Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Gamla Stan

Stockholm’s Storkyrkan (Great Church) is also known as Sankt Nikolai kyrka or Domkyrka (Church of St. Nicholas or Cathedral). The church is located next to the Royal Palace and is the oldest church of Gamla Stan. The medieval cathedral is dating back to the year of 1279 and was originally built by Birger Jarl, the founder of Stockholm. Storkyrkan is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic and the oldest building still in use in Stockholm. . Since 1527 the cathedral has been a Lutheran Protestant church. The church is often used for major (royal) ceremonies such as coronations, weddings, crownings and funerals. The Gothic interior (PiP 2) of the church - dating back to the 15th century - offers a lot of unique and important art objects, among them the impressive Royal Pews (picture + PiP 1).

The Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) is one of Europe’s largest palaces. The interior of this impressive building consists of 1.430 rooms of which 660 have windows. It is still the official residence of the Swedish King and Queen and also the work place and is used for official receptions. The palace is built in Italian baroque style in the 18th century on the site of the former ‘Tre Kronor’ castle, which burned down in 1697. The royal family was not able to move back in until 1754, nearly sixty years after the fire. The royal palace is open for public and offers also several museums. See for more info: www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/visittheroyalpalaces/theroyalpalace/thepalace.4.396160511584257f2180003755.html Main picture: royal palace of Stockholm PiP 1: interior of the royal chapel PiP 2: inner court of the palace PiP 3: royal guards in front of the palace

‘Gamla Stan’ (Old Town) is Stockholm’s medieval city centre, where Stockholm was founded in the year of 1252 by Birger Jarl. It is the historical heart of Stockholm and consists of the three islands Stadsholmen’, Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen. Helgeandsholmen When people mention ‘Gamla Stan’, they usually think of Stadsholmen, the largest of the three. Until the 19th century it was simply called ‘Staden’ (City). Later it became known as the ‘Staden mellan broarna’ (City between the bridges). Since 1980 it has been called Gamla Stan. Although ‘Gam la Stan’ dates from the 13th century, most of its buildings are from the 17- and 1800s. It is a labyrinth of narrow winding cobblestone streets, alleyways, beautifully pastel coloured town houses and squares with a German influenced architecture. Some of the main (shopping) streets can be very overcrowded by tourists, but once you enter the side streets it feels like you are walking back in time. Pictures: Main picture - Prästgatan (Priest’s Street) ran just inside the former defense wall; it is considered being one of the most beautiful streets of ‘Gamla Stan’. PiP 1: Brända Tomten, one of the most scenic squares with a triangular shape surrounded by picturesque houses and a chestnut tree in the middle. PiP 2: Kindstugatan, one of the quiet side streets PiP 3: Stortorget, the main square of Gamla Stan