"Stockholm" Stockholm by seagoingJLW

Stockholm is built on 14 islands (24,000 islets) connected by 57 bridges. One third of the city’s total are is parkland. Water takes up another third of the city.

The Stockholm subway is known as the world’s longest art gallery. Along its 68 miles, close to 90 of its 100 stations are full of paintings, sculptures and mosaics.

The Nobel Prizes are given out annually on December 10 in the Konserthuset with the banquet taking place in the Stadshuset.

Almost 2,000,000 people live in greater Stockholm, over 15% immigrants.

There are 24,000 islands in the archipelago that protect Stockholm from the open seas.

Miscellaneous Information

The city of Stockholm is the largest of Sweden’s 289 municipalities.

Immigrants who live in Sweden for three years have the right to vote and to run for office in local elections.

One fourth of Stockholm’s 400,000 homes is located in city owned housing. The residents have been offered the option of purchasing their apartments.

City Statistics

Location: Sodermanland province, southeastern coast of Sweden.
Country dialling code: 46.
Population: 7750,348 (city); 1,823,210 (metropolitan area).
Ethnic mix: Predominantly native Swedish, largest minority Finnish, with notable Iraqi, Iranian, Turkish and Somali communities.
Religion: Predominantly Lutheran (Church of Sweden).
Time zone: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin plugs are standard.
Average January temp: From 2°C to –7°C (36°F–19°F).
Average July temp: From 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F).
Annual rainfall: 900mm (35.5 inches).
1 Swedish Krona (SKr1) = £0.08; US$0.13; C$0.18; A$0.20; €0.11

Swedish is part of the Nordic branch of the Germanic language family. It is closely related to Danish and Norse. English is widely spoken.

Palace

Birger Jarl, Sweden’s chieftain ordered a fort to be built on a strategically placed island in the mid 13th century when rising land made inland water traffic nearly impossible. During the Kalmar Union period the King’s Governor directed affairs.

Numerous fires caused the old wooden buildings to be replaced by brick structures.

Danish King Christian I attacked Stockholm in 1471 but he was routed by the Swedes at the Battle of Brunkeberg. In 1520 burghers, bishops and nobility agreed to mett Danish King Christian II whereupon the king arrested all of them. Eighty two men were beheaded when these Swedes were found guilty of burning down an archbishop’s castle. This is known as the “Stockholm Blood Bath” since heavy rains created rivers of blood.

After a major rebellion, Gustav Vasa finally entered the city in 1523. Gustav’s son, Erik XIV, as well as ensuing kings, taxed the burghers heavily in order to fund wars.

Stockholm was proclaimed capital of Sweden in 1634. There was famine during 1696-97 and plague in 1711. After the death of King Karl XII everything stagnated. There was a short blossoming in the 18th century which burst when King Gustav III was assassinated.

However, due to industrialization the city expanded and by 1915 there were more than 350,000 people. The financial and construction boom of the 80’s caused everything to become vastly expensive. The recession of the 90’s alleviated that situation.

c. AD760 Vikings establish a trading centre at Birka, near modern Stockholm
c. 1252 Stockholm is established by Birger Jarl as a fortified island defence outpost against Baltic pirates, commanding the transshipment route between the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren
1270 The Riddarholmskyrkan (Riddarholm Church), a Franciscan monastery and Stockholm’s oldest surviving building, is founded in the Old Town
1306 Consecration of Stockholm’s oldest church (dedicated to St Nicholas), now part of Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral)
1376 The image of St Eric (King Eric IX), patron saint and symbol of Stockholm, first appears on the city’s seal
1436 Earliest surviving charter of the city of Stockholm is enacted
1471 Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Swedish rebels under Sten Sture defeat Danish King Christian I
1520 Stockholm Bloodbath: Danish King Christian II executes 82 Swedish noblemen in the Stortorget (Great Market), Old Town
1520-23 War of Liberation from Denmark: Stockholm becomes a last bastion of Danish power and is besieged
1524 Gustav I Vasa of Sweden enters Stockholm on 24 June after a long siege
1611 Gustav II Adolf accedes to the Swedish throne; he soon makes Sweden a major European power with Stockholm as its chief city
1628 The warship Vasa sinks in Stockholm Harbour on its maiden voyage
1634 Stockholm formally becomes the national capital of Sweden
1710 A disastrous plague wipes out about one third of Stockholm’s population
1754 The Swedish royal family move into the newly completed Royal Palace
1833 Alfred Bernhard Nobel is born in Stockholm
1849 Johan August Strindberg is born in the city
1860 Opening of the railway link ends Stockholm’s isolation in winter
1862 Legislation is passed making the City Council Stockholm’s supreme governing body
1875-80 New plans for city growth approved: Stockholm expands rapidly as industrial development brings new prosperity
1878 Stockholm College, later Stockholm University, begins giving classes
1896 Alfred Nobel dies, leaving a fortune to sponsor prizes in various disciplines, administered by Swedish academies and awarded in Stockholm
1901 Stockholm is the venue for the award of the first Nobel Prizes
1961 Vasa is raised from the bed of Stockholm Harbour
1986 The Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated while walking home from a Stockholm cinema with his wife; the identity and motives of his attacker remain a mystery
1998 Stockholm is made European Capital of Culture

• Pros:The city is fascinating since it is all islands.
• Cons:It can get very cold
• In a nutshell:I liked it. You will, too.