[caption id=“attachment_5206” align=“alignleft” width=“368”]
Stortorget in Gamla Stan, Stockholm[/caption]
This is part of the ongoing series Streets and Squares that provide some background information on street signs around the world - a fun way to learn about the history and culture of the cities you visit or even live in!
This time we talk about Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. There are lots of squares there that bear historical names, but of course street addresses as well. And here is some Swedish for you: Gatan means street, gränd is alley, torg is square, and park is, well, like it sounds, park. Click at the address and Google Maps will show you where it is. Then click at the person to find out more about him or her.
BERZELII PARK (Norrmalm) - Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) was a Swedish chemist, and one of the founders of modern chemistry.
BIRGER JARLSGATAN (Östermalm) - Birger Jarl (c.1210-1266) was a Swedish statesman who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden, and is traditionally attributed to have founded Stockholm around 1250.
DAVID BAGARES GATA (Norrmalm) - David Lamb (16xx-1671) was a baker (bagare in Swedish) who lived nearby this street.
DROTTNINGGATAN (Norrmalm) - Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626-1689). First named “Great King’s Street”, but then renamed to honor the then underage Queen Christina (Drottning Kristina, ruled 1632-1654).
GUSTAF ADOLFS TORG (Rosenbad) - Gustav II Adolf (1594-1632), military commander and the King of Sweden (1611-1632), credited for the founding of Sweden as a great power.
GÖRAN HÄLSINGES GRÄND (Gamla Stan) - Göran Hälsinge (153x-15xx). Göran’s mother Appolonia was wet nurse to future King Eric XIV, and for that the family was rewarded in 1535 an apartment near the royal castle by King Gustav Vasa.
IVAR LOS PARK (Södermalm) - Ivar Lo-Johansson (1901-1990) was a proletarian writer who described the situation of the Swedish land-workers which encouraged the adoption of certain land reforms in Sweden. Born in Ösmo, Sweden.
KARL XII:S TORG (Norrmalm) - Karl XII (1682-1718) perhaps the most militaristic king of Sweden (1697-1718), assumed power at the age of 15. Exceptional for abstaining from alcohol and sex (he never married), he felt most comfortable during warfare.
LINNÉGATAN (Östermalm) - Carl Linnaues (1707-1778) was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist. He is known as the “father of modern taxonomy”.
MÄSTER MIKAELS GATA (Södermalm) - Mikael Reissuer (16xx-1650), worked as an executioner in Stockholm from February 1635, and lived nearby here.
MÄSTER SAMUELSGATAN (Normmalm) - Samuel Hammarinus (-1665) was a Swedish priest who worked in Stockholm as a vicar and also as a chaplain to the court of Queen Christina.
OLOF PALMES GATA (Norrmalm) - Olof Palme (1927-1986), Social Democratic leader who was assassinated in Stockholm in 1986. Steadfast in his non-alignment policy towards the superpowers, he supported many third world liberation movements.
SERGELS TORG (Norrmalm) - Johan Tobias Sergel (1740-1814) was a Swedish neoclassical sculptor and an important part of the artistic elite in Stockholm. His workshop was close to the square named after him.
TEGNÉRGATAN (Norrmalm) - Esaias Tegnér (1782-1846) was a writer, professor in Greek language and a bishop. He has been called Sweden’s first modern man.
WAHRENDORFFSGATAN (Norrmalm) - Martin von Wahrendorff (1789-1861) was a Swedish entrepreneur, inventor and diplomat.
A to Z FROM STOCKHOLM
i.e. a list of some of the people born in Stockholm. Just another fun way to know something more of the city, picking one person (or two) for each alphabet. No kings and queens in this list, though most are/were born in Stockholm. Only the year of birth given here. The numbers you see at the end of each line indicate the year of birth. This list is updated from time to time.
A - Benny Andersson* musician/composer (ABBA) (1946) & Pernilla August* actress (1958)
B - Carl Michael Bellman* songwriter/composer/musician (1740) & Ingrid Bergman* actress (1915)
C - Maria Cederschiöld* journalist/women’s rights activist (1856)
D - Thure de Thulstrup* leading American illustrator (1848) & Kjerstin Dellert* opera singer/ theater manager (1925)
E - Britt Ekland* actress (1942) & Claes Elfsberg* television journalist/news anchor (1948)
F - Anders Franzén* marine technician/archaeologist (Vasa) (1918) & Rebecca Ferguson* actress (1983)
G - Greta Garbo* actress (1905)
H - Lasse Hallström* film director (1946) & Robert Helenius* Finnish boxer (1984)
J - Erland Josephson* actor/ author (1923) & Lennart Johansson* sports official/UEFA president (1929)
K - Lo Kauppi* actress/ director/television presenter (1970) & Joel Kinnaman* actor (1979)
L - Jenny Lind* opera singer (1820) & Carl Larsson* painter (1853)
M - Henning Mankell* crime writer/dramatist/ philanthropist (1948)
N - Alfred Nobel* chemist/philanthropist (1833) & Michael Nyqvist* actor (1960)
O - Per Oscarsson* actor (1927) & Lena Olin* actress (1955)
P - Olof Palme* politician/prime minister (1927) & Mikael Persbrandt* actor (1963)
R - Carl-Gustaf Rossby* Swedish-American inventive meteorologist (1898) & Keke Rosberg* Finnish racing driver (1948)
S - Emanuel Swedenborg* scientist/philosopher/mystic (1688) & August Strindberg* author/poet/painter (1849)
T - Sven-Bertil Taube* singer/actor (1934) & Greta Thunberg* environmental activist (2003)
U - Magnus Uggla* singer/composer/actor (1954)
V - Matias Varela* actor of Spanish descent (1980)
W - Raoul Wallenberg* architect/ businessman/ humanitarian (1912) & Jerry Williams* singer (1942)
Å - Malin Åkerman* Swedish-Canadian actress (1978)
Ö - Ragnar Östberg* architect (Stockholm City Hall) (1866)
Updated 29.8.2022
Sources:
http://norrmalm.myor.se/studier/gatunamn.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_streets_and_squares_in_Gamla_stan
http://www.stockholmgamlastan.se/platser/gator.php?namn=goran-halsinges-grand