Everything about Stockholm City Hall totally explained
Stockholm City Hall (
Swedish:
Stockholms stadshus or
Stadshuset locally) is the building of the
Municipal Council for the
City of
Stockholm in
Sweden. Located at the shore of
lake Mälaren on the island of
Kungsholmen, the city hall was built on the location where the grand mill
Eldkvarn once stood.
Construction
In
1907 the city council decided to build a new city hall and announced an architectural contest which
Ragnar Östberg won. Oskar Asker was employed as construction leader and Paul Toll, of construction company Kreuger & Toll, designed the foundations. The construction took twelve years, from
1911 to
1923. Nearly eight million red
bricks were used. The dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monks's brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory near
Södertälje. Construction was carried out by craftsmen using traditional techniques.
The building was inaugurated on 23 June 1923, exactly 400 years after
Gustav Vasa's arrival in Stockholm.
Verner von Heidenstam and
Hjalmar Branting held the inaugurational speeches.
Architecture
Stadshuset is considered one of Sweden's foremost examples of national romanticism in architecture. It comprises offices and conference rooms as well as ceremonial halls. Inspired by
Italian renaissance, Östberg constructed the entire building around two open spaces, a
piazza called "Borgargården", and the Blue Hall ("Blå hallen"). The Blue Hall is in fact without blue decorations but has kept its name after the original design, which Östberg changed during construction. It is perhaps best known as the dining hall used for the banquet held after the annual
Nobel Prize award ceremony. The
organ in the Blue Hall is with its 10,270 pipes the largest in Scandinavia. Above the Blue hall lies the Golden Hall ("Gyllene Salen"), named after the decorative
mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history.
The southeast corner of the the building is marked by a 106 metre tall tower crowned by the
Three Crowns are visible, an old
national symbol for Sweden. The tower is accesible by an elevator or by a stair of 365 steps.
Stadshusparken
The little park between the building and Lake Mälaren's shore is adorned with many sculptures, among them
Carl Eldhs ensemble representing the three artists
August Strindberg,
Gustaf Fröding and
Ernst Josephson, as well as Eldh's
bronce sculptures "Sången" and "Dansen" ("Song" and "Dance"). To the southeast of the City Hall, facing
Riddarholmen, is a pillar roughly 20 meters tall with a statue of
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson on top.
Gallery
Image:Stockholm-city-hall.jpg|Stockholm City Hall at night.
Image:Stadshuset_Hof_1.jpg|Stockholm City Hall, inneryard
Image:Windows of the Golden Hall in Stockholm City Hall.jpg|Golden room in Stockholm city hall.
Image:Stockholm City hall.jpg|Stockholm City Hall on a summer evening.
Image:Stadshuset_vinter_1.jpg|Stockholm City Hall, view over Lake Mälaren in January.
Image:StockholmStadshuset.jpg|Stockholm Stadshuset at sunset
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stockholm City Hall'.
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