Stockholm

Stockholm, the capital of the kingdom of Sweden, stands on several islands and the adjacent mainland, between a bay of the Baltic and Lake Mälare, in a situation that is accounted one of the most picturesque in Europe. The nucleus of Stockholm is an island in mid-channel called 'the Town;' on it stand the imposing royal palace (1697-1754); the principal church (St Nicholas), in which the kings are crowned; the House of the Nobles (1648-70), in which that class hold their periodical meetings; the town-house; the ministries of the kingdom; and the principal wharf, a magnificent granite quay, fronting east. Immediately west of the central island lies the Knights' Island (Riddarholm); it is almost entirely occupied with public buildings, as the Houses of Parliament; the old Franciscan church, in which all the later sovereigns of Sweden have been buried; the royal archives; and the chief law-courts of the kingdom. To the north of these two islands lie the handsomely built districts of Norrmalm, separated from them by a narrow channel, in which is an islet covered with the royal stables. The principal buildings and institutions in Norrmalm are the National Museum (1850-65), with extremely valuable collections of prehistoric antiquities, coins, paintings, sculptures; the principal theatres; the Academy of the Fine Arts (1735); the barracks; the Hop Garden, with the Royal Library (1870-76), 250,000 vols. and 8000 MS., and with the statue (1885) of Linnæus; the Academy of Sciences (1739), with natural history collections; the Museum of Northern Antiquities (1873); the Observatory; and technological, medical, slöjd, and other schools. Ship Island (Skeppsholm), immediately east of 'the Town' island, is the headquarters of the Swedish navy, and is built over with marine workshops, shipbuilding-yards, &c., and is connected with a smaller island on the south-east, that is crowned with a citadel. Beyond these again, and farther to the east, lies the beautiful island of the Zoological Gardens (Djurgården). Immediately south of 'the Town' island is the extensive district of Södermalm, the houses of which climb up the steep slopes that rise from the water's edge. Handsome bridges connect the central islands with the northern and southern districts; besides busses and tramways, the principal means of communication are quick little steamboats, some of which extend their journeys to the beautiful islands in Lake Mälare on the west, and eastward towards the Baltic Sea (40 miles distant). Besides the institutions already mentioned Stockholm is the home of the Swedish Academy (1786), Academies of Agriculture (1811), Music (1771), and the Military Sciences (1771), a naval school, a school of navigation, of pharmacy, &c. There is considerable industry in the making of sugar, tobacco, silks and ribbons, candles, linen, cotton, and leather, and there are large iron-foundries and machine-shops. The water approaches to the city are in general rendered inaccessible by ice during three or four months every winter; but to remedy this defect it is proposed to build a new harbour at Nynäs on the Baltic shore, 30 miles to the south. In spite of the winter drawback Stockholm is the seat of a trade sufficient to bring an average of 1760 vessels of 635,000 tons into the port every year, carrying principally grain (wheat and rye), rice, flour, herrings, oils and oilcake, cork-wood, groceries, metals, and wine and spirits (imports). The commodities exported consist chiefly of iron and steel, oats, and tar. Although Stockholm was founded by Birger Jarl in 1255, it was not made the capital of Sweden until com- paratively modern times. Since then, however, it has grown rapidly: pop. (1800) 75,500; (1850) 93,000; (1870) 136,000; (1890) 246,151. The principal events in the history of the city have been the sieges by Queen Margaret of Denmark (1389), the battles in the vicinity against the Danes towards the end of the 15th century, the capture of the place by Christian II. of Denmark in 1520, and the Blood Bath he executed amongst the principal men of the country in what was then the Great Market.