Gamla Stan - The Old Town, Stockholm

Sjöguden good time's sculpture is located on the wharf next to Räntmästartrappan in Old Town in Stockholm.

A really unusual type of sculpture, not my style, but still interesting!
The Sculptor, Carl Milles, had intended to place ten pieces of massive, sculptural figures at regular intervals along the city quays.
It didn't eventuate, this is the first and last one, a sculpture made out of red granite of some kind of Beast pushing a shy Mermaid.

I wondered who Evert Taube was, he had a statue, so he must have been important!

Evert Taube was a Swedish musical composer and author, born in 1890 and lived until 1976, living most of his life in Stockholm, Sweden.
Evert Taube was one of the most beloved figures in Swedish literature, he also composed a fair amount of music and his poems are found throughout Stockholm in libraries and bookstores. His work is widely translated into English.
He happens to be one of Sweden's most beloved poets, and has the "Evert Taube Terrace" named after him.
The statue shows Evert carrying a newspaper under his arm with his coat draped over his shoulders and a pair of sunglasses pushed up onto his forehead, looking just how he did in real life!

Evert Taube terrace is located between Wrangel palace and Riddarfjärden and part of North Riddarholm Harbour

The narrowest alley in the Old Town is Marten Trotzig's, a narrow step alley. I followed some people through it and took a photo, which really shows how narrow it is!
The width of the 36 steps tapers to 90cm!
The Alley is named after the Merchant, Marten Trotzig , who lived in the Alley at the end of the 16th century. He was one of the wealthiest merhants in Stockholm at that time.

Leads from Vasterlanggatan and Jarntorget up to Prastgatan and Tyska Stallplan.

"The love of my people is my award," was the motto of King Karl XIV Johan who was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818.

I looked at the Statue of the King, pointing at something while sitting astride his rather frisky Horse.
To me and outsider's, nothing looks wrong, but to the Swede's, this 1854 Statue of King Carl XIV Johan, is facing the wrong direction!

The statue was originally placed in the position of arriving in Stockholm, but in 1930 the square was rebuilt to enable more space for road and the statue was turned the wrong direction and now the King is leaving Stockholm instead of arriving!

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The Stortorget is the main square in the Old Town "Gamla Stan". It used to be the centre of the old Stockholm, where in 1520 about 100 political opponents were executed. Nowadays the historic buildings from the 17th and 18th century house cafes and restaurants. Many benches invite for a rest and for a look at the street perfomers.

Directions:
Stortorget is situated in the heart of the Old Town "Gamla Stan".

In my opinion, the most beautiful place on Gamla stan is the photogenic Stortorget.

On its north side, it is flanked by the former Stock Exchange Building (Börshuset), which is now home to the Nobel Museum. The rest of the square is surrounded by a varied, but harmonious, series of buildings dating from the 15th to the 17th century.

Obviously, restaurants and cafes are more expensive here than in less touristy parts of town, but our first time in Stockholm was under chilly weather in October and we were more than happy to sample the hot chocolate in the beautiful red building at Stortorget 20.

For history buffs, Stortorget was the scene of the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520, when some 80-90 Swedish noblemen and citizens who had risen against Danish king Kristian II were arrested and executed despite the promise of an amnesty.

P. S. Try to spot the cannonball high up in the corner of the building at the corner of Skomakargatan!

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Stortorget is a small square right in heart of the Gamla Stan. It was once the site of the Stockholm bloodbath, a famous event in the cities history. Nowadays it is home to the cities stock exchange. The red and yellow buildings on the west side of the square are often used as recognisable symbols of Stockholm, one of them contains a cafe reknowned for its hot chocolate. Almost wished it had been colder when we there so we would have had reason to try it out!
The well in the square dates from 1778

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Getting away from Vasterlanggatan leads you to some quieter and really pretty side streets. I just loved the cobbled streets and the colour of buildings ranging from ochre through yellow and orange

Stockholm's old town is charming - every corner is so interesting - squares, statues, narrow streets. Especially I liked architecture of old town, because it is very different from Vilnius old town. Statues seem to be very realistic.

This is the most popular part of Stockholm, the old town from 13th century. Gamla stan consists of medieval alleyways, narrow streets and archaic architecture. It is consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen.
There you can found Stockholm Stock Exchange Building (in square Stortorget) Stockholm Cathedral, The Nobel Museum, Riddarholm church, Sweden Royal Palace, Parliament...