Stockholm (ˈstɔkːˈhɔlm, ˈstɔkːˈɔlm, ˈstɔkːɔlm
) is the capital and the largest city of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and constitutes the most populated urban area in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the
municipalityThe municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...
(2010), 1.37 million in the urban area (2010), and around 2.1 million in the 6519 km² (2,517 sq mi) metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population.
Founded no later than circa 1250, possibly as early as 1187, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's
culturalCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
,
mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
,
politicalPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, and
economicAn economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of
Lake MälarenLake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
, by the
Stockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a
global cityA global city is a city that is deemed to be an important node in the global economic system...
, with a ranking of Alpha-. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as
Venice of the North.
Stockholm is the site of the national
Swedish governmentThe Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the supreme executive authority of Sweden. It consists of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the legislative assembly...
, the
RiksdagThe Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
(parliament), and the official residence of the Swedish monarch as well as the
prime ministerThe Prime Minister is the head of government in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested...
. Since 1980, the monarch has resided at
Drottningholm PalaceThe Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
outside of Stockholm and uses the Royal Palace of Stockholm as his workplace and official residence.
History
Stockholm's location appears in
Norse sagaSagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
s as
AgnafitAgnafit or Agnefit was the name of a location where Lake Mälaren met the Baltic Sea. In the 14th century, an addition to the Historia Norwegiae described Agnafit as being where Stockholm had been founded...
, and in
HeimskringlaHeimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
in connection with the legendary king
AgneAgne, English: Agni, Hogne or Agni Skjálfarbondi was a mythological king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling.Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ways....
. The earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in
BergslagenBergslagen is a historically, culturally, and linguistically distinct mining district located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden. In Bergslagen mining and metallurgic industry have been important since the Middle Ages...
made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name (
stock) means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word (
Stock) meaning
fortificationFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
The second part of the name (
holm) means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet
HelgeandsholmenHelgeandsholmen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm...
in central Stockholm. The city is said to have been founded by
Birger Jarl, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
to protect Sweden from a sea invasion by foreign navies and to stop the pillage of towns such as
SigtunaSigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 18 inhabitants in 2005. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta....
on Lake Mälaren.
Stockholm's core of the present Old Town (
Gamla StanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
) was built on the central island next to
HelgeandsholmenHelgeandsholmen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm...
from the mid-13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
,
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
,
GdańskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
,
Visby-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...
,
RevalTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, and
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
during this time. Between 1296 and 1478 Stockholm's City Council was made up of 24 members, half of whom were selected from the town's German-speaking burghers.
The strategic and economic importance of the city made Stockholm an important factor in relations between the
Danish Kings of the
Kalmar UnionThe Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
and the national independence movement in the 15th century. The Danish King
Christian IIChristian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
was able to enter the city in 1520. On 8 November 1520 a massacre of opposition figures called the
Stockholm BloodbathThe Stockholm Bloodbath, or the Stockholm Massacre , took place as the result of a successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces under the command of King Christian II...
took place and set off further uprisings that eventually led to the breakup of the Kalmar Union. With the accession of
Gustav VasaGustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
in 1523 and the establishment of a royal power, the population of Stockholm began to grow, reaching 10,000 by 1600.
The 17th 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 and
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n territories.
In 1710 a plague killed about 20,000 (36 percent) of the population. After the end of the
Great Northern WarThe Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
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 PowerA great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
. However Stockholm maintained its role as the political centre of Sweden and continued to develop culturally under
Gustav IIIGustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
.
By the second half of the 19th century, Stockholm had regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged 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. At the end of the century, less than 40% of the residents were Stockholm-born. Settlement began to expand outside the city limits. The 19th century saw the establishment of a number of scientific institutes, including the
Karolinska InstituteKarolinska institutet is a medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area, Sweden, and one of Europe's largest medical universities...
. The
General Art and Industrial ExpositionThe General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm of 1897 also known as Stockholm Exhibition or Stockholm World's Fair was a World's Fair staged in 1897 in Stockholm, Sweden....
was held in 1897.
Stockholm became a modern, technologically advanced, and ethnically diverse city in the latter half of the 20th century. Many historical buildings were torn down during the
modernistModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
era, including substantial parts of the historical district of Klara, and replaced with modern architecture. However, in many other parts of Stockholm (such as in
Gamla StanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
,
SödermalmSödermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
,
Östermalm,
KungsholmenKungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of Stockholm City. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland....
and Vasastan), many "old" buildings, blocks and streets built before the
modernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
and
functionalismFunctionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
movements took off in Sweden (around 1930-1935) survived this era of demolition. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from work-intensive activities into more high-tech and service industry areas.
Between 1965 and 1974 the city expanded very quickly with the creation of additional suburban districts such as
RinkebyRinkeby is a district in Rinkeby-Kista borough, Stockholm, Sweden. Rinkeby had 15,051 inhabitants as at December 31, 2007.Rinkeby is noted for its high concentration of immigrants and people with immigrant ancestry...
and
TenstaTensta is a district in Spånga-Tensta borough, Stockholm, Sweden. There are about 6,000 apartments in Tensta and a population of 17,083 as of December 31, 2007....
as a part of the
Million ProgrammeThe Million Programme is the common name for an ambitious housing programme implemented in Sweden between 1965 and 1974 by the governing Swedish Social Democratic Party to make sure everyone could have a home at a reasonable price. The aim of the programme was to build a million new dwellings in a...
. Many of these areas have been criticized for being "concrete suburbs", dull, grey, low-status areas built mainly out of concrete slabs. The most common complaints are about the high crime rate and the high
racialRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
and social segregation in these areas.
Location
Stockholm is located on Sweden's south-central east coast, where Lake Mälaren meets the
Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. The central parts of the city consist of fourteen islands that are continuous with the
Stockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
. The geographical city centre is situated on the water, in
RiddarfjärdenRiddarfjärden, literally the Knight Firth, is a bay of Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren drains into the Baltic Sea . The island is today called Stadsholmen and constitutes Stockholm's Old Town...
bay. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces.
For details about the other municipalities in the metropolitan area, see the pertinent articles. North of Stockholm Municipality:
JärfällaJärfälla Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, and is considered a suburb of Stockholm. Its seat is located in Jakobsberg....
,
SolnaSolna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, located just north of the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the 'city' of Solna....
,
TäbyTäby Municipality is a municipality north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Täby...
,
SollentunaSollentuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Sollentuna....
,
LidingöLidingö Municipality is a municipality just east of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lidingö...
,
Upplands VäsbyUpplands Väsby Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, with a population of 38,963 . Its seat is located in the town of Upplands Väsby....
,
ÖsteråkerÖsteråker Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Åkersberga, with a population of 26,727 .From 1974 to 1982 Österåker was part of Vaxholm Municipality....
,
SigtunaSigtuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta.The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm....
,
SundbybergSundbyberg Municipality 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....
,
DanderydDanderyd Municipality is a municipality just north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden, but the most affluent...
,
VallentunaVallentuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Vallentuna.The current municipality was established as a result of the municipal reform of 1971...
,
EkeröEkerö Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name comes from the island Ekerö, and literally means "Oak Island". Its seat is located in the town of Ekerö....
,
Upplands-BroUpplands-Bro Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungsängen....
,
VaxholmVaxholm Municipality is a municipality within Stockholm archipelago in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The municipal slogan is "Vaxholm – the capital of the archipelago", due to its central location in the archipelago...
, and
NorrtäljeNorrtälje Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Norrtälje....
. South of Stockholm:
HuddingeHuddinge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge, which is a part of Stockholm urban area.The municipality is the second most populated in Stockholm County....
,
NackaNacka Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located at Nacka. The municipality is situated just east of the capital Stockholm and the western parts are considered a suburban part of the Stockholm urban area.The present municipality was created in...
,
BotkyrkaBotkyrka Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba....
,
HaningeHaninge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Handen.Haninge Municipality was formed in 1971 when Västerhaninge and Österhaninge were united....
,
TyresöTyresö Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Its seat is located in Bollmora.Most of Tyresö Municipality lies within the Stockholm urban area.-History:...
,
VärmdöVärmdö Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Gustavsberg, with a population of 9,682 , situated on the main island at an elevation of 37 m....
,
SödertäljeSödertälje Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Södertälje....
,
SalemSalem Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name traces its origins from Slaem in the 16th century, but was later changed to Salem, the Biblical name of Jerusalem...
,
NykvarnNykvarn Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Nykvarn.Nykvarn is a young municipality, and is the result of the splitting of Södertälje Municipality in 1999...
and
NynäshamnNynäshamn Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Nynäshamn....
.
Stockholm Municipality
Stockholm Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders. The semi-officially adopted 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 CentreStockholm City Centre is the city centre of Stockholm in Sweden. The entire city of Stockholm is also the centre of the Stockholm Metropolitan Area....
), Söderort (Southern Stockholm) and Västerort (Western Stockholm). The districts of these parts are:
Stockholm City Centre Stockholm City Centre is the city centre of Stockholm in Sweden. The entire city of Stockholm is also the centre of the Stockholm Metropolitan Area....
|
Söderort |
Västerort |
- Kungsholmen
- Norrmalm
- Södermalm
- Östermalm
|
Enskede-Årsta-Vantör
Farsta
Hägersten-Liljeholmen Hägersten-Liljeholmen is a so called borough in Stockholm, Sweden.-Overview:The "borough" is located in South Stockholm. The districts that make up the borough are Aspudden, Fruängen, Gröndal, Hägersten, Hägerstensåsen, Liljeholmen, Midsommarkransen, Mälarhöjden, Västberga, and Västertorp...
Skarpnäck
Skärholmen
Älvsjö |
Bromma Bromma is a so called borough in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of the parish with the same name, and the parish of Västerled...
Hässelby-VällingbyHässelby-Vällingby is a so called borough in the western part of Stockholm.-Overview:Is primarily made up of Hässelby and Vällingby. The other districts that make up the borough are Backlura, Kälvesta, Nälsta, Råcksta and Vinsta...
Rinkeby-KistaRinkeby-Kista is a so called borough in Stockholm, Sweden. The borough is located in Västerort.-Overview:The districts that make up the borough are Akalla, Husby, Kista, and Rinkeby. The population of Rinkeby-Kista borough is 45,462 as of December 2007.The borough was formed on January 1, 2007...
Spånga-TenstaSpånga-TenstaCountry:Municipality: StockholmMunicipal part:VästerortArea:12.85 km²Population:34,448 Established:2007Website:Map...
|
The modern centrum
NorrmalmNorrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, part of the larger Norrmalm borough.The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm , also known as City, constitutes the most central part of Stockholm, while Upper Norrmalm is more residential.The name Norrmalm is first mentioned in 1288...
, (concentrated around the town square
Sergels torgSergels torg is the most central public square in Stockholm, Sweden, named after 18th century sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel, whose workshop was once located north of the square.- Overview :...
), is the largest shopping district in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is the most central part of Stockholm in business and shopping.
Östermalm is the most affluent district of Stockholm.
Climate
Stockholm, with a February mean of -3.0 C, depending on the definition used, lies directly on the border between the
humid continentalA humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
and
oceanicAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
zones (
KöppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb /
Cfb). Due to the city's high northerly latitude, daylight varies widely from more than 18 hours around midsummer, to only around 6 hours in late December. Despite its northern location, Stockholm has relatively mild weather compared to other locations at similar latitude, or even farther south.
Summers are warm and pleasant with average daytime high temperatures of 20–22 °C (68–71.6 F) and lows of around 13 °C (55.4 °F), but temperatures could reach 30 °C (86 °F) on some days. Winters are cold, and sometimes snowy with average temperatures ranging from -5 C, and sometimes drop below -15 °C. Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild.
The climate table below presents weather data from the years 1961 - 1990. According to ongoing measurements, the temperature has increased during the years 1991 - 2009 as compared with the last series. This increase is on annual basis around 1.0 °C (roughly 1.8 °F). Warming is most pronounced during the winter months, with an increase of more than 2.0 °C (around a 3.6 °F - 4 °F increase) in January.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Stockholm was 36 °C (96.8 °F) in July 3 1811; the lowest was -31 °C in January 20 1814. However, the temperature has not dropped to below -25.1 °C since January 10, 1987
Annual precipitation is 539 mm (21.2 in) with around 170 wet days and light to moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snow mainly occurs from December through
MarchMarch is in present time held to be the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of the seven months which are 31 days long....
with some winters bringing plenty of snow, while others are milder with more rain than snow.
Politics and government
Municipalities are responsible for government-mandated duties, and elections for the
municipal councilA municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...
are held every four years, parallel to the
general electionsThe Swedish general election of 2002 was held on Sunday 15 September to elect the 349 members to the Parliament of Sweden. This election was hels along with other elections in Sweden to the Municipalities and the County Councils. 5,385,430 of the 6,722,152 eligible to vote voted in this election .-...
.
Following the 2010 municipal elections, the seats are divided in the following way:
The governing parties |
Parties in opposition |
- The Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament... 38
- The Liberal People's Party
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006... 10
- The Christian Democrats
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf... 1
- The Centre Party
The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social... 3 |
The Social DemocratsThe Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889... 25
The Left PartyThe Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations... 8
The Green Party 16 |
As of April 2008, the
Mayor of Stockholm is
Sten NordinSten Roland Nordin,, is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He was a member of the Riksdag until 2008...
from the Moderate Party.
Economy
The vast majority of Stockholm residents work in the service industry, which accounts for roughly 85% of jobs in Stockholm. The almost total absence of heavy industry makes Stockholm one of the world's cleanest
metropolisA metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
es. The last decade has seen a significant number of jobs created in
high techHigh tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
nology companies. Large employers include
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
,
EricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, and
ElectroluxThe Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
. A major IT centre is located in
KistaKista is a district of Stockholm Municipality in Sweden. Located northwest of central Stockholm, Kista is divided by the Stockholm Metro blue line into a western part which is primarily a working class and middle class residential area, and an eastern part occupied by commercial ventures, mostly...
, in northern Stockholm.
Stockholm is Sweden's financial centre. Major Swedish banks, such as
SwedbankSwedbank AB is a leading Nordic-Baltic banking group with 9.5 million retail customers and 534,000 corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Sweden, the group has 377 branches. In the Baltic countries, it has another 224 branches...
,
HandelsbankenSvenska Handelsbanken AB is a Swedish bank.-History of Svenska Handelsbanken:The history of Svenska Handelsbanken goes back to 1871 when a number of prominent companies and individuals in Stockholm's business world founded Stockholms Handelsbank...
, and
Skandinaviska Enskilda BankenSkandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB is a Swedish financial group for corporate customers, institutions and private individuals with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Its activities comprise mainly banking services, but SEB also carries out significant life insurance operations and also owns Eurocard...
, are headquartered in Stockholm, as are the major insurance companies
SkandiaSkandia is a Swedish insurance company that was started in 1855. It has operations in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. Skandia also operates an internet bank called Skandiabanken....
and
Trygg-HansaCodan A/S is a Danish insurance company, which was founded in 1916. The company is Scandinavia's third largest insurance company and operates also the company...
. Stockholm is also home to Sweden's foremost stock exchange, the
Stockholm Stock ExchangeThe Stockholm Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863 it is the primary securities exchange of the Nordic Countries....
(
Stockholmsbörsen). Additionally, about 45% of Swedish companies with more than 200 employees are headquartered in Stockholm. Famous clothes retailer
H&MH & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
is also headquartered in the city. In recent years, tourism has played an important part in the city's economy. Between 1991–2004, annual overnight stays increased from 4 to 7.7 million.
The largest companies by number of employees:
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 ObservatoryThe Stockholm Observatory is an astronomical institution in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in the 18th century and today part of Stockholm University...
. The medical education was eventually formalized in 1811 as the
Karolinska InstitutetKarolinska institutet is a medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area, Sweden, and one of Europe's largest medical universities...
. The
Royal Institute of TechnologyThe Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
(
Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, or
KTH) was founded in 1827 and is currently Scandinavia's largest higher education institute of technology with 13,000 students.
Stockholm UniversityStockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
, founded in 1878 with university status granted in 1960, has 52,000 students as of 2008. It also incorporates many historical institutions, such as the Observatory, the
Swedish Museum of Natural HistoryThe Swedish Museum of Natural History , in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg....
, and the botanical garden
Bergianska trädgårdenThe Bergianska trädgården, the Bergian Garden or Hortus Bergianus, is a botanical garden located in the Frescati area on the outskirts of Stockholm, close to the Swedish Museum of Natural History and the main campus of Stockholm University...
. The
Stockholm School of EconomicsThe Stockholm School of Economics or Handelshögskolan i Stockholm is one of Northern Europe's leading business schools. Its Masters in Management program is ranked no. 2 in Northern Europe and no. 13 in Europe by the Financial Times...
, founded in 1909, is one of the few private institutions of higher education in Sweden.
In the
fine artFine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s, educational institutions include the
Royal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music, Stockholm is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
, which has a history going back to the conservatory founded as part of the
Royal Swedish Academy of MusicThe Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
in 1771, the
Royal University College of Fine ArtsThe Royal Institute of Art is an institution in Stockholm, Sweden for higher education in art, founded in 1735. The school was part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, until 1978 when it was made independent. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.-External links:*...
, which has a similar historical association with the
Royal Swedish Academy of ArtsThe Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
and a foundation date of 1735, and the
Swedish National Academy of Mime and ActingThe National Academy of Mime and Acting , known in Swedish as Teaterhögskolan i Stockholm, is a school in Stockholm for acting and mime...
, which is the continuation of the school of the
Royal Dramatic TheatreThe Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....
, once attended by
Greta GarboGreta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
. Other schools include the design school
KonstfackKonstfack or University College of Arts, Crafts and Design is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden.- History :...
, founded in 1844, the University College of Opera (founded in 1968, but with older roots), the
University College of DanceThe University of Dance and Circus is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the fields of dance education, folk dance, dance, dance therapy, historical dance, choreography and contemporary circus. It operates under the Ministry of Education, and is the only independent university or...
, and the
Stockholms Musikpedagogiska InstitutStockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut is a Swedish university college which offers higher education in the field of teaching music in schools as well as learning Music production.- External links :...
(the University College of Music Education).
The Södertörn University College was founded in 1995 as a multi-disciplinary institution for southern Metropolitan Stockholm, to balance the many institutions located in the northern part of the region.
Other institutes of higher education are:
- Military Academy Karlberg, the world's oldest military academy to remain in its original location, inaugurated in 1792 and housed in Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace is a palace by the Karlberg Canal on the border of Stockholm in Solna. The palace, built in 1630 and the oldest in Solna municipality, today houses the Military Academy Karlberg....
.
- Ersta Sköndal University College
Ersta Sköndal högskola is a Swedish institution for higher education operated by The Stora Sköndal Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated to the Church of Sweden. Ersta Sköndal offers professional education and training, research programmes, and medical care and living accommodation for...
- The Stockholm School of Theology
The Stockholm School of Theology is an independent school for theology in Stockholm, Sweden, sponsored by the two free church denominations the Baptist Union of Sweden and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden....
(Teologiska Högskolan, Stockholm)
- The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan
Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the fields of teaching profession in Physical Education, Sports coaching and Preventive health. The school offers both programs and courses.- External links :* for Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan *...
, or GIH)
The biggest complaint from students of higher education in Stockholm is the lack of student accommodations, the difficulty in finding other accommodations and the high rent.
Demographics
The Stockholm region is home to around 22% of Sweden's total population, and accounts for about 28% of the
gross domestic productGross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
. The geographical notion of "Stockholm" has changed throughout the times. By the turn of the 19th century, Stockholm basically consisted of the area today known as
City CentreStockholm City Centre is the city centre of Stockholm in Sweden. The entire city of Stockholm is also the centre of the Stockholm Metropolitan Area....
, roughly 35 km² (14 sq mi) or 1/5 of the current municipal area. In the ensuing decades several other areas were incorporated (such as
Brännkyrka MunicipalityBrännkyrka is a parish in South Stockholm, Sweden. The population is 36,572.Brännkyrka, at that time much larger in area, was amalgamated into the city of Stockholm in 1913. This area now constitutes the southern main part of Stockholm Municipality called Söderort...
in 1913, at which time it had 25,000 inhabitants, and
SpångaSpånga is a community and parish in Stockholm County, Sweden.-Background:Spånga was an independent municipality until January 1, 1949 when most of it was merged with the City of Stockholm, with smaller portions of the area merging with Solna, Sundbyberg, and Sollentuna municipalities.Spånga was...
in 1949). The municipal border was established in 1971; with the exception of Hansta, in 1982 purchased by Stockholm Municipality from
Sollentuna MunicipalitySollentuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Sollentuna....
and today a nature reserve.
Of the population of 765,044 in 2004, 370,482 were men and 394,562 women. The average age is 39.8 years; 40.5% of the population is between 20 and 44 years. 309,480 people, or 40.4% of the population, over the age 15 were unmarried. 211,115 people, or 27.5% of the population, were married. 85,373, or 11.1% of the population, had been married but divorced. Approximately 26 % of Stockholm's residents are of an immigrant or non-Swedish background. Residents of Stockholm are known as Stockholmers. Some of the suburbs have large populations of immigrants. There are languages spoken in Greater Stockholm outside of
SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
; these languages include
FinnishFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Other languages spoken are
BosnianBosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
,
SyriacSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
,
ArabicArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
,
TurkishTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
,
KurdishKurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
,
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
,
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
,
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
,
SerbianSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
and
CroatianCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
.
Historical population
Population in the city of Stockholm from 1570 to present
class="wikitable">
|
Year |
Population |
1570 |
9,100 |
1610 |
8,900 |
1630 |
15,000 |
1650 |
35,000 |
1690 |
55,000 |
1730 |
57,000 |
1750 |
60,018 |
1770 |
69,000 |
1800 |
75,517 |
1810 |
65,474 |
1820 |
75,569 |
1830 |
80,621 |
1840 |
84,161 |
1850 |
93,070 |
1860 |
113,063 |
1870 |
136,016 |
class="wikitable">
|
Year |
Population |
1880 |
168,775 |
1890 |
246,454 |
1900 |
300,624 |
1910 |
342,323 |
1920 |
419,429 |
1930 |
502,207 |
1940 |
590,543 |
1950 |
745,936 |
1960 |
808,294 |
1970 |
740,486 |
1980 |
647,214 |
1990 |
674,452 |
2000 |
750,348 |
2005 |
771,038 |
2007 |
795,163 |
2008 |
810,120 |
2009 |
829,417 |
2010 |
847,073 |
In the last century, the population of nearby municipalities in
Stockholm CountyStockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
has become relevant to mention as well as the population of
Stockholm MunicipalityStockholm Municipality or the City of Stockholm is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is the largest of the 290 municipalities of the country in terms of population, but one of the smaller in terms of area, making it the most densely populated...
, as many municipalities form part of the
Stockholm urban areaThe 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 multimunicipal built-up area, which extends into 11 municipalities in Stockholm County. It contains the...
and as such are often considered part of the general term "Stockholm".
As of 2010, Stockholm urban area has a population of 1,372,565; (
StockholmStockholm Municipality or the City of Stockholm is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is the largest of the 290 municipalities of the country in terms of population, but one of the smaller in terms of area, making it the most densely populated...
847,991
HuddingeHuddinge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge, which is a part of Stockholm urban area.The municipality is the second most populated in Stockholm County....
94,752+;
JärfällaJärfälla Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, and is considered a suburb of Stockholm. Its seat is located in Jakobsberg....
65,968+;
SolnaSolna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, located just north of the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the 'city' of Solna....
68,038;
SollentunaSollentuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Sollentuna....
60,236+;
BotkyrkaBotkyrka Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba....
54,331+;
HaningeHaninge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Handen.Haninge Municipality was formed in 1971 when Västerhaninge and Österhaninge were united....
44,889+;
TyresöTyresö Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Its seat is located in Bollmora.Most of Tyresö Municipality lies within the Stockholm urban area.-History:...
39,253+;
SundbybergSundbyberg Municipality 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....
38,220;
NackaNacka Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located at Nacka. The municipality is situated just east of the capital Stockholm and the western parts are considered a suburban part of the Stockholm urban area.The present municipality was created in...
33,057+;
DanderydDanderyd Municipality is a municipality just north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden, but the most affluent...
25,830+
+these municipalities have larger populations, but not all within the Stockholm urban area).
In the entire Stockholm metropolitan area, with its 26 municipalities, the population reaches more than 2 million inhabitants.
Culture
Apart from being Sweden's capital, Stockholm houses many national cultural institutions. There are two
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage siteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s in the Stockholm area: The
Royal Palace DrottningholmThe Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
(within
Ekerö MunicipalityEkerö Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name comes from the island Ekerö, and literally means "Oak Island". Its seat is located in the town of Ekerö....
) and the
SkogskyrkogårdenSkogskyrkogården is a cemetery located in the Enskededalen district south of central Stockholm, Sweden...
(The Woodland Cemetery).
Stockholm was the 1998
European City of CultureThe European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
.
Literature
Authors connected to Stockholm include the poet and songwriter
Carl Michael Bellmanwas a Swedish poet and composer. Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a very important influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature in general, to this day....
(1740–1795), novelist and dramatist
August StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
(1849–1912), and novelist
Hjalmar SöderbergHjalmar Emil Fredrik Söderberg was a Swedish novelist, playwright, poet and journalist. His works often deal with melancholy and lovelorn characters, and offer a rich portrayal of contemporary Stockholm through the eyes of the flaneur...
(1869–1941), all of whom made Stockholm part of their works.
Other authors with notable heritage in Stockholm were the
Nobel Prize laureateSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
Eyvind JohnsonEyvind Johnson, was a Swedish writer and author. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with Harry Martinson in 1974 with the citation: for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom.Johnson was born Olof Edvin...
(1900–1976) and the popular poet and composer
Evert TaubeEvert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...
(1890–1976). The novelist
Per Anders FogelströmPer Anders Fogelström was among the leading figures in modern Swedish literature. He spent his whole life in Stockholm, and the most famous of his many works is a series of novels set in the city he dearly loved....
(1917–1998) wrote a popular series of historical novels depicting life in Stockholm from the 19th to the mid-20th century.
Architecture
The city's oldest section is "
Gamla StanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
" (Old Town), located on the original small islands of the city's earliest settlements and still featuring the
medievalThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
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 PalaceThe Bonde Palace is a palace in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the House of Knights and the Chancellery House , it is, arguably, the most prominent monument of the era of the Swedish Empire , originally design by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and Jean De la...
, the
Tessin PalaceThe Tessin Palace is a baroque town house located in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Located next to the Royal Palace, it is facing Slottsbacken, the major approach to the Stockholm Palace, and flanked by two alleys, Finska Kyrkogränd and Bollhusgränd.The mansion was constructed...
and the Oxenstierna Palace.
The oldest building in Stockholm is the Riddarholmskyrkan from the late 13th century. After a fire in 1697 when the original medieval castle was destroyed,
Stockholm PalaceThe Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
was erected in a
baroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style.
StorkyrkanSankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
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 18th century.
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
SödermalmSödermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
. During the 19th century and the age of industrialization Stockholm grew rapidly, with plans and architecture inspired by the large cities of the continent such as
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Notable works of this time period include public buildings such as the
Royal Swedish OperaKungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
and private developments such as the luxury housing developments on
StrandvägenStrandvägen is a boulevard 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....
.
In the 20th century, a nationalistic push spurred a new architectural style inspired by medieval and renaissance ancestry as well as influences of the
JugendArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
/
Art NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style. A key landmark of Stockholm, the
Stockholm City HallStockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as...
, was erected 1911-1923 by architect
Ragnar ÖstbergRagnar Östberg was a Swedish architect who is most famous for designing Stockholm City Hall. He is the most famous architect within the so-called "national romanticist" movement in Sweden...
. Other notable works of these times are the
Stockholm Public LibraryStockholm Public Library is a rotunda library building in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund. The library was prepared from 1918 and onwards by a committee in which Asplund himself took part. Construction began in 1924, and the library was completed in 1928...
and the Forest Cemetery,
SkogskyrkogårdenSkogskyrkogården is a cemetery located in the Enskededalen district south of central Stockholm, Sweden...
.
In the 1930s
modernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
characterized the development of the city as it grew. New residential areas sprang up such as the development on
GärdetGärdet is a part of Stockholm east and northeast of Östermalm. Its official name is Ladugårdsgärdet. It is renowned for its large number of modernist apartments...
while industrial development added to the growth, such as the KF manufacturing industries on Kvarnholmen located in the
Nacka MunicipalityNacka Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located at Nacka. The municipality is situated just east of the capital Stockholm and the western parts are considered a suburban part of the Stockholm urban area.The present municipality was created in...
. In the 1950s, suburban development entered a new phase with the introduction of the
Stockholm metroThe Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
. The modernist developments of
VällingbyVällingby is a suburban district in Västerort in the north-western part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden.Vällingby was planned in the early 1950s as a new town...
and
FarstaFarsta is a district in a borough with the same name in southern Stockholm, see Farsta . It is also a metro station on the Green line . The distance between central Stockholm and Farsta is 8 kilometers.-Sports:...
were internationally praised. In the 1960s this suburban development continued but with the aesthetic of the times, the industrialized and mass-produced blocks of flats received a large amount of 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
NorrmalmsregleringenThe redevelopment of Norrmalm was a major revision of the city plan for lower Norrmalm in Stockholm, Sweden, which was realised during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The renewal resulted in the old Klara quarters being replaced for the modern city of Stockholm, according to rigorist CBD ideas, while...
.
Sergels TorgSergels torg is the most central public square in Stockholm, Sweden, named after 18th century sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel, whose workshop was once located north of the square.- Overview :...
, 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 is the ensemble of the House of Culture, City Theatre and
National BankSveriges Riksbank, or simply Riksbanken, is the central bank of Sweden and the world's oldest central bank. It is sometimes called the Swedish National Bank or the Bank of Sweden .-History:...
at Sergels Torg, designed by architect
Peter CelsingPeter Celsing was a Swedish modernist architect.Celsing studied at the architectural school of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He later became professor of architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology...
.
In the 1980s, the planning ideas of modernism were starting to be questioned, resulting in suburbs with a denser planning, such as
SkarpnäckSkarpnäckCountry:Municipality: StockholmMunicipal part:SöderortArea:15.66 km²Population:40,707 Established:2007Website:MapSkarpnäck is a so called borough in the southern part of Stockholm, Sweden....
. In the 1990s this idea was taken further with the development of and old industrial area close to the inner city, resulting in a sort of mix of modernistic and urban planning in the new area of
Hammarby SjöstadHammarby Sjöstad is a part of Stockholm municipality, currently undergoing major urban redevelopment. It is located on both side of lake Hammarby sjö, bordering Nacka Municipality to the east...
.
The municipality has appointed an official "board of beauty" called "
SkönhetsrådetThe Stockholm Beauty Council , colloquially the Beauty Council , and officially Council for the Protection of the Beauty of Stockholm is an advisory council of the Stockholm Municipality which inspects city plans and requests for construction permits remitted by various municipal departments...
" to protect and preserve the beauty of the city.
Stockholm's architecture (along with
Visby-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...
,
GotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
) provided the inspiration for Japanese
animeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
director
Hayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
as he sought to evoke an idealized city untouched by World War. His creation, called
Korikois a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...
, draws directly from what Miyazaki felt was Stockholm's sense of well-established architectural unity, vibrancy, independence, and safety.
One of the most unusual pieces of "architecture" in Stockholm is the
JumbohostelThe Jumbo Hostel at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm, Sweden, is a hostel located inside a decommissioned 747-200 jetliner. It opened in 2008.-The Hotel:...
, housed in a converted
Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
located at
Stockholm-Arlanda AirportStockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala....
.
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 most renowned national museum is the Nationalmuseum, with Sweden's largest collection of art: 16,000 paintings and 30,000 objects of art handicraft. The collection dates back to the days of
Gustav VasaGustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
in the 16th century, and has since been expanded with works by artists such as
Rembrandt, and
Antoine WatteauJean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement...
, as well as constituting a main part of Sweden's art heritage, manifested in the works of
Alexander RoslinAlexander Roslin was a Swedish portrait painter.-Life:Roslin was born on July 15, 1718, in Malmö, Sweden. In 1759 he married Marie-Suzanne Giroust. He plied his trade in Stockholm, Bayreuth, Vienna, Paris and Italy...
,
Anders ZornAnders Leonard Zorn was one of Sweden’s foremost artists who obtained international success as a painter, sculptor and printmaker in etching.-Biography:...
,
Johan Tobias SergelJohan Tobias Sergel , Swedish sculptor, was born in Stockholm.-Biography:After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology, a colossal representation of "History,"...
,
Carl LarssonCarl Larsson was a Swedish painter and interior designer, representative of the Arts and Crafts Movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolors, and frescoes...
,
Carl Fredrik HillCarl Fredrik Hill was a Swedish painter.-Early life and training:Born the son of a mathematics professor, Hill grew up in the narrowness of the university town of Lund in southern Sweden and had to strike out his career as a landscape painter against his father’s resistance. After studying at the...
and
Ernst JosephsonErnst Josephson was a Swedish painter from a prominent Jewish family, whose main work was done on portraits and paintings of folk life....
.
The Museum of Modern Art, or
Moderna MuseetModerna museet, the Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm, Sweden, is a state museum located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, that was first opened in 1958. Its first manager was Pontus Hultén...
, is Sweden's national museum of modern art. It has works by famous modern artists such as
PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and
Salvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
.
Other notable museums:
- Stockholm City Museum
The Stockholm City Museum is a museum documenting and exhibiting the history of Stockholm. The museum is housed in Södra Stadshuset at Slussen on Södermalm. The building was completed in 1685...
- Skansen
Skansen is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden and is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era....
, the archetype of open-air museums, inaugurated 1891.
- 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 age until the contemporary period...
, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden.
- Royal Coin Cabinet
The Royal Coin Cabinet is a museum located on Slottsbacken, Gamla Stan, in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the history of money.It is an institution with a national responsibility for the conservation and the historical studies of coins, medals, and finance in general...
, dedicated to the history of money.
- 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 maiden voyage in 1628. The Vasa Museum opened in 1990 and,...
, now with the reconstruction of the missing parts of the Vasa Ship.
Art galleries
Stockholm has a vibrant art scene with a number of internationally recognized art centres and commercial galleries. Amongst others privately sponsored initiatives such as Bonniers Konsthall, Magasin 3, and state supported institutions such as
Tensta KonsthallTensta Konsthall is a centre for contemporary art on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1998, the art centre has exhibited works by international artists which include: Wolfgang Tillmans, Julian Opie, On Kawara, Shirin Neshat, Susan Hiller, Tracey Moffat, Kutlug Ataman, Mark Wallinger...
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 GalleryMilliken Gallery is a Swedish art gallery specializing in emerging and mid-career artists with an international perspective. Opened in February 2004 by American dealer, Aldy Milliken....
and Galleri Magnus Karlsson.
Suburbs
The Stockholm suburbs are places with diverse cultural background. Some areas in the inner suburbs, including those of
TenstaTensta is a district in Spånga-Tensta borough, Stockholm, Sweden. There are about 6,000 apartments in Tensta and a population of 17,083 as of December 31, 2007....
,
JordbroJordbro is a suburban locality situated in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 9,316 inhabitants in 2005.The suburb is separated in two by the Stockholm commuter rail. Route 73 , passes just east of Jordbro and connects Stockholm and Nynäshamn.East of the railway lies a housing area...
,
FittjaFittja is a part of Botkyrka Municipality and the name of the Stockholm Metro station in the area. It was settled during the 1970s and consists mostly of rental apartments. As of 2008, there were 7,458 people living in Fittja; 64.7% of them were of non-Swedish origin, of which 25.1% non-Swedish...
,
HusbyHusby is the name of many Swedish farms and villages. Originally, they formed a network of royal estates, called Uppsala öd, that were the property of the Swedish king....
,
BrandbergenBrandbergen, is a suburb in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located 20 km south of Stockholm, and is a residential area built in late 1960s to early 1970s, consisting of more than 6 000 flats, most of them are rental flats, some of them are society-owned...
,
RinkebyRinkeby is a district in Rinkeby-Kista borough, Stockholm, Sweden. Rinkeby had 15,051 inhabitants as at December 31, 2007.Rinkeby is noted for its high concentration of immigrants and people with immigrant ancestry...
,
KistaKista is a district of Stockholm Municipality in Sweden. Located northwest of central Stockholm, Kista is divided by the Stockholm Metro blue line into a western part which is primarily a working class and middle class residential area, and an eastern part occupied by commercial ventures, mostly...
,
HagsätraHagsätra is a quarter in Söderort, the southern part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. It borders with the quarters of Älvsjö, Örby and Rågsved in Stockholm, as well as Stuvsta in neighboring Huddinge Municipality...
,
RågsvedRågsved is a working-class suburb in the south of Stockholm, Sweden. It was built in the 1950–1970s and has had big problems with unemployment, criminality and drug abuse...
,
HuddingeHuddinge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Huddinge, which is a part of Stockholm urban area.The municipality is the second most populated in Stockholm County....
, and the outer suburb of
SödertäljeSödertälje is a city and the seat of Södertälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 86,069 inhabitants in 2010.The industrial city, about south of Stockholm, is the home to truck maker Scania AB and a top 10 pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca....
, have high percentages of immigrants or second generation immigrants. These mainly come from the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
(Assyrians, Syriacs,
TurksTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and
KurdsThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
) and former
YugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, but there are also immigrants from
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
,
Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Other parts of the inner suburbs, such as
HässelbyHässelby is a part of Hässelby-Vällingby in the City of Stockholm in Sweden, comprising the suburban areas Hässelby Gård, Hässelby Strand and Hässelby Villastad.-Hässelby in literature:...
,
VällingbyVällingby is a suburban district in Västerort in the north-western part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden.Vällingby was planned in the early 1950s as a new town...
, Sollentuna,
TäbyTäby is a trimunicipal locality and the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 58,593 inhabitants in 2005. It is also partly located in Danderyd Municipality and Sollentuna Municipality...
, Danderyd,
LidingöLidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, located north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 44,000 inhabitants in 2011....
,
FlystaFlysta is a part of the congregation Spånga in the western-most parts of Stockholm municipality. It is a part of the Spånga-Tensta borough. Despite its location in a predominantly residential suburban area, this community has much of what smaller villages used to have, e.g. a bakery, grocery shops,...
and
HökarängenHökarängen is a district in the Farsta borough of southern Stockholm. It neighbours Fagersjö to the west, Farsta to the south, Sköndal to the east and Gubbängen to the north. As of December 31, 2009, the total population of Hökarängen is 8,474....
, as well as some of the suburbs mentioned above, have a majority of ethnic Swedes.
Theatres
Distinguished among Stockholm's many theatres are the
Royal Dramatic TheatreThe Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....
(
Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern), one of Europe's most renowned theatres, and the
Royal Swedish OperaKungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
, inaugurated in 1773.
Other notable theatres are the Stockholm City Theatre (Stockholms stadsteater), the Peoples Opera (
FolkoperanFolkoperan is an opera house in Stockholm, Sweden, founded by Claes Fellbom in 1976. It is located in Stockholm at Hornsgatan 72 in a popular southern district of Stockholm called Södermalm....
), the Modern Theatre of Dance (
Moderna dansteatern), the
China TheatreChinateatern or commonly known as "China" is a private theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, located at Berzelii Park in Stockholm city. Originally built 1928 as a movie theatre but has over the years simultaneously been used as a theatre stage for revues, comedies and musical shows...
, the
Göta LejonGöta Lejon is a theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, located in Södermalm.It is especially popular for musical productions.The current plays are: High School Musical and Buddy - The Buddy Holly Musical....
Theatre, the
Mosebacke TheatreMosebacke is a part of Södermalm in Stockholm, Sweden where cultural events take place. There is a restaurant and theater, , and a stage where local legends like Cornelis Vreeswijk have performed....
, and the
Oscar TheatreOscarsteatern or "Oscars" is one of Stockholm's finest private theatres and the most well-known musical theatre in Sweden. It's located at Kungsgatan 63 in central Stockholm....
.
Amusement park
Gröna LundTivoli Gröna Lund or Grönan is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on the seaward side of the Djurgården island and is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly due to its central location, which limits expansion. Gröna Lund is a popular venue for concerts during...
is an amusement park located on the island of
Djurgården. The 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 end of April to middle of September.
Gröna LundTivoli Gröna Lund or Grönan is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on the seaward side of the Djurgården island and is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly due to its central location, which limits expansion. Gröna Lund is a popular venue for concerts during...
also serves as a concert venue.
Media
Stockholm is the media centre of Sweden. It has four nation-wide daily newspapers and is also the central location of the publicly funded radio (
SRSveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
) and television (
SVTSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
). In addition, all other major television channels have their base in Stockholm, such as:
TV3TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. Viasat is part of the Swedish media company Modern Times Group...
, TV4,
Kanal 5Kanal 5 is a Swedish commercial television channel established in 1989. It is owned by the media corporation ProSiebenSat.1 Media.After a troublesome 1990s, Kanal 5 launched new strategies in the early 2000s that established it as a popular entertainment channel targeting young people...
and TV6. All major magazines are also located to Stockholm, as are the largest literature publisher, the Bonnier group. In Stockholm the hit PC game "
MinecraftMinecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December 20, 2010...
" was created by
Markus 'Notch' PerssonMarkus Alexej Persson is a Swedish indie game developer and founder of Mojang AB. He is best known for creating the sandbox building game Minecraft.- Biography :...
in 2009.
Sports
The most popular spectator sports are football and
ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. The three most popular teams are
AIKAllmänna Idrottsklubben , currently located in Solna, north of Stockholm, is one of the largest and one of the oldest sports clubs in Scandinavia. AIK was founded in 1891 in central Stockholm, at the downtown address of Biblioteksgatan 8...
,
Djurgårdens IFDjurgårdens Idrottsförening, more commonly known as Djurgårdens IF, is a Swedish sports club with several departments, located in Stockholm.-History:...
and
Hammarby IFHammarby Fotboll is a Swedish football club based in Johanneshov - just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre...
. All of these clubs have large amounts of fans and play at fairly large Stadiums.
AIKAIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...
plays at Råsunda with a capacity of 36.508. The team is currently deciding where to play when the classic Råsunda football stadium will be demolished. The fans of AIK have been urging the club to buy Råsunda due to strong emotional attachment to the stadium. The club however has no control over the matter and has to choose between Stockholmsarenan and Swedbank Arena. AIK has the biggest fanbase in Stockholm of all three clubs. With a slightly bigger predominance in the northern parts of the innercity and the northern and western suburbs.
Djurgårdens IFDjurgårdens Idrottsförening, more commonly known as Djurgårdens IF, is a Swedish sports club with several departments, located in Stockholm.-History:...
plays at Stockholm Stadion but will move to a New Stadium in the future. The new stadium will have a capacity of 20-25,000 and will be located close to the old one.
TvillingderbytTvillingderbyt is a football match between rivals AIK and Djurgårdens IF. The two teams were founded in Stockholm 1891, AIK in one month before, but neither of them started to play football until 1896.-Rivalry culture:...
is the derby between AIK and Djurgården and is often referred to as one of the most passionate derbies in Europe. Both clubs were founded in 1891 in Stockholm: thus the name (the "twin derby").
Hammarby'sHammarby Fotboll is a Swedish football club based in Johanneshov - just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre...
stadium is located in the south of Stockholm, along with most of its fans. They have been playing at
SöderstadionSöderstadion is a football stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened in 1966 although there had already existed stadiums at the site, the earliest opened in 1918 under the name Johanneshovs Idrottsplats, and a first stadium with the current name was built in 1950. Söderstadion has a capacity of...
since the early 70s, but are to move to the new Stockholmsarenan with a capacity of 30.000, located 500 metres south of their current stadium.
Historically, the city was the host of the
1912 Summer OlympicsThe 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
. From those days stem the Stockholms Olympiastadion which has since hosted numerous sports events, notably football and athletics. Other major sport arenas are
Råsunda StadiumRåsunda Fotbollstadion, also Råsundastadion, Råsunda Stadium or just Råsunda, is a Swedish national football stadium. It is located in Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm and named after Råsunda, a zone of Solna.-History:...
, the national football stadium, and Stockholm Globe Arena, a multi-sport arena and one of the largest spherical buildings in the world.
Beside the
1912 Summer OlympicsThe 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
, Stockholm hosted the
1956 Summer Olympics Equestrian GamesThe Equestrian Events at the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm due to the Australian quarantine regulations and included Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions...
. The city was also second runner up in the 2004 Summer Olympics bids.
Stockholm also hosted all but one of the
Nordic GamesThe Nordic Games was the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on winter sports, and was held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It was organized by Sweden’s Central Association for the Promotion of Sports, and more specifically by Viktor Balck, a member of that...
, a winter
multi-sport eventA multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
that predated the
Winter OlympicsThe Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
.
Cuisine
There are over 1000 restaurants in Stockholm. Due to immigration, the city has plenty of restaurants with all kinds of food from all over the world such as American fast food, Asian, Italian, Turkish, French, Greek, Scandinavian, Spanish, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Cafeterias and bars are easy to find anywhere in the city.
As of 2009 Stockholm boasts a total of nine
Michelin starThe Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
restaurants, two of which have two stars.
Yearly events

- Where the Action Is Tour
Where the Action Is was a tour featuring Swedish rock bands that toured throughout Sweden between 2004 and 2006 with several high profiled Swedish bands and artists such as The Hellacopters, The Hives, The Ark, Moneybrother and many others. In 2007 the tour took a hiatus and then came back in 2008...
is a 2-day music festival held in Djurgården in June.
- Stockholm Jazz Festival
Stockholm Jazz Festival, established in 1980, is an annual jazz festival in Stockholm, Sweden. It is a major summer event of Stockholm and it is spread over several venues across the city.-Overview:...
is one of Sweden's oldest festivals. The festival takes place at Skeppsholmen in July.
- Stockholm Pride
Stockholm Pride is an annual gay pride festival held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Since the start in 1998, Stockholm Pride has grown....
is the largest PridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
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
The Stockholm Marathon, known as the ASICS Stockholm Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon arranged in Stockholm, Sweden since 1979. It serves as the Swedish marathon championship race...
takes place on a Saturday in early June each year
- The Nobel Banquet
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
takes place at Stockholm City HallStockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as...
every year on December 10
- The Stockholm Water Festival
The Stockholm Water Festival was an annual street festival held in Stockholm, Sweden, in August from 1991 to 1999. The festival featured many activities in central Stockholm, but was eventually cancelled after the 1999 festival due to lack of funds....
(SweSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
: Vattenfestivalen) was a popular summer festivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
held annually in Stockholm between 1991 and 1999.
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 AwardThe European Green Capital Award as an award for a European Capital based on its environmental record. The award was launched by the European Commission on 22 May 2008 and the first award was given to Stockholm for the year 2010...
by the
EU CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and has been celebrated as 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,
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
,
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
,
CopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Freiburg,
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
,
MünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, and
OsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. Some of the reasons why Stockholm won the 2010
European Green Capital AwardThe European Green Capital Award as an award for a European Capital based on its environmental record. The award was launched by the European Commission on 22 May 2008 and the first award was given to Stockholm for the year 2010...
were: its integrated administrative system, which ensure 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 current environmental program is the fifth since the first one was established in mid-1970s. In 2011, Stockholm will pass the title of European Green Capital to Hamburg, Germany.
Role model
In the beginning of 2010, Stockholm launched the program Professional Study Visits in order to share the city’s green best practices. The program provide 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, see
Schantz 2006 The water in Stockholm is so clean that people can dive and fish in the centre of the city. As for carbon dioxide emissions, the government goal is to have only clean vehicles in the city by 2011.
Public transport
Stockholm has an extensive
public transportPublic transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
system, one that by at least one measure, is the most expensive in the world. It consists of the
Stockholm MetroThe Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
(
Tunnelbana); two urban rail systems,
Roslagsbanan-SL southern network:*Stockholms östra–Djursholms Ösby–Roslags Näsby–Vallentuna–Lindholmen–Kårsta *Stockholms östra–Djursholms Ösby–Roslags Näsby–Åkersberga–Österskär...
and
SaltsjöbananSaltsjöbanan is a suburban rail system between Stockholm and Saltsjöbaden in Nacka, Sweden. It is in length and has eighteen stations in use. An average of 19,600 journeys are made on an ordinary workday. The line is mainly single track, and is isolated from Sweden's national railway network,...
; and a suburban rail system: the
Stockholm commuter railStockholm Commuter Rail is the commuter rail system in Stockholm County, Sweden. The system is an important part of the public transport in Stockholm, and is controlled by Stockholm Transport; the trains are operated under contract by Stockholmståg...
(
pendeltåg), three light rail systems:
NockebybananNockebybanan is a tram line between Nockeby and Alvik in the western suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. The long line is part of the Storstockholms Lokaltrafik public transport network, and connects with the Stockholm Metro and Tvärbanan light rail at Alvik...
,
Lidingöbanan, and
TvärbananTvärbanan is a light rail line in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. Its name literally translated into English is Crossways line. It links together many bus and rail lines crossways through its connections with the southern and western subway branches of the Stockholm Metro and the Stockholm...
; a tramway:
Spårväg City; a large number of bus lines, and the inner-city boat line
DjurgårdsfärjanDjurgårdsfärjan is an inner city boat line in Stockholm. It is operated by Waxholmsbolaget and is integrated into Stockholms public transport system. The ferry line runs from Slussen to "Allmänna gränd" near Gröna Lund on Djurgården, with an optional stop at Skeppsholmen....
. All the land-based public transport in
Stockholm CountyStockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
, except the airport buses/trains, are organized by
Storstockholms LokaltrafikStorstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, , commonly referred to as SL, is the organisation running all of the land based public transport systems in Stockholm County....
(
SL), with the operation and maintenance of the public transport services delegated to several contractors, such as
MTRMass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
who operate the metro and
Veolia TransportVeolia Transport is the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia Environnement...
who operate the suburban railways except for the
commuter railStockholm Commuter Rail is the commuter rail system in Stockholm County, Sweden. The system is an important part of the public transport in Stockholm, and is controlled by Stockholm Transport; the trains are operated under contract by Stockholmståg...
. The archipelago boat traffic is handled by
WaxholmsbolagetWaxholms Ångfartygs AB, commonly referred to as Waxholmsbolaget, is a shipping company that is owned by Stockholm county council and is responsible for the seaborne public transport in Stockholm archipelago and Stockholm harbour...
.
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 cardA travel card is a ticket usable on more than one journey, route or mode of public transport within a specific area using bulk or discounted payment; some systems only cover travel by disabled or elderly people...
s, both allowing for unlimited travel with SL in the entire Stockholm County for the duration of the ticket validity. Starting April 1, 2007, a new zone system (A, B, C) and price system applies for single tickets. Single tickets are now available in forms of cash ticket, individual unit pre-paid tickets, pre-paid ticket slips of 10, sms-ticket and machine ticket. Cash tickets bought at the point of travel are the most expensive and pre-paid tickets slips of 10 are the cheapest. A single ticket is valid for one hour. The duration of the travel card validity depends on the exact type; they are available from 24 hours up to a year. A 30-day card costs 790 SEK (83 EUR; 130 USD). Tickets of all these types are available with reduced prices for persons under 20 and over 65 years of age
The City Line Project, or The Green Tunnel
With estimated cost at SEK 16.8 billion (January 2007 price level), which equals to 2.44 billion US dollars, the City Line, an environmentally certified project, comprises a 6 km-long commuter train tunnel (in rock and water) beneath Stockholm, with two new stations (Stockholm City and Stockholm Odenplan), and a 1.4 km-long railway bridge at Årsta. The City Line is being 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 is to double the city’s track capacity and improve service efficiency. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2017.
Between
RiddarholmenRiddarholmen 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 from the 17th century...
and Söder Mälarstrand, the City Line will run 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
European routesThe international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . The network is numbered from E 1 up and its roads cross national borders...
E4European route E 4 passes from north to south through Sweden from the border with Finland, total length . The Finnish part lies entirely within Tornio in northern Finland, and is actually only long...
,
E18European route E18 runs from Craigavon in the United Kingdom to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is about 1,890 km in length.-United Kingdom:...
and
E20The European route E 20 is part of the United Nations International E-road network.It runs roughly west-east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and finally Russia. The length is . The road is not continuous, at three points, a sea crossing is required. ...
. A
half-completed motorway ring roadThe Stockholm Ring Road is a half-completed ring road around central Stockholm, Sweden. There have been many plans over the years of a ring road around central Stockholm, but all of them have been cancelled at some point. , about half of the ring road is now built.-History:The first plan to build...
exists on the south and west sides of the
City CentreStockholm City Centre is the city centre of Stockholm in Sweden. The entire city of Stockholm is also the centre of the Stockholm Metropolitan Area....
.
Congestion charges
Stockholm has a
congestion pricingRoad pricing is an economic concept regarding the various direct charges applied for the use of roads. The road charges includes fuel taxes, licence fees, parking taxes, tolls, and congestion charges, including those which may vary by time of day, by the specific road, or by the specific vehicle...
system,
Stockholm congestion taxThe Stockholm congestion tax , also found referred to as the Stockholm congestion charge, is a congestion pricing system implemented as a tax levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central Stockholm, Sweden...
, in use on a permanent basis since August 1, 2007, after having had a seven month trial period in the first half of 2006. The
City CentreStockholm City Centre is the city centre of Stockholm in Sweden. The entire city of Stockholm is also the centre of the Stockholm Metropolitan Area....
is within the congestion tax zone. All the entrances and exits of this area have unmanned control points operating with
automatic number plate recognitionAutomatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
. All vehicles entering or exiting the congestion tax affected area, with a few exceptions, have to pay 10–20
SEKThe krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
(1.09–2.18
EURThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, 1.49–2.98
USDThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) depending on the time of day between 06:30 and 18:29. The maximum tax amount per vehicle per day is 60 SEK (6.53 EUR, 8.94 USD). 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 (
cabinet PerssonGöran Persson served as Prime Minister of Sweden between March 22, 1996 and October 6, 2006. Persson took over after Ingvar Carlsson, who retired as party leader and Prime Minister...
) stated that they would only take into consideration the results of the referendum in Stockholm Municipality. The opposition parties (
Alliance for SwedenThe Alliance , formerly Alliance for Sweden , is a political alliance in Sweden. It consists of the four centre-right parties in the Riksdag...
) stated that they were to form a cabinet after the
general electionA general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
—which was held the same day as the congestion tax referendums—they would take into consideration the referendums held in several the other municipalities as well, but did not specify more in detail how they would do that. The results of the referendums were that the Stockholm Municipality voted for the congestion tax, but all the other municipalities voted against it. The opposition parties won the general election and a few days before they formed government (
cabinet ReinfeldtThe cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current cabinet of Sweden. It is a coalition cabinet consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberal People's Party and the Christian Democrats...
) 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
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and
TurkuTurku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(commonly called "
FinlandsfärjanThe Baltic Sea is crossed by several cruiseferry lines. Some important shipping companies are Viking Line, Silja Line and Tallink.-Eastern Baltic:...
");
TallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
,
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
;
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
,
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
,
ÅlandThe Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
islands and to
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. The large
Stockholm archipelagoThe Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
is served by the Waxholmsbolaget archipelago boats.
City bikes
Between April and October, during the warmer months, it is possible to rent
Stockholm City BikesStockholm City Bikes is the name of a public-private partnership project of Stockholm in Sweden and the outdoor advertising unit of Clear Channel Communications....
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 April 1 to October 31) 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.
Airports
Stockholm-Arlanda AirportStockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala....
is the largest and busiest airport in Sweden with 18 million passengers in 2007.
It is located about 40 km north of Stockholm.
- International and domestic:
- Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
Stockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala....
is the primary airport for the region and serves as a hub for Scandinavian AirlinesScandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and the largest airline in Scandinavia....
.
- Stockholm-Bromma Airport
Stockholm-Bromma Airport is an airport in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm-Bromma Airport is located west northwest of downtown Stockholm and is the closest to the city...
is located about 8 km (5 mi) west of Stockholm.
- Only international:
- Stockholm-Skavsta Airport
Stockholm-Skavsta Airport , or Nyköping Airport is an international airport near Nyköping, Sweden, approximately southwest of Stockholm. It is served by low-cost airlines and cargo operators...
is located 100 km (62.1 mi) south of Stockholm.
- Stockholm-Västerås Airport
Stockholm-Västerås Airport, also known as Västerås Airport or Hässlö Flygplats is located at the city Västerås, and about west of Stockholm, Sweden...
is located 110 km (68.4 mi) west of Stockholm, in the city of VästeråsVästerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
.
Arlanda ExpressArlanda Express is an airport rail link connecting Stockholm Central Station with Stockholm-Arlanda Airport outside Stockholm, Sweden. Operated by A-Train AB, the trip takes 20 minutes and runs four to six times per hour using seven X3 electric multiple units...
airport rail linkAn airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...
runs between Arlanda Airport and central Stockholm. There are also bus lines,
Flygbussarna-External links:*...
, that run between central Stockholm and all the airports.
As of 2010 there are no airports specifically for
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
in the Stockholm area.
Inter-city trains
Stockholm Central StationStockholm Central Station is the largest railway station in Sweden. The station is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan. Opened July 18, 1871, the station is the largest in Sweden, with over 200,000 visitors daily...
has train connections to many Swedish cities as well as to
OsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and
CopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The popular
X 2000X 2000 is the brand name of Sweden's tilting 200 km/h high-speed train class X2, which was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden and operated by SJ. It was launched in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal included in the ticket price, and free use of the train's fax machine...
service to
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
takes three hours. Most of the trains are run by
SJ ABSJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2000, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies.-Overview:SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised...
.
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
The Stockholm Marathon, known as the ASICS Stockholm Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon arranged in Stockholm, Sweden since 1979. It serves as the Swedish marathon championship race...
is ranked as the best marathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
in the world.
- In the 2006 European Innovation Scoreboard
The European Innovation Scoreboard is an instrument of the European Commission, developed under the Lisbon Strategy to provide a comparative assessment of the innovation performance of EU Member States...
, 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 CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, Stockholm was ranked as the most innovativeInnovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
city in Europe.
- In the 2008 World Knowledge Competitiveness Index, published by the Centre for International Competitiveness, Stockholm was ranked as the sixth most competitive
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...
region in the world and the most competitive region outside the United States.
- In the 2006 European Regional Growth Index (E-REGI), published by Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. is a multinational financial and professional services company specializing in real estate. Global headquarters are located in Chicago, with an operational remit covering the Americas regional market...
, Stockholm was ranked fifth on the list of European cities with the strongest GDPGross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
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
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
.
- In a 2007 survey performed by the environmental economist Matthew Kahn
Matthew E. Kahn is a leading American educator in the field of environmental economics. After earning his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, he began teaching at various universities, including Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, and Tufts. He is currently a professor at the UCLA...
for the Reader's DigestReader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
magazine, Stockholm was ranked first on its list of the "greenest" and most "livable" cites in the world.
- In a 2008 survey published by the Reader's Digest magazine, Stockholm was ranked fourth in the world and first in Europe on its list of the "world's top ten honest cities".
- In a 2008 survey published by the National Geographic Traveler
National Geographic Traveler is a magazine published by the National Geographic Society in the United States. It was launched in 1984. Local-language editions of National Geographic Traveler are published in Armenia, Belgium/the Netherlands, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Latin America,...
magazine, Gamla stanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, 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
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
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
The European Green Capital Award as an award for a European Capital based on its environmental record. The award was launched by the European Commission on 22 May 2008 and the first award was given to Stockholm for the year 2010...
scheme.
Twin cities and towns
Bassano del GrappaBassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
BelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
CaliCalì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
,
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
CopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
IstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
KievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
NuukNuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...
,
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
OsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
VilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
,
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
ReykjavíkReykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
,
IcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
SarajevoSarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
Siracusa,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
TiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
TórshavnTórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
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Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
IslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
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PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
See also
- Largest European metropolitan areas
- List of people connected to Stockholm
- Ports of the Baltic Sea
There are over 200 ports in the Baltic Sea. When only those ports that handle minimum of 50,000 tonnes of cargo annually, and where at least part of this cargo is international, are taken into account the number of ports reaches approximately 190. In 2008, the total amount of cargo handled in the...
- Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
- Stockholmska
Stockholmska is a group of dialects spoken in Stockholm. An exact definition encompassing its peculiarities is hard to find, as a cosmopolitan culture and early adoption infers a great variety of international influences that are then spread to the rest of Sweden...
External links
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