lines in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Constructed in 1887, the tower was used until 1913. It was damaged by a fire in 1952 and dem ...
was a landmark; originally built to link phone lines, it became redundant after these were buried, and it was later used for advertising before its demolition in the twentieth century. The early twentieth century also saw the creation of the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
s, some of Stockholm's most renowned institutions. Stockholm became a modern and ethnically diverse city in the latter half of the 20th century. Many historical buildings were torn down during the
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
era, including substantial parts of the historical district of Klara (which caused major controversy), and replaced with modern architecture. However, in many other parts of Stockholm (such as 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 ...
,
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
,
Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of Sweden's most populous and exclusive districts. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest ho ...
, Kungsholmen and Vasastan), many older buildings, blocks and streets built before the modernism and functionalism movements survived this era of demolition. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from industrial activities into more high-tech and service industry areas, which still dominate the city's economy today. Stockholm's metropolitan area has become one of the fastest-growing regions in Europe. In 2020 alone, Stockholm's population increased by 1,477. As a result of this massive population growth, there has been a proposal to build densely packed high-rise buildings in the city centre connected by elevated walkways, though these have been opposed by several groups.


Geography


Location

Stockholm is located on Sweden's east coast at the 59th parallel north, where the freshwater Lake Mälaren—Sweden's third-largest lake—flows out into the Baltic Sea. The central parts of the city consist of fourteen islands that are continuous with the
Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...
. The geographical city centre is situated on the water, in Riddarfjärden bay. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces. Positioned at the eastern end of the Central Swedish lowland and near the Bergslagen region, the city's location reflects the early orientation of Swedish trade toward the Baltic region. Stockholm belongs to the Temperate deciduous forest biome, which means the climate is very similar to that of the far northeastern area of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and coastal
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The average annual temperature is . The average rainfall is per year. The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the autumn the leaves change color. During the winter months, the trees lose their leaves. For details about the other municipalities in the Stockholm area, see the pertinent articles. North of Stockholm Municipality: Järfälla,
Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...
,
Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 76,700 inhabitants in 2024. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sw ...
, Sollentuna,
Lidingö Lidingö (), also known in its definite form Lidingön and as Lidingölandet, is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 48,162. It is the ...
,
Upplands Väsby Upplands Väsby () is a locality and the seat of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 48,907 inhabitants in 2020. History The municipality has a long history with clear traces of settlements from the pre-Christian time ...
, Österåker,
Sigtuna Sigtuna is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in the eponymous Sigtuna Municipality, in Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,689 inhabitants in 2020. It is the namesake even though the seat of the municipality is in another locality, Märsta. S ...
,
Sundbyberg Sundbyberg Municipality ( or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urban population. Sundbybe ...
, Danderyd, Vallentuna, Ekerö, Upplands-Bro, Vaxholm, and
Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 2 ...
. South of Stockholm:
Huddinge Huddinge Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Stockholm County, east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge (), which is a part of Stockholm urban area. The municipality is, with its approximately 110,000 inhabit ...
,
Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mi ...
, Botkyrka, Haninge, Tyresö, Värmdö,
Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...
, Salem, Nykvarn and
Nynäshamn Nynäshamn is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid-19th century, it was only ...
.


Stockholm Municipality

Stockholm Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders. The semi-official name for the municipality is ''City of Stockholm'' (''Stockholms stad'' in Swedish). As a municipality, the City of Stockholm is subdivided into district councils, which carry responsibility for primary schools, social, leisure and cultural services within their respective areas. The municipality is usually described in terms of its three main parts: Innerstaden (
Stockholm City Centre Stockholm City Centre (, , ) is in Stockholm Municipality, also known as the City of Stockholm, part of the Stockholm urban area in Sweden. Since 2007, Stockholm City Centre has been organized into four (sometimes translated as "boroughs"): K ...
),
Söderort Söderort (literally "the southern place", sometimes translated to ''South Stockholm'') is the southern suburban part of the Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. It is also part of the city of Stockholm. Geography Söderort is located in the north ...
(Southern Stockholm) and Västerort (Western Stockholm). The districts of these parts are:


Stockholm City Centre

*
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 ...
* Kungsholmen * Norrmalm *
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
* Vasastan *
Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of Sweden's most populous and exclusive districts. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest ho ...


Söderort

*
Enskede-Årsta-Vantör Enskede-Årsta-Vantör (listen ) is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in Söderort, the southern part of Stockholm, Sweden. Overview Årsta was under control of the Livonian Order, along with Aristun as distant Swedish hol ...
* Farsta * Hägersten-Liljeholmen * Skarpnäck * Skärholmen * Älvsjö


Västerort

*
Bromma Bromma () is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airpo ...
*
Hässelby-Vällingby Hässelby-Vällingby is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden. It is primarily made up of Hässelby (Hässelby Gård, Gård, Hässelby Strand, Strand, Hässelby Villastad, Villastad) and V� ...
* Rinkeby-Kista * Spånga-Tensta The modern centre Norrmalm (concentrated around the town square Sergels torg) is the largest shopping district in
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 ...
. It is the most central part of Stockholm in business and shopping.


Climate

Stockholm has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
in the 0 °C isotherm (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb'') bordering on an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb'') in the -3 °C isotherm. Although winters are cold, average temperatures generally remain above 0 °C for much of the year. Summers are pleasantly warm, and precipitation occurs throughout the year. Due to the city's high northerly latitude, the length of the day varies widely from more than 18 hours around midsummer to only around 6 hours in late December. The nights from late May until mid-July are not completely dark even when cloudy. Stockholm has relatively mild weather compared to other locations at a similar latitude, or even farther south. With an average of 1900 hours of sunshine per year, it is also one of the sunniest cities in Northern Europe, receiving more sunshine than Paris, London and a few other major European cities of a more southerly latitude. Because of the
urban heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...
effect and the prevailing wind travelling overland rather than sea during summer months, Stockholm has the warmest July months of the Nordic capitals. Stockholm has an annual average snow cover between 75 and 100 days. Despite its mild climate, Stockholm is located further north than parts of Canada that are above the Arctic
tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...
at sea level. Summers average daytime high temperatures of and lows of around , but temperatures can reach on some days. Days above occur on average 1.55 days per year (1992–2011). Days between and are relatively common especially in July and August. Night-time lows of above are rare, and hot summer nights vary from . Winters generally bring cloudy weather with the most precipitation falling in December and January (as either rain or snow). The average winter temperatures range from , and occasionally drop below in the outskirts of the city. Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild. The climate table below presents weather data from the years 1991–2020. According to ongoing measurements, the temperature has increased during the years 1991–2020 as compared with the last series, from 1961 to 1990. This increase averages about over all months. Warming is most pronounced during the winter months, with an increase of more than in January. For the 2002–2014 measurements some further increases have been found, although some months such as June have been relatively flat. The highest temperature ever recorded in Stockholm was on 3 July 1811; the lowest was on 20 January 1814. The temperature has not dropped to below since 10 January 1987. The warmest month ever recorded was July 2018 with a mean temperature of which is also the nationwide record. Annual precipitation is with around 170 wet days and light to moderate rainfall throughout the year. The precipitation is not uniformly distributed throughout the year. The second half of the year receives 50% more than the first half. Snowfall occurs mainly from December through March. Snowfall may occasionally occur in late October as well as in April. In Stockholm, the
aurora borealis An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
can occasionally be observed.


Daylight

Stockholm's location just south of the 60th parallel north means that the number of daylight hours is relatively small during winter – about six hours – while in June and the first half of July, the nights are relatively short, with about 18 hours of daylight. Due to its eastern position within Sweden's respective time zone, sunsets occur as early as 2:46 PM in mid-December. Around the
summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...
the sun never reaches further below the
horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
than 7.3 degrees. This gives the sky a bright blue colour in summer once the sun has set because it does not get any darker than nautical twilight. Also, when looking straight up towards the
zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...
, few stars are visible after the sun has gone down. This is not to be confused with the
midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
, which occurs north of the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
, around 7 degrees farther north.


Government

The Stockholm
Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
() is the name of the local assembly. Its 101 councillors are elected concurrently with
general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
, held at the same time as the elections to the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
and
county councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county council (New South Wales), co ...
. The Council convenes twice every month at
Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...
, and the meetings are open to the public. The matters on which the councillors decide have generally already been drafted and discussed by various boards and committees. Once decisions are referred for practical implementation, the employees of the City administrations and companies take over. The elected majority has a Mayor and eight Vice Mayors. The Mayor and each majority Vice Mayor is the head of a department, with responsibility for a particular area of operation, such as City Planning. The opposition also has four Vice Mayors, but they hold no executive power. Together the Mayor and the 12 Vice Mayors form the Council of Mayors, and they prepare matters for the City Executive Board. The Mayor holds a special position among the Vice Mayors, chairing both the Council of Mayors and the City Executive Board. The City Executive Board () is elected by the City Council and is equivalent to a cabinet. The City Executive Board renders an opinion in all matters decided by the council and bears the overall responsibility for follow-up, evaluation and execution of its decisions. The Board is also responsible for financial administration and long-term development. The City Executive Board consists of 13 members, who represent both the majority and the opposition. Its meetings are not open to the public.
Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...
is one of the city's key landmarks, built in the
National Romantic Style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...
at the beginning of the twentieth century. Hosting the Nobel Prizes and the government of the city of Stockholm, it is one of Sweden's most important buildings.


Economy

As the primary financial centre in Sweden, Stockholm is an influential hub for trade, finance and technology in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and one of Scandinavia's largest financial centres. The Stockholm region is the leading region in Sweden by both GDP and GDP per capita, and is amongst the ten wealthiest regions in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
when measured by the latter. Many of Sweden's largest companies are headquartered in the city; they are drawn by its central location, skilled workforce and preeminent financial sector. These companies include some of the Nordic region's most valuable corporations, like
Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
, which is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, or Atlas Copco, which is one of the world's largest industrial companies; other large companies based in Stockholm include
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
, H&M and
Securitas AB Securitas AB is a Swedish Corporate group, group devoted to security services, such as security guarding, mobile patrolling, Surveillance, monitoring, Private investigator, investigation and related consulting services. The group is headquartere ...
. Some of the largest investment firms in Europe are headquartered in the city, including Investor AB and
Nordstjernan Nordstjernan () is a Swedish investment company. Nordstjernan is a fourth-generation family company controlled by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation. The origin is the shipping company Nordstjernan, which was founded in 1890. Hist ...
; also headquartered in Stockholm is
EQT AB EQT AB is a Swedish global investment organization founded in 1994. Its funds invest in private equity (EQT Private Capital Europe & North America), infrastructure (EQT Infrastructure), real estate (EQT Real Estate), growth equity, and ventur ...
. Stockholm is one of continental Europe's leading hubs for the technology industry; this influential industry is based in
Kista Kista ( is a district in the borough of Rinkeby-Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. It has a strategic position located in between Sweden's main airport, the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport and central Stockholm, and alongside the main nationa ...
, a suburb in northern Stockholm which is Europe's largest Informations and Technology cluster. Stockholm has the second most unicorns per capita in the world, after Silicon Valley; the city also has one of the highest startup rates in Europe. Prominent startup technology companies in Stockholm include
Mojang Mojang AB, trading as Mojang Studios, is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. A first-party developer for Xbox Game Studios, the studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game ''Minecraft'', the best-selli ...
,
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
and Klarna; the latter two either have been or are among the largest startup companies in the world. Most of Sweden's largest banks are headquartered in the city, including the SEB Group,
Handelsbanken Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a leading Nordic countries, Nordic bank with international operations, providing a comprehensive range of financial services including corporate banking, investment banking, trading, and consumer banking such as loans, ...
and Swedbank;
Nordea Nordea Bank Abp, commonly referred to as Nordea, is a Nordic financial services group operating in northern Europe with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The name is a blend of the words "Nordic" and "idea". The Nordic countries are considered ...
had its headquarters in Stockholm until moving to
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
in 2018 for legal reasons involving the European Union. The
Stockholm Stock Exchange Nasdaq Stockholm, formerly known as the Stockholm Stock Exchange (), is a stock exchange located in Frihamnen, Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863, it has become the primary securities exchange of the Nordic countries. As of March 2021, a total ...
, founded in 1863, is the largest stock exchange in the Nordic Countries measured by market capitalisation, listing numerous multinational Swedish companies. Trade is a vital part of Stockholm's economy; the city's corporations are largely reliant on foreign consumers to supplement the small Swedish market. Stockholm is one of the Baltic Sea's larger ports, hosting especially cruise ships and yachts. Most of Stockholm's economy is based on export-oriented services, often towards larger, nearby European markets like Poland or Germany. Tourism is a major industry in Stockholm.


Education

Research and higher education in the sciences started in Stockholm in the 18th century, with education in medicine and various research institutions such as the Stockholm Observatory. The medical education was eventually formalised in 1811 as
Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...
t.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a Public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in Institute of technology, engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest te ...
(''Swedish: Kungliga Tekniska högskolan'') was founded in 1827 and is Scandinavia's largest higher education institute of technology with 13,000 students; it is Sweden's foremost polytechnic, and spearheaded several governmental research projects in the twentieth century.
Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
, founded in 1878 with university status granted in 1960, has 52,000 students . It also incorporates historical institutions, such as the Observatory, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, as well as the botanical garden '' Bergianska trädgården''. The Stockholm School of Economics, founded in 1909, is one of the few private institutions of higher education in Sweden, and is generally reckoned one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. In the
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
s, educational institutions include the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
, which has a history going back to the conservatory founded as part of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...
in 1771, the Royal University College of Fine Arts, which has a similar historical association with the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
and a foundation date of 1735, and the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting, which is the continuation of the school of the
Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...
, once attended by renowned actors like
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...
. Other schools include the design school Konstfack, founded in 1844, the University College of Opera (founded in 1968 but with older roots), the University College of Dance, and the ''
Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut Stockholm University College of Music Education (, SMI) is a Swedish University college (Scandinavia), university college in Stockholm which offers higher education in the field of music pedagogy in communal arts and culture schools as well as vo ...
'' (the University College of Music Education). The Södertörn University was founded in 1995 as a multi-disciplinary institution for southern
Metropolitan Stockholm Sweden has three metropolitan areas consisting of the areas surrounding the three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. The statistics have been retrieved from Statistics Sweden and the statistics released on 10 November 2014. The off ...
, to balance the many institutions located in the northern part of the region. Other institutes of higher education include the
Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg (, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urb ...
, the world's oldest military academy to remain in its original location, inaugurated in 1792 and housed in Karlberg Palace; there is also the
Swedish Defence University The Swedish Defence University (, FHS) is situated on Drottning Kristinas väg 37 in Östermalm, Stockholm City Centre, next to the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology. History Today's Swedish Defence University marks the latest devel ...
, Ersta Sköndal University College, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences and the
University College Stockholm The University College Stockholm (), formerly the Stockholm School of Theology (), is an independent school for theology and Human Rights, human rights in Stockholm, Sweden, The Stockholm region is home to around 22% of Sweden's total population, and accounts for about 29% of its
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
. The geographical notion of "Stockholm" has changed over time. By the turn of the 19th century, Stockholm largely consisted of the area today known as City Centre, roughly or one-fifth of the current municipal area. In the ensuing decades several other areas were incorporated (such as Brännkyrka Municipality in 1913, at which time it had 25,000 inhabitants, and Spånga in 1949). The municipal border was established in 1971; with the exception of Hansta, in 1982 purchased by Stockholm Municipality from Sollentuna Municipality and today a nature reserve.Stockholm Statistical Yearbook, 2006 (''Stockholms statistiska årsbok för 2006'')
City of Stockholm website, May 2006. The numbers provided by Stockholm Office of Research and Statistics, or ''Utrednings- och statistikkontoret (USK)'', in Swedish.
USK official web information in English
/ref> The population was 984,748 in 2022 and is projected to reach 1,079,213 by 2030. Of the inhabitants, 482,982 were men and 492,569 women. The average age is 39 years; 40.1% of the population is between 20 and 44 years. The marimonial statistics are that 411,273 people, or 42.2% of the population, over the age 15 were unmarried; 268,291 people, or 27.5% of the population, were married; and 104,099 or 10.7% of the population, had been married but divorced. As of December 2021, there were 252,750 foreign-born people in Stockholm, making up 25.8% of the population. Around 57.5% of them (143,167) immigrated to Sweden when they were at least 10 years old, and 109,213 (43.9%) of them were foreign citizens. The largest nationality groups among the foreign-born people were the
Iraqis Iraqis ( ; ) are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of Iraq. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs, with Kurds accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed by Turkmen. Other ethnic groups from the country include Yazidis, As ...
(16,137), followed by
Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...
(15,693), Iranians (12,329) and
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
(11,569). Of the population, 336,275 residents (34.4%) of Stockholm had a foreign-background. Residents of Stockholm are known as Stockholmers ("''stockholmare''"). Languages spoken in Greater Stockholm outside of Swedish include Finnish, one of the official minority languages of Sweden; and English, as well as Albanian,
Bosnian language Bosnian (; / ; ), sometimes referred to as Bosniak ( / ; ), is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by ethnic Bosniaks. Bosnian is one of ...
, Neo-Aramaic ( Sureth/
Turoyo Turoyo (), also referred to as Surayt (), or modern Suryoyo (), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken by the Syriac Christian community in the Tur Abdin region located in southeastern Turkey and in northeastern Syria. Turoyo ...
),
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, Turkish, Kurdish,
Farsi Persian ( ), also known by its endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoke ...
, Somali, Dutch, Spanish, Serbian and Croatian. Stockholm has been home to a significant Finnish-minority since the 13th century. At the end of the 15th century up to 20% of the population in Stockholm consisted of Finns. The has offered church services since the 16th century, and in 1725 the Finnish Church was opened. 74,000 people in Stockholm have a Finnish-background, which makes Stockholm home to the largest Finnish population in Sweden. Finnish, along with
Meänkieli (literally 'our language'), or Tornedalian is a Finnic language or a group of distinct Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden, particularly along the Torne River Valley. It is officially recognized in Sweden as one of the ...
and the
Sami languages Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
have a protected minority status in Stockholm. This gives the right to use their language when contacting authorities, as well as the right to child and elderly care in their languages. Romani chib and
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
are also recognized minority languages, and have a strengthened right to their language in education. The entire Stockholm metropolitan area, consisting of 26 municipalities, has a population of over 2.2 million, making it the most populous region in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
. The
Stockholm urban area The Stockholm urban area () is the largest and most populous of the statistical localities or urban areas in Sweden. It has no administrative function of its own, but constitutes a continuous built-up area, which extends into 11 municipalities in ...
, defined only for statistical purposes, had a total population of 1,630,738 in 2015. In the following
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
some of the districts are contained within the Stockholm urban area, though not all:


Religion

The Swedish church consists of 27 parishes in Stockholm with almost 50 churches, but also a large number of churches belonging to the free church. Stockholm has six mosques. There are three active synagogues and a community of 4,300 members in Stockholm, which corresponds to 0.4% of Stockholm's population. It is the largest Jewish community in
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.


Culture

As the capital and largest city of Sweden, Stockholm is the primary centre for the country's cultural life. The Swedish Royal Academies, founded by various monarchs after the sixteenth century, award several prestigious awards and serve as intellectual institutions for the country's leading figures. The city also hosts several of Sweden's architectural masterpieces; the Stockholm region is home to three
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s – spots judged as invaluable places that belong to all of humanity: The Drottningholm Palace, Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) and
Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continent ...
. In 1998, Stockholm was named
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
.


Literature

Since its founding, Stockholm has been home to many authors of worldwide recognition; these include figures like
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
and
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...
, as well as other writers important to the development of Swedish literature, like Vilhelm Moberg or
Olof von Dalin Olof von Dalin (29 August 1708 – 12 August 1763) was a Swedish nobleman, poet, historian and courtier. He was an influential literary figure of the Swedish Enlightenment. Background Olof Dalin was born in the parish of Vinberg in Hallan ...
. Stockholm has an active literary life, as it hosts two of Europe's most important literary institutions: the
Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...
and
National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...
. Literature in Stockholm began during the Viking Age, when numerous runestones were carved in the area due to its importance as a trading hub. However, Sweden's literature at the time was primarily based in
Götaland Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...
and
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
, as evidenced by the abundance of runestones in these areas and the settings of poems like
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
. The presence of the
Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
and
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
only served to further strengthen Uppsala's role as Sweden's literary centre throughout Christianisation and the Middle Ages. The centralisation of royal power and relative secularism brought in the sixteenth century led to the rise of Stockholm in Sweden's literature; this is due to several factors, including royal patronage in Stockholm and the relative decline of Uppsala University. The Bible was translated into Swedish during the reign of
Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...
, and he drew several writers to his court due to his fondness for both music and literature. Stockholm's literature first began to flourish in the seventeenth century, with notable writers from the rest of Sweden moving to the city due to the wealth and patronage born from the spoils of the
Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...
. This process of cultural advancement continued into the eighteenth century, where the Gustavian era brought Stockholm's literature to its peak.
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
's scientific works were influential literary pieces, with August Strindberg describing Linnaeus as a "poet who happened to become a naturalist". Another notable literary figure from this time is Carl Michael Bellman, with his unique gift for setting his poems to song; he is often considered the father of the Swedish ballad tradition. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were also a good time for the literature of Stockholm, with the rise of the Romantic and Realist movements, respectively. August Strindberg rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century with several important works; he is still considered one of Sweden's finest writers. Astrid Lindgren, in the twentieth century, was famous for her children's stories, while Vilhelm Moberg's works are often considered national treasures in Sweden.


Architecture

Stockholm's oldest section is Gamla Stan (Old Town), located on the original small islands of the city's earliest settlements and still featuring the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
street layout. Some notable buildings of Gamla Stan are the large German Church (''Tyska kyrkan'') and several mansions and palaces: the '' Riddarhuset'' (the House of Nobility), the Bonde Palace, the Tessin Palace and the Oxenstierna Palace. The oldest building in Stockholm is Riddarholmen Church from the late 13th century. After a fire in 1697 when the original medieval castle was destroyed, Stockholm Palace was erected in a
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style.
Storkyrkan Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...
Cathedral, the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Stockholm, stands next to the castle. It was founded in the 13th century but is clad in a baroque exterior dating to the 1730-40s. As early as the 15th century, the city had expanded outside of its original borders. Some pre-industrial, small-scale buildings from this era can still be found in
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
. Norrmalm, now the central part of the shopping district of Stockholm, was originally a separate city but was incorporated in Stockholm (now Old Town) during the early 17th century. Stockholm has had a tradition of applying for building permits in order to erect a building from the early 18th century, with the oldest building permit from 1713. The building permit application tradition is still ongoing; as a consequence, it is possible to trace the continuous history of a newly built house three centuries into the past. Today the Stockholm City Building committee is in charge of the building permit process and their 1713–1978 archive is maintained by Stockholm City Archives. All drawings of old buildings from 1713 to 1874 are digitised and available through the Stockholms City Archives' website. At the age of industrialisation and at the end of the 19th century and Stockholm grew rapidly, with plans and architecture inspired by the large cities of the continent such as
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Notable works of this time period include public buildings such as the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
and private developments such as the luxury housing developments on
Strandvägen Strandvägen () is a street on Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. Completed just in time for the Stockholm World's Fair 1897, it quickly became known as one of the most prestigious addresses in town. Stretching 1 km (3.500 ft) ...
. In the 20th century, a nationalistic push spurred a new architectural style inspired by medieval and renaissance ancestry as well as influences of the Jugend/Art Nouveau style. A key landmark of Stockholm, the Stockholm City Hall, was erected 1911–1923 by architect Ragnar Östberg. Other notable works of these times are the
Stockholm Public Library Stockholm Public Library (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Stockholms stadsbibliotek'' or ''Stadsbiblioteket'') is a library building in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, and one of the city's most notable structures. T ...
by
Gunnar Asplund Erik Gunnar Asplund (22 September 1885 – 20 October 1940) was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s during the last decade of his life. At this time, he was a major proponent of the mode ...
and the
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
Skogskyrkogården by Asplund and celebrated architect Sigurd Lewerentz. In the 1930s modernism characterised the development of the city as it grew. New residential areas sprang up such as the development on
Gärdet Gärdet is a part of Stockholm, Sweden, east and northeast of Östermalm. Its official name is Ladugårdsgärdet. It is renowned for its large number of modernist apartments. Gärdet is one of the largest residential districts built in Stockholm d ...
while industrial development added to the growth, such as the KF manufacturing industries on Kvarnholmen located in the Nacka Municipality. In the 1950s, suburban development entered a new phase, that had already started in the early 1930s, with the introduction of the Stockholm metro. The modernist developments of Vällingby and Farsta were internationally praised. In the 1960s this suburban development continued but with the aesthetic of the times, the industrialised and mass-produced blocks of flats received considerable criticism. At the same time that this suburban development was taking place, the most central areas of the inner city were being redesigned, known as '' Norrmalmsregleringen''. Sergels Torg, with its five high-rise office towers was created in the 1960s, followed by the total clearance of large areas to make room for new development projects. The most notable buildings from this period include the ensemble of the House of Culture, City Theatre and the Riksbank at Sergels Torg, designed by architect Peter Celsing. Other celebrated works from the 1960s was S:t Görans Gymnasium (originally built as a school for women, the School of House work and Sewing) by Léonie Geisendorf. The municipality appointed an official "board of beauty" called " Skönhetsrådet" in 1919 to protect and preserve the beauty of the city, still an active part of the city planning, and architecture debate in the city.


Music

As the cultural centre of Sweden, Stockholm hosts much of Sweden's influential music industry; the city hosts a variety of musical institutions and many of Sweden's most popular musicians come from Stockholm. Among these are world famous bands like
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
, as well as more modern musicians like Tim Bergling, more commonly called
Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...
. The most prestigious musical institutions in Stockholm include the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
and
Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...
, both founded in the late eighteenth century. Among Stockholm's most influential musical figures are Carl Michael Bellman, Joseph Martin Kraus and
Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...
; the former two were both classical composers, while the latter was one of Europe's most renowned opera singers. Stockholm first became globally prominent in modern music in the twentieth century. The band ABBA, one of the most popular in history, first became famous in the 1970s, after which they dominated popular music for about a decade, before becoming inactive. Other popular bands and musicians formed in the twentieth century include
Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...
and
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, of which the former was most well known internationally while the latter remained popular in Sweden into the twenty-first century, when they ended the band in 2016. In the twenty-first century, Stockholm has played host to several influential musicians. Max Martin, who began his career in the late twentieth century, is one of the world's most influential songwriters; he remains based in Stockholm. Another popular musician was Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, who became famous in 2013 for his electronic music; he committed suicide in 2018. Other popular modern musicians include
Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 single ...
, as well as Eurovision winners Måns Zelmerlöw and
Loreen Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui (born 16 October 1983), known professionally as Loreen (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in Eurovision Song Conte ...
.
Allsång på Skansen ''Allsång på Skansen'' (''Sing-along at Skansen'') is a Sweden, Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is encouraged to sing-along, sing along with musical guest stars to well-known ...
, Sweden's most prominent music festival, is hosted in Stockholm.


Museums

Stockholm is one of the most crowded museum-cities in the world with around 100 museums, visited by millions of people every year. The
Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum () is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sank on her maid ...
() is a
maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navy, navies and the m ...
on
Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...
which displays the only almost fully intact 17th century
ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. The
Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...
houses the largest collection of art in the country: 16,000 paintings and 30,000 objects of art handicraft. The collection dates back to the days of Gustav Vasa in the 16th century, and has since been expanded with works by artists such as
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
, and
Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French Painting, painter and Drawing, draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour ...
, as well as constituting a main part of Sweden's art heritage, manifested in the works of
Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (; spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insightful psyc ...
, Anders Zorn, Johan Tobias Sergel, Carl Larsson, Carl Fredrik Hill and
Ernst Josephson Ernst Abraham Josephson (1851–1906) was a Swedish painter and poet. He specialized in portraits, Genre art, genre scenes of folklife and folklore. Background He was born to a middle-class family of merchants of Jewish ancestry. His uncle Lud ...
. From the year 2013 to 2018 the museum was closed due to a restoration of the building. Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art) is Sweden's national museum of
modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
. It has works by noted modern artists such as
Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
and
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
.
Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...
(in English: the Sconce) is a combined
open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...
and zoo, located on the island of
Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...
. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. Other notable museums (in alphabetical order): * ABBA: The Museum, an interactive exhibit about the pop-group
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
*
Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continent ...
, The Viking City of Birka Swedish sites on the World Heritage List * Fotografiska, a contemporary museum of photography, art and culture *
Livrustkammaren The Royal Armoury () is a museum in the Royal Palace in 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 ...
, the royal armoury, located at Stockholm Palace *
Maritime Museum (Stockholm) The Maritime Museum () in Stockholm, Sweden is a museum for naval history, merchant shipping and shipbuilding. Located in the Gärdet section of the inner-city district Östermalm, the museum offers a panoramic view of the bay Djurgårdsbrunnsviken ...
, museum for naval history, merchant shipping and shipbuilding *
Medelhavsmuseet Medelhavsmuseet (The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities) is a museum in central Stockholm focused around collections of mainly ancient objects from the Mediterranean area and the Near East. Since 1999 the museum is one of four com ...
, focused on the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean * Millesgården, home of the sculptor Carl Milles and now a museum of his works *
Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (), located in Stockholm, Sweden, is a museum launched by Sweden's Parliament in 1926, with the Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874–1960) as founding director. The museum is located on Skepp ...
, mix of art and culture from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
*
Nobel Museum The Nobel Prize Museum (formerly the Nobel Museum []) is located in the former Stockholm Stock Exchange Building, Stock Exchange Building (''Börshuset'') on the north side of the square Stortorget in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, ...
, devoted to the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
,
Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
, and the founder of the prize,
Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...
(1833–1896) *
Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum () is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the ...
, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden * Royal Coin Cabinet, dedicated to the history of money and
economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...
in general *
Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...
, The world's first open-air museum with 150 historic buildings, zoo with Nordic wild and domestic animals * Stockholm City Museum, a museum of 500 years of Sweden's history *
Swedish Army Museum The Swedish Army Museum () is a museum of military history located in the district of Östermalm in Stockholm. It reopened in 2002 after a long period of closure, and was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005. Its displays il ...
, Swedish history, from 1500 to the present day with historical objects and realistic scenes * Swedish History Museum magnificent medieval art and The History of Sweden exhibition which offers encounters * Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden's largest museum about new species and fossils of their predecessors in evolution * Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology, Sweden's largest museum of
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
* Toy Museum Stockholm a museum of toys and collectables


Art

Stockholm has a vibrant art scene with a number of internationally recognised art centres and commercial galleries. Amongst others, privately sponsored initiatives such as Bonniers Konsthall, Magasin 3, and state-supported institutions such as Tensta Konsthall and Index all show leading international and national artists. In the last few years, a gallery district has emerged around Hudiksvallsgatan where leading galleries such as Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Brändström & Stene have located. Other important commercial galleries include Nordenhake, Milliken Gallery and Galleri Magnus Karlsson. Stockholm also hosts the Thiel Gallery, founded by financier Ernest Thiel in the early twentieth century. The City of Stockholm also has its own art gallery and museum, Liljevalchs konsthall, with a well visited spring salon every year with works of art from professionals and amateurs; the art showed every spring is sent in anonymously and picked by a committee.


Suburbs

The Stockholm suburbs are places with diverse cultural background. Some areas in the suburbs, including those of Skärholmen, Tensta, Jordbro, Fittja, Husby, Brandbergen, Rinkeby, Rissne,
Kista Kista ( is a district in the borough of Rinkeby-Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. It has a strategic position located in between Sweden's main airport, the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport and central Stockholm, and alongside the main nationa ...
, Hagsätra, Hässelby, Farsta, Rågsved, Flemingsberg, have high percentages of immigrants or second generation immigrants. These mainly come from the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
( Assyrian, Turks and
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
) also Bosnians and Serbs, but there are also immigrants from Africa,
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and Latin America. Other parts of the inner suburbs, such as Täby, Danderyd, Lidingö, Solna, Nacka and, as well as some of the suburbs mentioned above, have a majority of ethnic Swedes.


Theatre and music

Distinguished among Stockholm's many theatres are the
Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...
(''Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern''), one of Europe's most renowned theatres, and the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
, inaugurated in 1773. Other notable theatres are the Stockholm City Theatre (Stockholms stadsteater), the Peoples Opera (''Folkoperan''), the Modern Theatre of Dance (''Moderna dansteatern''), the Chinateatern, China Theatre, the Göta Lejon Theatre, the Mosebacke Theatre, and the Oscarsteatern, Oscar Theatre. Premises for orchestral music and concerts include
Stockholm Concert Hall The Stockholm Concert Hall () is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also wh ...
where for example the yearly awarding ceremony for the Nobel prize is held, and Berwald Hall, The Berwald hall, home to the National Radio Orchestra. Influential rappers Yung Lean and Bladee were born in and are currently based in Stockholm along with British-Swedish experimental artist & designer Ecco2K. Stockholm has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1975 at Stockholmsmässan, and in 2000 and 2016 at Globe Arena.


Amusement park

Gröna Lund is an amusement park located on the island of
Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...
. This amusement park has over 30 attractions and many restaurants. It is a popular tourist attraction and visited by thousands of people every day. It is open from the end of April to the middle of September. Gröna Lund also serves as a concert venue.


Media

Stockholm is the media centre of Sweden. It has four nationwide daily newspapers and is also the central location of the publicly funded radio (Sveriges Radio, SR) and television (Sveriges Television, SVT). In addition, all other major television channels have their base in Stockholm, such as: TV3 (Viasat), TV3, TV4 Group, TV4 and TV6 (Sweden), TV6. All major magazines are also located to Stockholm, as are the largest literature publisher, the Bonnier Group, Bonnier group. The world's best-selling video game ''Minecraft'' was created in Stockholm by Markus Persson, Markus 'Notch' Persson in 2009, and its company Mojang is headquartered there.


Sports

The most popular spectator sports are Association football, football and ice hockey. The three most popular football clubs in Stockholm are AIK Fotboll, AIK, Djurgårdens IF Fotboll, Djurgårdens IF and Hammarby Fotboll, Hammarby IF, who all play in the first tier, Allsvenskan. AIK Fotboll, AIK play at Sweden's List of national stadiums, national stadium for football, Strawberry Arena in
Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...
, with a capacity of 54,329. The 2017 UEFA Europa League Final was played on 24 May between AFC Ajax and Manchester United at this arena. Manchester United won the trophy after a 2–0 victory. Djurgårdens IF and Hammarby IF, Hammarby play at 3Arena (Stockholm), 3Arena in Johanneshov, with a capacity of 30,000 spectators. All three clubs are multi-sport clubs, which have ice hockey teams; AIK IF, AIK and Djurgårdens IF Hockey, Djurgårdens IF play in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier and Hammarby in Hockeyettan, the third tier, as well as teams in bandy, basketball, floorball and other sports, including individual sports. Historically, the city was the host of the
1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
. From those days stem the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholms Olympiastadion which has since hosted numerous sports events, notably football and athletics. Other major sports arenas are Strawberry Arena, the new national football stadium, Avicii Arena (colloquially called Globen), a multi-sport arena and one of the largest spherical buildings in the world and the nearby indoor arena Hovet. Besides the 1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm hosted the Equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Summer Olympics Equestrian Games and the UEFA Euro 1992. The city was also second runner up in the Bids for the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Summer Olympics bids. Stockholm hosted the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Stockholm recently bid jointly with Åre for the 2026 Winter Olympics but lost out to the joint bid of Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, if awarded it would have been the second city to host both Summer and Winter Olympics after Beijing and for the 2026 Winter Paralympics and with Åre it would have also be to host all three winter event including Winter Olympic Games, Winter Paralympic Games and the Special Olympics World Games, Special Olympics World Winter Games in which Åre would have host in 2021 along with Östersund, however Sweden pulled out host the Special Olympic World Winter Games 2021 due to lack of funding instead it moved to Kazan, Russia and was delayed to 2022. Stockholm first bid for the Winter Olympics for 2022 Winter Olympics, but withdrew its bid in 2014 due to financial matters. Stockholm also hosted all but one of the Nordic Games, a winter multi-sport event that predated the Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics. In 2015, the Stockholms Kungar Rugby league club was formed. They are Stockholm's first Rugby league team and will play in Sweden's National Rugby league championship. Every year Stockholm is host to the Ötillö, ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship. Stockholm has hosted the Stockholm Open, an ATP World Tour 250 series professional tennis tournament annually since 1969. Each year since 1995, the tournament has been hosted at the Kungliga tennishallen.


Cuisine

Dating back to at least the 1350s, Storkällaren or Rådhuskällaren is Stockholm's oldest known place of business. Swedish 1700s composer and entertainer Carl Michael Bellman was a frequent visitor to the city's taverns, inns and wine cellars. In his Poetry, poems, Bellman mentioned 113 taverns and inns in and around Stockholm, 30 of which were located in the Gamla Stan. In 2016, there were 3,315 pubs, Coffeehouse, cafes and restaurants in the municipality of Stockholm. Among the most famous and acclaimed is the restaurant Operakällaren. In Stockholm and its surroundings, only two historic eateries remain operating in unbroken succession and in the same location: Stallmästaregården in
Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...
, dating back to the mid-17th century, and Den gyldene freden, Den Gyldene Freden in Gamla Stan, located at the same address since 1722. "Freden" may thus be the world's oldest continuously existing city pub in the same location.


Yearly events and festivals

* Stockholm Jazz Festival is one of Sweden's oldest festivals. The festival takes place at Skeppsholmen in July. * Stockholm Early Music Festival, the largest international event for historical music in the Nordic countries. First week in June since 2002. * The Stockholm Culture Festival () is a free recurring cultural festival in August, which is held by the City of Stockholm. Runs in parallel with We Are Stockholm. * We Are Sthlm, We Are Stockholm is a free youth festival people between 13 and 19 years. Runs in parallel with the Stockholm Culture Festival in August and is held by the City of Stockholm. Between 2001 and 2013, the festival went by the name Ung08. * Stockholm Pride is the largest LGBT Pride event in the Nordic countries and takes place in the last week of July every year. The Stockholm Pride festival always ends with a parade and in 2007, 50,000 people marched with the parade and about 500,000 watched. * The Stockholm Marathon takes place on a Saturday in early June each year. * The Nobel Prize, Nobel Banquet takes place at
Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...
every year on 10 December. * The Stockholm Water Festival () was a popular summer festival held annually in Stockholm between 1991 and 1999. * Manifestation, a yearly ecumenical Christian festival with up to 25,000 participants. * Summerburst, Summerburst Music festival * Stockholm International Film Festival, The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm each year since 1990.


Environment


Green city with a national urban park

Stockholm is one of the cleanest capitals in the world. The city was granted the 2010 European Green Capital Award by the European Commission, EU Commission; this was Europe's first "green capital". Applicant cities were evaluated in several ways: climate change, local transport, public green areas, air quality, noise, waste, water consumption, waste water treatment, sustainable utilisation of land, biodiversity and environmental management. Out of 35 participant cities, eight finalists were chosen: Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Hamburg, Münster, and Oslo. Some of the reasons why Stockholm won the 2010 European Green Capital Award were: its integrated administrative system, which ensures that environmental aspects are considered in budgets, operational planning, reporting, and monitoring; its cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 25% per capita in ten years; and its decision towards being fossil fuel free by 2050. Stockholm has long demonstrated concern for the environment. The city's environmental program is the fifth since the first one was established in the mid-1970s. In 2011, Stockholm passed the title of European Green Capital to Hamburg, Germany.


Role model

At the beginning of 2010, Stockholm launched the program Professional Study Visits in order to share the city's green best practices. The program provides visitors with the opportunity to learn how to address issues such as waste management, urban planning, carbon dioxide emissions, and sustainable and efficient transportation system, among others. According to the European Cities Monitor 2010, Stockholm is the best city in terms of freedom from pollution. Surrounded by 219 nature reserves, Stockholm has around 1,000 green spaces, which corresponds to 30% of the city's area. Founded in 1995, the Royal National City Park is the world's first legally protected "national urban park". For a description of the formation process, value assets and implementation of the legal protection of The Royal National Urban Park, se
Schantz 2006
The water in Stockholm is so clean that people can dive and fish in the centre of the city. The waters of downtown Stockholm serve as spawning grounds for multiple fish species including trout and salmon, though human intervention is needed to keep populations up. Regarding emissions, the government's target is that Stockholm will be free before 2050.


Air quality

Stockholm used to have problematic levels of particulates (PM10) due to studded winter tires, but by the 2010s they were below limits, after street-specific bans. Nitrogen oxides emitted by diesel vehicles were a problem in the 2010s, but by 2021 they were again below limits, after electric cars had started to replace diesel-driven ones, and pollution regulations for lorries had tightened. As of 2021, the pollutant that exceeds limits is ozone, due to global pollution. In 2021 the average levels for urban background (roof of Torkel Knutssonsgatan on Södermalm) were: Nitrogen dioxide, NO2 9.7 μg/m3, Particulates, PM10 9.5 μg/m3, PM2.5 5.1 μg/m3, soot 0.36 μg/m3, ultrafine particles 6100/cm3, Sulfur dioxide, SO2 0.4 μg/m3, ozone 53 μg/m3. For urban street level (the densely trafficked Hornsgatan on Södermalm) the average levels were: NO2 23 μg/m3, PM10 17 μg/m3, PM2.5 6.0 μg/m3, soot 0.55 μg/m3.


Transport


Public transportation

Stockholm has an extensive public transport system. It consists of the Stockholm Metro (), which consist of three colour-coded main systems (green, red and blue) with seven lines (10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19); the Stockholm commuter rail () which runs on the state-owned railroads on six lines (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48); four Trams in Stockholm, light rail/tramway lines (Spårväg City, 7, Nockebybanan, 12, Lidingöbanan, 21, and Tvärbanan, 22); the Swedish three foot gauge railways, 891 mm narrow-gauge railway Roslagsbanan, on three lines (27, 28, 29) in the northeastern part; the local railway Saltsjöbanan, on two lines (25, 26) in the southeastern part; a large number of bus lines, and the inner-city Djurgården ferry. The overwhelming majority of the land-based public transport in Stockholm County (save for the airport buses/Arlanda Express, airport express trains and other few commercially viable bus lines) is organized under the common umbrella of Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL), an wholly owned by Stockholm County Council. Since the 1990s, the operation and maintenance of the SL public transport services are contracted out to independent companies bidding for contracts, such as MTR Corporation, MTR, which operate the Metro. The archipelago boat traffic is handled by Waxholmsbolaget, which is also wholly owned by the County Council. SL has a common ticket system in the entire Stockholm County, which allows for easy travel between different modes of transport. The tickets are of two main types, single ticket and travel cards, both allowing for unlimited travel with SL in the entire Stockholm County for the duration of the ticket validity. On 1 April 2007, a zone system (A, B, C) and price system was introduced. Single tickets were available in forms of cash ticket, individual unit pre-paid tickets, pre-paid ticket slips of 8, SMS-ticket and machine ticket. Cash tickets bought at the point of travel were the most expensive and pre-paid tickets slips of 8 are the cheapest. A single ticket costs SEK 32 with the card and SEK 45 without and is valid for 75 minutes. The duration of the travel card validity depended on the exact type; they were available from 24 hours up to a year. As of 2018, a 30-day card costs SEK 860. Tickets of all these types were available with reduced prices for students and persons under 20 and over 65 years of age. On 9 January 2017, the zone system was removed, and the cost of the tickets was increased.


The City Line Project

With an estimated cost of SEK 16.8 billion (January 2007 price level), which equals 2.44 billion US dollars, the Stockholm City Line, City Line, an environmentally certified project, comprises a -long commuter train tunnel (in rock and water) beneath Stockholm, with two new stations (Stockholm City and Stockholm Odenplan), and a -long railway bridge at Enskede-Årsta, Årsta. The City Line was built by the Swedish Transport Administration in co-operation with the City of Stockholm, Stockholm County Council, and Stockholm Transport, SL. As Stockholm Central Station is overloaded, the purpose of this project was to double the city's track capacity and improve service efficiency. Operations began in July 2017. Between Riddarholmen and Söder Mälarstrand, the City Line runs through a submerged concrete tunnel. As a green project, the City Line includes the purification of waste water; noise reduction through sound-attenuating tracks; the use of synthetic diesel, which provides users with clean air; and the recycling of excavated rocks.


Roads

Stockholm is at the junction of the International E-road network, European routes European route E4, E4, European route E18, E18 and European route E20, E20. A Stockholm Ring Road, half-completed motorway ring road exists on the south, west and north sides of the City Centre. The northern section of the ring road, Norra Länken, opened for traffic in 2015 while the final subsea eastern section is being discussed as a future project. A bypass motorway for traffic between Northern and Southern Sweden, Förbifart Stockholm, is being built. The many islands and waterways make extensions of the road system both complicated and expensive, and new motorways are often built as systems of tunnels and bridges.


Congestion charges

Stockholm has a congestion pricing system, the Stockholm congestion tax, in use on a permanent basis since 1 August 2007, after having had a seven-month trial period in the first half of 2006. The City Centre is within the congestion tax zone. All the entrances and exits of this area have unmanned control points operating with automatic number plate recognition. All vehicles entering or exiting the congestion tax affected area, with a few exceptions, have to pay 10–20 Swedish krona, SEK (1.09–2.18 Euro, EUR, 1.49–2.98 United States dollar, USD) depending on the time of day between 06:30 and 18:29. The maximum tax amount per vehicle per day is SEK 60 (EUR 6.53). Payment is done by various means within 14 days after one has passed one of the control points; one cannot pay at the control points. After the trial period was over, consultative referendums were held in Stockholm Municipality and several other municipalities in Stockholm County. The then-reigning government (Persson Cabinet) stated that they would only take into consideration the results of the referendum in Stockholm Municipality. The opposition parties (Alliance (Sweden), Alliance for Sweden) stated that if they were to form a cabinet after the 2006 Swedish general election, general election—which was held the same day as the congestion tax referendums—they would take into consideration the referendums held in several of the other municipalities in Stockholm County as well. The results of the referendums were that the Stockholm Municipality voted for the congestion tax, while the other municipalities voted against it. The opposition parties won the general election and a few days before they formed government (Reinfeldt Cabinet) they announced that the congestion tax would be reintroduced in Stockholm, but that the revenue would go entirely to road construction in and around Stockholm. During the trial period and according to the agenda of the previous government the revenue went entirely to public transport.


Ferries

Stockholm has regular ferry lines to
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
and Turku in Finland (commonly called "Baltic Sea cruiseferries, Finlandsfärjan"); Mariehamn, Åland;
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, Estonia; Riga, Latvia, and to Saint Petersburg in Russia. The large
Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...
is served by the archipelago boats of Waxholmsbolaget (owned and subsidized by Stockholm County Council). Additionally, there are many for-profit private companies offering tours and regular service in the archipelago.


City bikes

Between April and October, during the warmer months, it is possible to rent Stockholm City Bikes by purchasing a bike card online or through retailers. Cards allow users to rent bikes from any Stockholm City Bikes stand spread across the city and return them in any stand.
There are two types of cards: the Season Card (valid from 1 April to 31 October) and the 3-day card. When their validity runs out they can be reactivated and are therefore reusable. Bikes can be used for up to three hours per loan and can be rented from Monday to Sunday from 6 am to 10 pm. These bikes have unfortunately not been a huge success because of people throwing them into the water or destroying them. Although the city bikes are not the only victims of this, Motorized scooter, e-scooters get similar treatment.


Airports

* International and domestic: ** Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Sweden with 27 million passengers in 2017. It is located about north of Stockholm and serves as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines. ** Stockholm Bromma Airport is located about west of Stockholm, also serves as a hub for Braathens Regional Airlines, BRA (Braathens Regional Airlines). * Only international: ** Stockholm Skavsta Airport is located south of Stockholm. It is located away from Södermanland County capital Nyköping. ** Stockholm Västerås Airport is located west of Stockholm, in the city of Västerås. The ''Arlanda Express'' airport rail link runs between Arlanda North Station, Arlanda Airport and Stockholm Central Station. With a journey of 20 minutes, the train ride is the fastest way of travelling to the city centre. Arlanda Central Station is also served by commuter, regional and intercity trains. Additionally, there are also bus lines, Flygbussarna, that run between central Stockholm and all the airports. there are no airports specifically for general aviation in the Stockholm area.


Inter-city trains

Stockholm Central Station has train connections to many Swedish cities as well as to Oslo Central Station, Oslo, Norway, Copenhagen Central Station, Copenhagen, Denmark and Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Hamburg, Germany. The popular X 2000 service to Gothenburg takes three hours. Most of the trains are run by SJ AB.


International rankings

Stockholm often performs well in international rankings, some of which are mentioned below: *In the book ''The Ultimate Guide to International Marathons'' (1997), written by Dennis Craythorn and Rich Hanna, Stockholm Marathon is ranked as the best marathon in the world. * In the 2006 European Innovation Scoreboard, prepared by the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) and the Joint Research Centre's Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen of the European Commission, Stockholm was ranked as the most innovation, innovative city in Europe. * In the 2008 World Knowledge Competitiveness Index, published by the Centre for International Competitiveness, Stockholm was ranked as the sixth most Competition (companies), competitive region in the world and the most competitive region outside the United States. * In the 2006 European Regional Growth Index (E-REGI), published by JLL (company), Jones Lang LaSalle, Stockholm was ranked fifth on the list of European cities with the strongest GDP growth forecast. Stockholm was ranked first in Scandinavia and second outside Central and Eastern Europe. * In the 2007 European Cities Monitor, published by Cushman & Wakefield, Stockholm was ranked as the best Nordic city to locate a business. In the same report, Stockholm was ranked first in Europe in terms of freedom from pollution. * In a 2007 survey performed by the environmental economist Matthew Kahn for the ''Reader's Digest'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked first on its list of the "greenest" and most "livable" cities in the world. * In a 2008 survey published by ''Reader's Digest'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked fourth in the world in its list of the "world's top ten honest cities". * In a 2008 survey published by the ''National Geographic Traveler'' magazine, Gamla Stan (the Old Town) in Stockholm was ranked sixth on its list of rated historic places. * In a 2008 survey published by the ''Foreign Policy'' magazine, Stockholm was ranked twenty-fourth on its list of the world's most global cities. * In 2009 Stockholm was awarded the title as European Green Capital 2010, as the first Green capital ever in the European Green Capital Award scheme. * In 2013, Stockholm was named the 8th most competitive city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit. *In 2016 Stockholm was one of the cities with the most Unicorn (finance), unicorn companies in the world. *In 2019 Stockholm was awarded the World Smart City Award in the city category for its leadership of the European Smart Cities and Communities project GrowSmarter.


Twin cities and towns

Stockholm does not have any twin cities.The policy of Stockholm is to have informal town twinning with all capitals of the world, its main focus being those in northern Europe. Stockholm does not sign any formal town twinning treaties, and has only cooperation agreements on specific issues limited in time —


See also

* Holmium—a chemical element named after Stockholm * List of people from Stockholm * Outline of Stockholm * Ports of the Baltic Sea * Stockholm syndrome


References


External links


Stockholm
��official website
Stockholm Visitors Board
��the official visitors' guide * Selma Lagerlöf'
account of the history of Stockholm
in Ch. VII of ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils''
Tunnelbana Karta 2023 – Tunnelbanan Stockholm
{{Authority control Stockholm, Capitals in Europe Cities in Sweden Coastal cities and towns in Sweden County seats in Sweden Members of the Hanseatic League Municipal seats of Stockholm County Populated lakeshore places in Sweden Populated places in Stockholm Municipality Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Port cities in Sweden Swedish municipal seats