Västerlånggatan
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Västerlånggatan ("the Western Long Street") is a
street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...
in
Gamla Stan Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...
, the old town of
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. Stretching southward between the squares
Mynttorget Mynttorget (, "the Coin Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Setting From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan l ...
and Järntorget, it follows the course of the city's now demolished 13th-century defensive wall. The blocks along the street are elongated but only a few meters in width; those on the eastern side oriented lengthwise, and those on the western crosswise. Only four blocks thus forms the eastern side of the street while some 20 are lined-up along the western side. Most (but not all) of the front doors of the buildings are located either on the quiet Prästgatan, the parallel street passing along the eastern side, or in one of the numerous alleys on the street's western side. The intact façades of the northernmost blocks are hiding the semi-detached offices of 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 ...
. To the south of those are the remaining numerous and very narrow blocks and alleys which before the great fire of 1625 occupied the entire western side of the street.


Origin of the name

Today renowned as one of Gamla Stan's most picturesque and busy tourist magnets, Västerlånggatan was for many centuries one of the major streets of Stockholm together with
Österlånggatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget (Stockholm), Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron. Major sights include the statue of Saint Ge ...
, both of which ran outside the city walls. During the 15th century, they were both called ''Allmänningsgatan'' ("The Common Street") or ''Långa gatan'' ("The long street"), occasionally in combination, like ''Allmenninx longe gathen'' or ''longe Almenninx gathen'' in 1514, and/or with a suffix such as ''västan till'' ("to the west") appended. The current name was officially established in 1885.


History

Originally the street was little more than a pathway passing just outside the city's western wall and following the shoreline, as the gently meandering street still reminds us. It did however connect the northern city gate, ''Norrbro'', with the southern, ''Söderbro'', and it was thus the main route between
Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...
, the province north of the city, and
Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergà ...
, south of the city. During the 15th century, the street became the paved artery road it still is today, with dwellings and shops on either side. During the Middle Ages and the Vasa era, the southern part of the street formed part of the district centred on Järntorget, at the time the most prominent quarters in the city inhabited by influential merchants such as Mårten Trotzig, Mårten Leuhusen and Erik Larsson von der Linde. Along the rest of the street craftsmen had their small workshops, and the northernmost section, stretching between
Mynttorget Mynttorget (, "the Coin Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Setting From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan l ...
and Storkyrkobrinken, was called ''Stadssmedjegatan'' ("City's Smith's Street"), because the
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
s who were confined outside the city because of the danger of fire had their headquarters there. During the 17th century this section was instead inhabited by goldsmiths and accordingly climbed the ranks. From the middle of the 19th century, the commercial centre of Stockholm was transplanted north of the old town that gradually started to transform into a slum district. Västerlånggatan however escaped this fate, as it was connected to Drottninggatan by the bridge Riksbron in 1907, and the shops along the street were updated. The medieval street façades were transformed in accordance to the taste of the day; plaster ornaments and cast iron
colonette A colonnette is a small slender column, usually decorative, which supports a Beam (structure), beam or lintel. Colonnettes have also been used to refer to a feature of furnishings such as a dressing table and Grandfather clock, case clock, and eve ...
s mail-ordered from Germany replaced the medieval fronts, resulting in the present large shop windows usually displaying the well-preserved interiors from the later part of that century while concealing the often still intact medieval cores of the buildings. Many of the boutiques founded during the 19th and early 20th century, were still around until the late 1970s; the northern section packed with hotels, while the remaining street was renowned for its milliner's shops including up to 30 coat shops. During the later half of the 20th century however, the scene started to change, increasing rents forcing many old shops to shut down or relocate, the oldest after more than 250 years in business, subsequently replaced by more or less fitting successors marketing tourist-oriented gewgaws. Notwithstanding, Swedes and tourists alike still love to mingle among the boutiques, the medieval gables and the later additions, the street thus preserving its old ways — still offering its musicians to Stockholmers hurrying to work in the morning; blustering pub-crawlers still vexing stoic dwellers, and the old forged iron signs continuing to ignore the neon signs still tempting passers-by with all sorts of gadgets. Gone are, however, the filth, funeral processions, and prostitution in the area brilliantly described by the troubadour Carl Michael Bellman.


A walk north to south


Mynttorget-Storkyrkobrinken

On Number 1–5 is ''Demokrativerkstaden'' ("Democracy Workshop"), a pedagogical role-playing environment operated by the Riksdag offering young school children the chance to act as MPs for a few hours. Salviigränd, named after Johan Adler Salvius (1590–1652), the Swedish main negotiator during the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
in 1648, used to stretch down to the water. On the left corner (Number 1) is a suite of rooms featuring a neoclassical interior from 1795 restored to its original state, sumptuously furnished and richly decorated with friezes and medallions. On Number 6 was until recently the bookstore ''Hemlins bokhandel''. It was founded in 1864 and taken over by Emil Hemlin in the 1880s. From the late 18th century and well into modern times, the neighbourhood used to be the quarters of the 'printed word', the part of the city where both the books and their consumers were located, and were people from other parts of the country would come to find and talk about the latest novels. Above street level and behind the intact front, Number 7–17 are the semi-detached offices of the Riksdag. On number 7 are Roman letters displaying the year 1888 when the
Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...
sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...
façade was created. On number 13 above the windows on the first floor, are the heads of Victor Emanuel II,
Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
and Cavour, obviously added by someone favourably disposed towards the
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
. The entire block is hiding the northern end of Prästgatan, one of the few blind ends of the old town, which was historically known as ''Helvetesgränd'' ("Alley of Hell"), either because the city executioner resided in the area or because the entire neighbourhood is located north of the cathedral (e.g. in Norse folklore associated with the "Kingdom of the Dead"). On the opposite side, Number 8–14, is another block occupied by the offices of the Riksdag. The intact front hide the semi-detached interior where a few clerks are sitting next to
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries and sculpted beams featuring animals. The three small vaults and their respective street signs — Klockgjutargränd, Kolmätargränd, Stenbastugränd — gives a hint of what the neighbourhood used to be before WW2 when the circular courtyard, Brantingtorget, was created and the three alleys stretched much further west. Just east of the crossing between Storkyrkobrinken and VästerlÃ¥nggatan, the main northern city gate used to stand during the Middle Ages. At the time a narrow alley, the street was widened during the 1650s in order to create a more stately connection between the Royal Palace and the palaces on
Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...
.


Storkyrkobrinken-KÃ¥kbrinken

On Number 16 is the gilded raven of ''Apoteket Korpen'' ("The Raven pharmacy") founded in 1674 and located on
Stortorget Stortorget (, "the Grand Square") is a public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre on which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being. To ...
during 250 years. It was one of the few and one of the oldest pharmacies in Stockholm, a city with all to few doctors and frequently ravaged by epidemics, flues, and plague, pestilences thought to be cured using frogs, snakes, human fat, and pulverized mummies. Today there is a preserved interior from 1924, and the pharmacy only offers factory-made medicine, except for the Christmas mustard made after its own recipe. The café ''Gråmunken'' on Number 18 is a well-established café, since several generations renowned for the medieval vaults in the basement. While a gravel ridge composes most of the soil in the surrounding area, the block behind the café is built on solid rock located above sea level 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 hopefully future excavations will be able to further document the earliest history of the area. Archaeological excavations in the street just outside Number 18 have unveiled several layers of earlier street levels, with traces of paved streets found a metre below the present pavement. North of Number 18 is Stora Gråmunkegränd ("Great Grayfriars Alley"), which used to lead from the Greyfriars islet (
Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...
) to the defensive tower on the east side of VästerlÃ¥nggatan. South of the café is Helga Lekamens Gränd ("Alley of the Holy Body f Christ), named after an influential guild existent from the 15th century to the Reformation (1520s). Between these two alleys is a barred alley. Behind the café and its rainbow flag on Number 19 is the story of one of the oldest shops in the world: The ironmonger's shop of C J Bergman founded in 1654, established on this address in 1712, and taken over by Bergman in 1842. When discontinued in the early 1980s, it was the last institution of the many blacksmiths' shops and workshops once occupying the entire neighbourhood and offering horseshoes, swords, guns, pots, and nails. The roof of the building is a ''Säteritak'' — a Swedish-style mansion roof introduced in the 17th century and featuring a so-called ''Italian'', a low storey dividing the roof into a lower and an upper part and usually containing either rooms for servants or a promenade floor with a panoramic view over the city. The
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
glazed façade on Number 22 is from 1907 and the building, slightly less than five metres wide, is arguably the narrowest hotel in town. However inviting, the building safeguards stories of both local and national heroes: During the 18th century a number of taverns succeeded each other's on the address, one of which was the "Deft & Done" (''Flink & Färdig''), named after the inscription on one of the emergency coins of King
Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...
, and owned a by Catharina Burman, a woman renowned for "intoxication, oaths, scolding, and curses". A hundred years prior to this two printers resided in the block; one was Arnold Helsing, the other his journeyman Ignatius Meuer, who immigrated to Stockholm from
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
, Germany, in 1610 and 21 years old took over the printing house. Before Ignatius died 83 years old, the nine presses in his workshop had produced the ''Ordinari Post-Tijdender'', the oldest newspaper in the world, and the Bible of
Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...
in Swedish. Ignatius and the son of the former printer eventually gave their names to the two alley flanking the hotel: Ignatiigränd and Göran Hälsinges Gränd, the latter is otherwise mostly remembered through the lyrics of the troubadour Carl Michael Bellman who describes the alley as renowned for its prostitutes. On Number 24 and 24 A are two friezes accompanied by a legend — A ship got stuck in a lull but was miraculously saved by a beautiful lady who brought the captain down to her palace under the waves. In return for favourable winds she had the captain promise to deliver a letter to a Mr. MÃ¥ns on VästerlÃ¥nggatan immediately on his return. Back in Stockholm, however, the captain forgot his promise and choose to unship his goods before delivering the letter. When he finally went to deliver it, he was told the only Mr. MÃ¥ns in the building was a cat, which upon reading the letter fell into tears, scratched the captain to death before jumping the window only to get turned into stone. A historian is likely to give the alternative explanation the cats are in fact
Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
-style
marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
s added to the medieval building by the furrier Nikolaus Björk in the 1740s, but that's another story. The alley passing through the building, Gåsgränd, and the one south of it, Överskärargränd, both lead to Gåstorget, one of the smallest squares in Stockholm. On Number 27 is the House of Palmstedt, the private home of Erik Palmstedt, the great architect of the closing 18th century. Designed in 1801, but still uncompleted by the time for his death two years later, the façade reflects the architect's late reduced style, lighter than the
Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
at
Skeppsbron Skeppsbron ( Swedish: "The Ship's Bridge") is both a street and a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, stretching from the bridge Strömbron in front of the Royal Palace southward to Slussen. The quay Skeppsbrok ...
but tighter than the
Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...
at
Stortorget Stortorget (, "the Grand Square") is a public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre on which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being. To ...
. Still preserved are the cast iron columns and the
archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental Molding (decorative), moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, ...
of the portico, and the
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s and vaults of the entrance and staircase. On the right side is a boundary plate displaying the coat of arms of the provinces
Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...
and
Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergà ...
, the message of which, ''UPLANDz och SUDERMANNALANDz SKILLNAD'' ("Uppland's and Södermanland's difference"), is often misinterpreted as indicating the
delimitation Electoral boundary delimitation (or simply boundary delimitation or delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries of electoral precincts and related divisions involved in elections, such as Federated state, states, counties or other municipalities ...
of the two provinces, but is only informing of an old border between two historical
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s. The present 19th century façade of Number 28 conceals the former residence of Jöran Persson (1530–1568), the Machiavellian advisor of King
Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...
, who used his influence well and owned a series of buildings in the city, including Number 30. He was removed and his estates confiscated following the death of the king. On either side of the building are the alleys Sven Vintappares Gränd and Didrik Ficks Gränd, the former named after the wine-tapper of the king and the latter named after a German tenant, Didrich Fischer, in a property owned by the son of Jöran Persson, Erik Jöransson Tegel. During a restoration in 1946, a medieval bricked wall was discovered on Number 29, today exposed over the shop windows. The eleven pointed arches and the bricked herringbone pattern, dates back to the 14th century, while the glazed window are later additions — the first glazier in Stockholm is mentioned in 1421 and glass was still luxury at the time, so these windows were shut using wooden shutters, some rays of light possibly passing in through scraped leather or panes of bones. The cast iron columns on street-level are from the 19th century. On Number 37 was the home of
Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...
, former PM assassinated in 1986, and unconfirmed reports have it his murderer was seen lurking in the street shortly before the assassination. On the opposite side is the vault leading to Yxsmedsgränd, a name literally meaning "Axe Blacksmith's Alley" but probably a corruption of the name ''Yskeme'' owned by a man living in the alley and possibly of Estonian or Finnish origin.


KÃ¥kbrinken-Tyska Brinken

There used to be dozens of coat shops in central Stockholm, but today only two remain, one of which is located on Number 40, Åströms Kappaffär. The shop was founded in 1911, and the current owner, Eva Sjölund, has been working there since 1979, just like her mother and grandmother. On the address was the milliner's shop of Carolina Lindström, founded in 1842 and during many years the oldest in town. She was arguably one of the most enterprising women in the city, the habit of working late at night giving her the nick "The Evening Star" and, in 1844, she became rich as she got to know about the death of King Charles XIV before her competitors and bought all the crapes and other mourning clothes in the city. She even survived her husband, a gambling spice trader who nearly bankrupted the family, and pursued her business for 50 years until her death. Johan Hoghusen, a wine trader who immigrated from
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
in 1620, lived on Number 44, just as did his son and namesake who was raised to peerage and appointed county governor, and for several centuries the building continued to be leavened by the smells of liquor. The milliner's shop Lamberg, founded in 1877 by the then 21 years old Augusta Lamberg from
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, was located over the punch manufacture of J G Grönstedt in the basement, and, as the story goes, the vapours from the latter attracted customers to the former. The building was redesigned in the 18th century in the
Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
manners of J W Dinling, the rounded corners of which are still found in the courtyard and on the first floor. Number 45 are two merged building situated over large medieval cellars. For more than a hundred years, the glove factory of Carl Malmberg, founded in 1877, was located on this address, as a royal purveyor delivering the kid gloves required at the balls at the Royal Palace. In what was the southern building, the wine dealer Mårten Hartman opened the tavern ''Källaren
Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
'' in 1643, an establishment much later featuring in the 45th epistle of Carl Michael Bellman. It retells the story of how Corporal Mollberg while attending the tavern got into trouble for playing the
reel A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...
(called ''polska'' in Swedish, e.g. "a polish") of the Queen of Poland, and thus stirred up the temper of the gentlemen around him because of the disputed
partition of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...
. The café on Number 49 boasts an interior dating back to the 14th century. The building is a brilliant example of primitive construction works could be during the Middle Ages — the bricked walls of the interior are the gables of the neighbouring buildings, still displaying what once was the doors and windows facing the then unbuilt lot — the proprietor simply built a façade towards the street and added a roof. On the backside are blocks of granite, probably part of the medieval wall that passed through the present block. On the second floor are ceilings and flooring from the 17th century, and in the basement a medieval cobbled stone floor.


Tyska Brinken-Järntorget

Number 52 was called ''Sidenhuset Pärlan'' ("silk house the Pearl") and the portal still features the pear-shaped pearl over the front door which was the owner's mark of the silk trader Henric Meurman. He created a small-ware shop in the 1660s, decorating the portal with fruit garlands and a bow resembling those on the House of Knights, following a common practice for burghers to copy decorations found on prominent palaces. The current building on Number 54 was, according to an inscription on the portal, completed in 1662, but parts of the building are considerably older, the first owner, a Diedrik Skekerman from
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 ...
, appearing in historical records as a lodger and innkeeper in 1589–1597. The portal is made of red limestone and possibly designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. In the basement of the building, five metres under street level, a sealed round arched tunnel have been found, thought to have led under Västerlånggatan to Prästgatan and to have been built as an escape route in case the Danes would take the city. One of the oldest second-hand bookshops in Sweden, Aspingtons Antikvariat, was located here 1978–2001. The building is today owned by the trade union for the employees of the Customs and Coastguard (''Tull-Kust''). Number 63, including its Neo-Rococo ornaments and green shutters, is the family heirloom of the Torndahls. The building was bought by the goldsmith Per Gustaf Torndahl in the mid 19th century and his shop was continued by his widow, Ida Tekla Sabina Cunigunda who also added the ornaments. The grandchildren of Gustaf and Ida are still carefully minding the building and operating the handicraft shop still present on the address. Barely visible in the red sandstone
cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
of the portal of Number 65 is a
Christogram A Christogram () is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the C ...
,
IHS IHS may refer to: Religious * Christogram#IHS, Christogram IHS or ΙΗΣ, a monogram symbolizing Jesus Christ * ''In hoc signo'', used by Roman emperor Constantine the Great Organizations * Indian Health Service, an operating division of the US D ...
, the
maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...
SOLI DEI GLORIA ("To God alone the glory"), and the initials of the
Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
cloth trader Peter Hanssen and his wife Anna Steker: The couple, which restored the building during the 1660s, were very rich and, among other things, donated the pulpit still found in the German Church. Number 68, the so-called ''von der Linde House'' was built by Erik Larsson in 1633. He had made a fortune exporting Swedish iron and importing wine and, serving as an economical advisor to King
Gustavus II Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
, was eventually raised to peerage under the name ''von der Linde''. The bared brick wall of the Dutch Renaissance façade is richly decorated with sandstone ornaments cut by Aris Claesz from
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
, including the sumptuous portal. The two heads in the portico symbolizes Mercury and
Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
and in the arms of Erik Larsson are two linden which he planted on his homestead at Lovön. Flanking the portal are two
cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
s displaying inscriptions in German: The property was later bought by Queen Christina to her half-brother, Gustav, Count of Vasaborg, the illegitimate child of Gustavus Adolphus, who had a wing added facing the square on opposite side of block. The names of all proprietors, historical and present, are engraved on a slate behind the front door, a list ending with the Masonry Master's Guild (''Murmestare Embetet i Stockholm''), founded in the old town in 1487, and today using the building for their extensive archive. One of the inhabitants was Pierre Chanut and his guest
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 ...
. Two of the old proprietors have given their names to establishment residing in the building; the former confectioner ''Drottning Kristina'' facing the street and the banqueting rooms ''von der Lindeska valven'' in the basementvon der Lindeska Valvet
/ref> Number 70 is a medieval building but the exterior was created in the early 17th century. On the front facing Funckens Gränd are the initials of former owners: L L D L 1627, Lydert Lang and Dorotea Lang. The present building on Number 72–74 is a product of the merging of two older buildings during the 20th century. In medieval times, these two buildings were separated by an alley of which remains a narrow and elongated backyard passing through the block. Various properties in the block have been merged and partitioned repeatedly over several centuries, and though virtually all traces of the medieval neighbourhood are gone, the present façade is decorated with bits and pieces of older buildings; placed in niches in the 1930s when the present shop front was built. The trader Thomas Funck owned most of the buildings in the neighbourhood in the 17th century, why he gave the alley its name. Number 76, mentioned together with the property on the opposite side of the block as "both buildings of late Funck", probably referring to one of the sons of the former. A medieval alley once passed through the building on Number 78, and the present building is partly from the early 17th century, while the shop windows and the attic were rebuilt in the 20th century. On Number 79 is the restaurant Mårten Trotzig, named after Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, the narrowest alley in the old town passing next to it, in its turn named after the merchant Mårten Trotzig (1559–1617) who owned a building in the alley. In the restaurant is an excavated medieval refuse chute once accessed through an exterior door. The Danish King Christian II entered Stockholm on September 7, 1520, following the surrender of Christina Gyllenstierna, the widow queen of
Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger () (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) and Iliana G ...
, and became king of Sweden on November 1, as such he choose not to occupy the Royal Palace, but to stay with the German merchant Gorius Holst who lived in this building during the week preceding the Stockholm Bloodbath. Much of the present block was created by the secretary of King
Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...
, Erik Göransson Tegel, who married Margareta Dantzeville, the widow of Reinhold Leuhusen who owned a building here. Tegel, mostly remembered for having written history books but who had more than one string to his bow and also worked as a spy in Denmark and Poland, started to buy neighbouring properties in order to enlarge his home, which gave the entire block a common history. An archaeological excavation in 1992 unveiled a wall and a vault in the backyard of the block. The painter Carl Larsson was born here in 1853. While he today cherished for his watercolours of bright and colourful idyllic family sceneries, his gloomy childhood in the old town, caused him to live his life with melancholy constantly at hand. The numbers of Västerlånggatan are continuous with those of Järntorget, so the addresses on the square are numbered 81–85 on the north side, and 78–84 on the southern.


Gallery

Image:Vasterlanggatan 24 Marten.jpg, Nr. 24, Northern frieze. Image:Vasterlanggatan 24 Marten2.jpg, Nr. 24, Southern frieze.


See also

*
Österlånggatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget (Stockholm), Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron. Major sights include the statue of Saint Ge ...
* List of streets and squares in Gamla Stan


References


External links

*
hitta.se - Location map and virtual walk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasterlanggatan Streets in Stockholm