Slottsbacken
Slottsbacken (Swedish: [ˈslɔ̂tːsˌbakːɛn], "Castle Slope") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.
It stretches east from the
History
The street, named after the vicinity to the Royal Palace, first appears in historical records during the second half of the 15th century (1476, stalbakkan, "Stable Slope"; 1478, Slotz bakkan), and from early on the name designated not only the slope down to the waterfront, but also the open space above it.[1]
The present palace, designed by
By the end of the 17th century, the slope had been transformed into an extremely narrow street squeezed between the wide moat of the palace and the variegated structures lined-up on the southern side. Parts of the five metres deep moat was used as a theatre and furnished with a superstructure. [2]
As the new palace was being built, the slope was redesigned to become the palace's grand-style Baroque antechamber, and the structures and gardens on the southern side were consequently replaced by more prestigious buildings in stone. While the exterior of the Palace was more or less completed in the 1750s, the work on the slope, the palace's main approach, was still proceeding by the end of that century.[1]
Notable buildings and structures
Royal Palace
Though the four façades of the Royal Palace are all built in brick and bound by a unitary programme, they are all given distinctive designs in accordance to their various functions. The southern façade, representing the Nation and concealing the Royal Chapel and the Rikssal ("National Hall", the royal throne room), is facing the palace's main approach and is consequently the most pompous of the four. It is dominated by a Roman triumphal arch composition dressed in
Stockholm Cathedral
The five sections of the eastern façade of the Stockholm Cathedral reflects the three original, medieval nave and aisles and the flanking two aisles.[5]
The marble statue of
In the cobbled pavement between the cathedral and the palace are two markings showing the location of the south-west bastion of the medieval palace and the eastern sanctuary of the medieval church destroyed by King
The Royal Household
Built in 1910 to the design of Erik Josephson (1864–1929), the tall building on number 2 was much criticized as it replaced a lower building, the concave façade of which made the space in front of the palace wider and more prominent, and the 'tenement Baroque' (hyreshusbarock) it represented was regarded as objectionable for the royal setting. The building is, however, occupied by the Royal Household (Hovstaterna).[7]
Tessin Palace
In respect to the vicinity to the royal palace and as a consequence of the irregularly shaped lot, the relatively discreet three-story façade of the private palace of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, unveils very little of the elaborated Baroque garden in the interior court. The limestone portal by Ferdinand Foucquet, one of the most prominent monumental sculptors of the Swedish Baroque era, gives an inviting hint of the richly decorated interior. The façade was originally flanked by two walls perpendicular to the façade.[8]
The building is today the residence of the
Finnish Church
The obelisk
The 22 metres tall
Statue of Gustav III
The bronze statue of
Royal Armoury
The relatively discreet entrance to the Royal Armoury located under the eastern wing of the palace, hides the award-winning museum created in 1971-1978 showing royal costumes, crowns, carriages, and weapons displayed under the cellar vaults of the palace.[12][13]
Royal Coin Cabinet
The
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
- ISSN 0282-5899.
- ISBN 91-86050-41-9.
- ^ "Nordisk Familjebok". Project Runeberg. 1918. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ISBN 91-86050-41-9.
- ^ a b c d "Konsten i Gamla stan". City of Stockholm. Retrieved 2007-02-09. [dead link]
- ISBN 91-7324-768-5.
- ISBN 91-86050-41-9.
- ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
- ^ "Stockholminfo". City of Stockholm, Kulturförvaltningen. 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ^ Martin Stugart (2005-05-02). "Kan du berätta om Finska kyrkans fastighet?". Dagens Nyheter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ISBN 91-86050-41-9.
- ^ "The Royal Armoury, Stockholm". Livrustkammaren. Archived from the original on 2007-01-29. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
- Royal Coin Cabinet. Archived from the originalon 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
External links
Media related to Slottsbacken at Wikimedia Commons
- hitta.se - location map and virtual walk
- Google Maps
- 4πSr - Panorama of Slottsbacken (bottom of page, 3.6 MB QTVR)