History of Stockholm
The history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town. Stockholm's raison d'être always was to be the Swedish capital and by far the largest city in the country.
Origins
The name 'Stockholm' easily splits into two distinct parts – Stock-holm, "Log-islet", but as no serious explanation to the name has been produced, various myths and legends have attempted to fill in the gap. According to a 17th-century myth the population at the
Middle Ages
The name Stockholm first appears in historical records in letters written by
During the
By the end of the 15th century, the population in Stockholm can be estimated to 5,000–7,000 people, which made it a relatively small town compared to several other contemporary European cities. On the other hand, it was far larger than any other city in Sweden. Many of its inhabitants were Germans and Finns, with the former forming a political and economic elite in the city.[11]
During the Middle Ages, export was administered mostly by German merchants living by the squares Kornhamnstorg ("Grain Harbour Square") and Järntorget ("Iron Square") on the southern corner of the city. Regional peasantry supplied the city with food and raw materials, while the craftsmen in the city produced handicrafts, most of whom lived by the central square Stortorget or by the oldest two streets in Stockholm, the names of which still reflects their trade: Köpmangatan ("Merchant Street") and Skomakargatan ("Shoemaker Street") in the central part of the city. Other groups lived by the eastern or western thoroughfares, Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan.[12]
Early Vasa era
After
Gustav Vasa invited the clergyman
Because Stockholm had a city wall, it was exempted from the tax paid by other Swedish cities. During the reign of Gustav Vasa the city's fortifications were reinforced and in the
Around 1560–80, most of the citizens, some 8.000 people, still lived on
Great Power era
Following the
Population and city plans
The process of reshaping Stockholm was initiated by a major fire in 1625 which destroyed the south-western part of today's old town. As a result, two new boulevard-like streets were created — Stora Nygatan and Lilla Nygatan — and along the eastern waterfront the medieval wall was replaced by a row of prestigious palaces — Skeppsbron.[18]
For the ridges surrounding the city – Norrmalm, Östermalm, Kungsholmen, and Södermalm – new city plans were worked out to create wide and straight artery streets. The project was implemented so thoroughly, in several parts of the city no traces exist of the previous medieval structures. Many of the streets from this era are still extant, and some of those proposed have been realised with some minor modifications.[19][20][21]
The population grew from less than 10,000 in the early 17th century to more than 50,000 in the mid-1670s. The city's income rose from 18,595 daler in 1635–36 to 81,480 daler in 1644. In 1642, approximately 60 per cent of that sum was spent on construction works.[17]
Trade
Other Swedish cities were deprived of their export privileges by the so-called "Bothnian Trade Coercion" (Bottniska handelstvånget). Most Swedish cities were granted a trade monopoly over a limited surrounding area, but for Stockholm most of the lands surrounding the Gulf of Bothnia formed part of the city's trade territory. However, the state-granted monopoly was not the only thing that favoured Stockholm at that time. It was one of the best natural harbours of the era and throughout the 17th century, countless foreign visitors marvelled at the sight of large ships "with 60 or 70 cannons" moored along the eastern quay next to the royal castle.[22]
In contrast with other Swedish cities, all of which were self-supporting, Stockholm was completely dependent of the transit passing through the city—it had, for example, about the same number of domestic animals as Uppsala, which only had ten per cent the population of the capital. All goods brought into Stockholm had to pass through one of six customs stations, and approximately three-fourths of them were exported from the city. Half of the remaining items, mostly fishery products, were delivered from the Baltic, and corn came from the Lake Mälaren region. However, during the latter half of the century, the rapidly growing capital could not be supported by the Lake Mälaren region alone and therefore became dependent on corn imported from the provinces.[23]
Sweden had played a passive role in international trade during the 16th century; German merchants and ships managed the export of Swedish primary products such as osmond iron, raw copper, and butter. This export was largely regarded as a means of securing the import of items not available in Sweden, such as salt, wine, and luxury goods demanded at the court. With the introduction of a mercantile doctrine around 1620, trade became a keystone to governmental income and the Swedish economy subsequently focused on export, not of raw materials, but of refined products. Over the entire period (c. 1590–1685), Stockholm's share of the national economy remained stable at around two-thirds, but during the first half of the 17th century, export grew fourfold and import fivefold. Most goods were delivered to the Netherlands in the mid-17th century and to the UK in the early 18th century.[23]
In the 17th century, the textile industry was developed with the establishments of the textile manufactures Paulinska manufakturerna (active 1673–1776) and the Barnängens manufaktur (active 1691–1826), which became two of the greatest sources of employments in the Swedish capital during the entire 18th-century.[24]
Age of Liberty (1718–1772)
Population[25] | ||
---|---|---|
Late 17th century | 55–66.000 | |
Around 1720 | 45.000 | |
Mid 18th century | 60.000 | |
Mid 19th century | 90.000 | |
Social stratification 1769–1850 (per cent)[25] | ||
Class | 1769 | 1850 |
Upper | 13 | 7 |
Middle | 40 | 12 |
Lower | 47 | 81 |
Following the
A stratification into three social groups can be made for this era :
- individuals of rank and officers
- craftsmen, small-scale entrepreneurs, and officials
- journeymen, assistants, workers, soldiers, servants, paupers, and prisoners.
Women were associated with their husband's status. However, as craftsmen saw their status sink with the introduction of industrialism, the proletarian class grew during the period. There also was an economic segregation in the city, with the present old town and the lower parts of Norrmalm being the wealthiest (more than 150% above average); the suburbs (today part of central Stockholm) were poor (50% below average).[25]
During the 18th century, the
During the 18th century, several devastating fires destroyed entire neighbourhoods which resulted in building codes being introduced. They improved fire safety by prohibiting wooden buildings and further embellished the city by implementing the 17th-century city plans. In the old town, the new royal palace was gradually completed and the exterior of the Storkyrkan church was adopted to it. The skilled artists and craftsmen working for the royal court formed an elite which considerably raised the artistic standards in the capital.[27]
Gustavian era (1772–1809)
During the
The king had a great interest for the city's development. He created the Gustav Adolf square and had the Royal Opera inaugurated there in 1782 — in accordance to the original intentions of Tessin the Younger for a monumental square north of the palace. The façade of Arvfurstens palats on the opposite side is identical to the now replaced façade of the opera.[27]
The neoclassical bridge Norrbro, designed by Erik Palmstedt (1741–1807) and was completed in ten years. It was a very ambitious project that caused the centre of the city to gradually move out of the medieval city.[30]
The colourful and often burlesque descriptions of Stockholm by troubadour and composer Carl Michael Bellman are still popular.
The period ended as King
Early industrial era (1809–1850)
For Stockholm, the early 19th century meant the only larger-scale projects to be realised were those initiated by the military which favoured a more stiff classicism, the local Swedish version of the
During the later half of the 18th century real income dwindled to reach an all-time low in 1810 when it corresponded to roughly half that of the 1730s; public officials being those worst affected.[26] Norrköping became the greatest manufacturing city of Sweden and Gothenburg developed into the key trading port because of its location on the North Sea.
Most people still lived within the present Old Town, with a growth along the eastern shore. Population also grew on the surrounding ridges, more so in the wealthy district Norrmalm and less so in the poor district Södermalm.[25] However, many of the ridges surrounding the city were slums mostly rural in character without water and sewage and frequently ravaged by cholera.[30]
Late industrial era (1850–1910)
In the second half of the century, Stockholm regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged, and Stockholm transformed into an important trade and service centre, as well as a key gateway point within Sweden.
While steam engines were introduced in Stockholm in 1806 with the Eldkvarn mill, it took until the mid-19th century for industrialization to take off. Two factories, Ludvigsberg and Bolinder, constructed in the 1840s were followed by many others, and the economic development that succeeded resulted in some 800 new buildings being constructed 1850–70 — many of which were located in the Klara district and subsequently demolished in the Redevelopment of Norrmalm 1950–70.[30]
During the 1850s and 1860s, gas works, sewage, and running water was introduced. Many streets were paved, including
In 1866, a commission led by
While this demand for housing was mostly dealt with by private entrepreneurs who built on pure speculation, street width and building heights were strictly regulated by the new city plans which ensured the city that evolved was given a uniform design. A trend initiated by the Bünsow House at
During this period, Stockholm further developed as a cultural and educational centre. In the 19th century, a number of scientific institutes opened in Stockholm, for example the
20th century
In the late 20th century, Stockholm became a modern, technologically advanced and ethnically diverse city. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from work-intensive activities into more high-technology and service-industry knowledge-based areas.
The city continued to expand and new districts were created, some with high proportions of immigrants. Meanwhile, the inner city (Norrmalm) went through a criticised as well as an admired wave of modernisation in the post-war period, the Redevelopment of Norrmalm, securing the city's geographical center as the political and business center for the future.
In 1923 the Stockholm municipal government moved to a new building, the
See also
Notes
- ^ Stockholms gatunamn, "Namnet Stockholm", pp 30–32.
- ^ Hall, Huvudstad i omvandling, pp 23–25
- ^ Hall, pp 13–16
- ^ Hall, p 21
- ^ Hall, p 43
- ^ Hall, p 46
- ^ Hall, p 47
- ISBN 978-91-27-02687-2p. 46
- ^ Hall, p. 40
- ^ Nilsson, Staden på vattnet 1, pp 59–63
- ^ Nilsson, pp 24–27
- ^ Nilsson, pp 43–47
- ^ Nilsson, pp 64–66
- ^ a b c Nilsson, pp 80–82
- ^ Nilsson, pp 66–68
- ^ Nilsson, pp 68–72
- ^ a b Hall, pp 53–58
- ^ Hall, pp 60–63.
- ^ Hall, pp 63–70,
- ^ Hall, pp 70–74.
- ^ Hall, pp 74–75.
- ^ Nilsson, pp 86–88
- ^ a b Nilsson, pp 89–100
- ^ Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013
- ^ a b c d e Nilsson, pp 189–195.
- ^ a b Nilsson, pp 187–188.
- ^ a b c d Andersson, Stockholms årsringar, pp 41–48.
- ^ Nilsson, pp 196–222.
- ^ Hallerdt, pp 9–20.
- ^ a b c d e f g Andersson, pp 49–56
- ^ a b Andersson, pp 57–63
References
- Stockholms gatunamn (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning. 1992. ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
- Söderlund, Kerstin (2004). "Stockholm heter det som sprack av – Söderström i äldsta tid". Slussen vid Söderström (in Swedish). Stockholm: ISBN 91-85267-21-X.
- Söderlund, Kerstin (2002). Upptaget – Sankt Eriks årsbok 2002 (in Swedish). Stockholm: ISBN 91-974091-1-1.
- Hall, Thomas (1999). Huvudstad i omvandling – Stockholms planering och utbyggnad under 700 år (in Swedish). Stockholm: ISBN 91-522-1810-4.
- Nilsson, Lars; Rye, Margareta, eds. (2002). Staden på vattnet 1. Stockholm: Stockholmia förlag. ISBN 91-7031-122-6. (Göran Dahlbäck pp 17–72, Robert Sandberg pp 75–184, Eva Eggeby and Klas Nyberg pp 187–276.)
- Björn Hallerdt (1994). Sankt Eriks årsbok 1994: Yppighet och armod i 1700-talets Stockholm (in Swedish). Stockholm: ISBN 91-972165-0-X.
- Andersson, Magnus (1997). Stockholms årsringar – En inblick i stadens framväxt (in Swedish). Stockholmia förlag. ISBN 91-7031-068-8.
Further reading
- Åberg, Veijo. "Conspiracy or political purge? The Stockholm trial of 1536." Scandinavian Journal of History 21.4 (1996): 315–330.
- Anton, Thomas Julius. Governing Greater Stockholm: A study of policy development and system change (Univ of California Press, 1975).
- De Geer, Sten. "Greater Stockholm: a geographical interpretation." Geographical Review 13.4 (1923): 497–506. online
- Emanuel, Martin. "Constructing the Cyclist Ideology and Representations in Urban Traffic Planning in Stockholm, 1930–70." Journal of Transport History 33.1 (2012): 67–91. online
- Gullberg, Anders, and Arne Kaijser. "City-building regimes in post-war Stockholm." Journal of Urban Technology 11.2 (2004): 13–39.
- Hurd, Madeleine. "Education, Morality, and the Politics of Class in Hamburg and Stockholm, 1870-1914." Journal of Contemporary History 31.4 (1996): 619–650.
- Jarrick, Arne. Back to Modern Reason: Johan Hjerpe and other petit bourgeois in Stockholm in the Age of Enlightenment (Oxford University Press, 1999).
- Kolbe, Laura. "Symbols of civic pride, national history or European tradition? City halls in Scandinavian capital cities." Urban History 35.3 (2008): 382–413, covers Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo.
- Meynell, Hildamarie. "The Stockholm conference of 1917." International Review of Social History 5.1 (1960): 1-25; international peace conference for socialists.
- Müller, Leos. "“Merchants” and “Gentlemen” in Eighteenth-Century Sweden." in The Self-Perception of Early Modern Capitalists (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008) pp. 125-146.
- Müller, Leos. "The Swedish East India trade and international markets: Re-exports of teas, 1731–1813." Scandinavian Economic History Review 51.3 (2003): 28–44.
- Murdie, Robert A., and Lars-Erik Borgegard. "Immigration, spatial segregation and housing segmentation of immigrants in metropolitan Stockholm, 1960-95." Urban studies 35.10 (1998): 1869–1888.
- Porfyriou, Heleni. "Artistic urban design and cultural myths: The garden city idea in Nordic countries, 1900–1925." Planning Perspective 7.3 (1992): 263–302.
- Riden, Philip. "An English factor at stockholm in the 1680s." Scandinavian Economic History Review 35.2 (1987): 191–207. online
- Sandell, Kaj. Stockholm (2012), guidebook online
- Sidenbladh, Göran. "Stockholm." Scientific American 213.3 (1965): 106–121. online
- Söderberg, Johan. "Real wage trends in urban Europe, 1730–1850: Stockholm in a comparative perspective." Social History 12.2 (1987): 155–176.
- Waldenström, Daniel. "Understanding the Emergence of Stock Exchanges: The Case of pre-WWI Stockholm." NBER Conference Developing and Sustaining Financial Markets Vol. 2000. pp 1820+ online.
- Wickman, Mats. The Stockholm city hall (Sellin & Partner Publishing Company, 1993).
- William-Olsson, William. "Stockholm: Its structure and development." Geographical Review 30.3 (1940): 420–438. online