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Old town of Stockholm
Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Gamla stan pronounced gamlaˈstɑːn, the Old Town, also known as Staden mellan broarna ("the town between the bridges") is the Old Town in Stockholm, containing genuine cultural heritage, as well as tourist traps. The district is made up by the main island Stadsholmen, with the smaller islands Helgeandsholmen with the Swedish Parliament and Riddarholmen with several nobility palaces, today occupied by various government functions.
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Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan is the oldest church in Gamla stan. Built in the 13th century in the Gothic style, the exterior was remodelled in Baroque style around 1740. The church is the seat of the Church of Sweden bishop of Stockholm. It contains two pieces of famous artwork: the 15th-century wooden statue of Saint George and a copy of the oldest known image of Stockholm, Vädersolstavlan ("The Sun Dog Painting"), a 1636 copy of a lost original from 1535.
Riddarholmskyrkan
Riddarholm is the ancient core of Stockholm and this is the city's oldest building - though no longer the oldest church, as it's nowadays simply a museum. Built as an abbey in the late 14th century. Many Swedish monarchs are buried here, including Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav II Adolf) and Charles XII (Karl XII). But what about Nelson Mandela, Lord Mountbatten, Chiang Kai-shek and other notables? - No, their plaques are here as "Knights of the Order of Seraphim", a Swedish heraldic society.
Tyska Kyrkan
Officially named Sankta Gertrud, this Gamla stan church is the home of the first German-speaking parish outside Germany, giving some clue to the importance of German merchants in the history of Stockholm. On the site of the church, a German merchants' guild was founded in the 14th century. In the 16th century, the headquarters was converted into a church, which was later expanded. The interior is baroque in style, with large windows and white vaults. The church belongs to the Church of Sweden but holds services in German at 11:00 every Sunday.
Kungliga Slottet
At times referred to by Swedes at the "Royal Castle". Built between 1697 and 1754, dominating the north-eastern part of the Old Town, the Royal Palace is the official residence of the monarch of Sweden. However, the Royal family lives at Drottningholm in Ekerö, using the Royal Palace only for official ceremonies. It is open to the public unless being used for a state ceremony. Entrance ticket includes The Royal Apartments, the Tre Kronor Museum, the Treasury, and Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities.
Kristina Nilsdotter (Gyllenstierna) led Sweden's uprising against Denmark in the 1510s, after the death of her husband Sten Sture (Sweden's acting head of state). The statue was erected on the Stockholm Palace courtyard in 1912, as Sweden's first public monument for a woman. Driving force behind the statue were the defense of Stockholm (with the arms race before World War I), and the movement for women's suffrage (granted 1918).
Slottsbacken provides an astounding view of Stockholm's inner harbour. The obelisk was erected by King Gustav III as his gratitude for Stockholm's citizens, for defending the city in the war against Russia from 1788 to 1790. As of 2020, it is absent for renovation. Karl XIV Johan has a statue here. He was born Jean Bernadotte, was a Napoleonic field marshal, who became Crown Prince, and later King of Sweden. The House of Bernadotte has been on the Swedish throne since then.
Livrustkammaren
Located in the Royal Palace, still an independent museum. In 1628, King Gustavus II Adolphus declared that his uniform from the Thirty Years War campaign in Poland should be put on display for eternity. Since then, the Royal Armoury keeps these objects, and other Royal memorabilia, branding itself "Sweden's oldest museum".
The Swedish Parliament celebrates 100 years of universal suffrage through a display window exhibition.
Stockholm's oldest square, dated back to the 13th century. While the square was used for corporal punishment during most of its history, the most infamous event was the 1520 Stockholm Bloodbath, where Danish king Kristian II (who since then has been known as Kristian the Tyrant in Sweden) had a hundred Swedish noblemen and dignitaries executed for heresy. The massacre caused an uprising against the Danes, in which Gustav Vasa became Sweden's first sovereign king in 1523. A cannonball is stuck in a building wall at Skomakaregatan. It was said to originate from Gustav Vasa's liberation of Stockholm; it was however added when the building was erected in 1795, as a purely symbolic commemoration of the war. The well was built in 1778. As it ran dry (due to the rising land), it was moved to Brunkebergstorg in 1857. Since 1953 the well is back, fed with tap water. Occasional markets and fairs are held on Stortorget, including a Christmas market.
Nobelmuseet
Located in the old Stock Exchange house in the middle of Gamla stan, this museum has lots of material on the Nobel Prize, including videotaped speeches by laureates. Gift shop sells "Nobel medals" that are big chocolate coins in stamped gold foil, great souvenir/gift.
Sweden's only postal museum. Temporarily closed.
Sveriges riksdag
Free-entrance guided tours in Swedish and English.
Riddarhuset
Presents Swedish history from the perspective of the noble estate. Though most land in Sweden has been held by peasants, the nobility dominated the Swedish military.
A runestone from the Viking Age made around AD 1100 and accidentally famous due to ending up in a wall of a 17th century building. The laconic inscription says Thorsteinn and Freygunnr had this stone [raised] in memory of [...] their son. There is no evidence that these people had travelled far; the few runestones that mention overseas travellers (Vikings) are much more famous. The cannon was set up in the 17th century to protect the building from wagons.
Judiska museet
This 17th-century building was an auction chamber until it became Stockholm's first synagogue from 1795 to 1870; the year when Jews got full civil rights, and the Great Synagogue was inaugurated. The building has among other things been used as a police station, until the Jewish Museum (on different premises since 1992) moved into the building in 2019.
Iron Boy
A 1967 statue which is said to bring good luck when offered coins.
A museum with exhibitions focused on human rights and crimes against humanity. Previous exhibitions have depicted Sweden's role in World War II in Europe and the Holocaust.
Art gallery.
Look at Stockholm from the roofs of Riddarholmen island. An exciting experience if you're not afraid of heights.
A small secret hidden in what once was a wine cellar in the old town, where you can take a bath beneath 18th century vaults. Men and women cannot visit the bath together.
A cellar for intimate cross-genre concerts. The bar serves alcoholic beverages.
A second stage with the same concept as Musikvalvet Baggen.
Daily walking tours of Gamla Stan.
A supermarket, with both groceries and ready-made food.
A high-end supermarket.
American food and soft drinks for homesick travellers.
Kaffekoppen and Chokladkoppen (literally, the Coffee Cup and the Chocolate Cup) are two LGBT-friendly sister cafes situated on the Stortorget in Gamla stan, just off the touristy Västerlånggatan. If one is full you can just walk over to the other one. The interior in both of them is small but cosy, probably not for the claustrophobic! Gigantic sandwiches if you're hungry, and if you're looking for something sweet try their chocolate cake!
A café in a 14th century cellar vault. The building used to be a monastery, until it was dismantled following the Protestant Reformation. It was used as a prison; the most famous inmate was Johan Jacob Anckarström, who assassinated King Gustav III.
The medieval building was owned by the Grill family from 1681 to 1800; one of the first wealthy common families. The building has a café and restaurant run by the Stockholm City Mission, less overpriced than many other venues around Stortorget. The courtyard has a view of the Cepheus block, which had fallen in decay in the early 20th century, but was restored in the mid-20th century as a hallmark of modernization of historic buildings.
Opened in 1785 and at its current location since 1793, this is Stockholm's oldest café.
An independent Swedish café.
A cellar café with remnants of the old city wall.
Vegetarian restaurant.
Opened in 1985, as Stockholm's first contact with the internationalized Japanese cuisine.
A classical diner in a 500-year old building.
French-style restaurant on the waterfront.
A restaurant and bar in 18th century pirate style.
Leijontornet is a classical fine diner, and the main restaurant in this local chain. With the foundations of a city wall tower behind glass in the cellar dining room, Leijontornet is about exclusive food with a traditionalist slant in an exclusive historical environment. The street-level bar next door is a surprisingly vivid place with cheaper dishes from the kitchen.
Serves meat from one animal species, changing monthly.
A British-style high-end bar.
The members of the Swedish Academy (famous as the jury for the Nobel Prize in Literature) eat here every Thursday. Old traditions (traced back to 1722) in the old town. The reputation allows "The Golden Peace" to charge high prices.
A French-style luxury diner.
Zum
A beer hall which traces its history from the Hanseatic period, the name has allegedly been around since 1471. It has been at its current location since 1906 and most furniture are original. The food is classic Swedish cuisine. Also try also Bakfickan which serves beer and light meals.
Sjätte tunnan
Medieval bar and restaurant, with medieval food and mead, and a small heavy-metal bar at street level. Live performances most evenings, usually Medieval-style or rock music.
This comfortable and cosy Irish pub serves excellent pub food and has live music most nights of the week. Be sure to check out the 400-year old cellar bar.
A spacious Irish restaurant and pub with frequent live performances.
An inclusive LGBT club with a dance floor.
Restaurant and bar with live music every evening.
Popular Jazz club which has been around since 1965, there's live music almost every night.
Central location, clean & comfy.
A hostel in a quiet central area.
Stay in a vault of a 17th-century building in the centre of the island. Rate includes breakfast, tea and coffee all day and Wi-Fi, clean and modern.
This is the flagship 4-star hotel, with 45 rooms.
4 star with 34 rooms.
3-star with 29 cabin-sized rooms.
A four-star hotel in a 17th-century building.
Large 4-star hotel on east waterfront.
A private yacht launched in 1924 and retired in 1982. Upper cabins with window, lower just have porthole.
In a 1607 building, very central in Gamla Stan.
Stortorgets julmarknad
Whether you’re looking for a Swedish cookbook, a glossy coffee-table book on Swedish design or Swedish fiction in English translation, this is the place to go. Part of the Swedish Institute, Sweden Bookshop is a specialized bookstore that supplies a broad selection of information about Sweden and Swedish literature in English and other languages.
A bookstore profiled towards history and arts. Most titles are in Swedish.
Science Fiction Bokhandeln
A bookshop selling science fiction, fantasy, horror, manga/anime, role-playing games, boardgames and popular science; a lot of it is in English.
Contemporary arts and crafts.
A record label for independent rock music, with a store for LP records and merchandise.
A candy factory.
A store for books, scale models and merchandise related to transportation, in particular Swedish rail transportation.
By tunnelbana
The Tunnelbana station Gamla stan is the only one within the district, and is located at the southeast edge of it. All trains of the red (13, 14) and green (17, 18, 19) lines stop at Gamla stan.
By bus
These are the following bus stops in Gamla stan:
Cars are banned in inner Gamla stan. As in most historical districts, people with motion disabilities might have difficulties getting around, though many basement establishments have wheelchair lifts.
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