Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [38]
The following decades weren’t as kind to the capital. Starving hordes descended on the city after the devastating famine of 1696–97 and the beloved Tre Kronor went up in flames in 1697. Russian military victories shrunk the Swedish empire, another plague engulfed the city in 1711, and King Karl XII was assassinated in Norway in 1718.
A fragile Stockholm swapped expansion for personal growth. During this time, botanist Carl von Linné (1707–78) developed the template for the classification of plants and animals, Anders Celsius (1701–44) came up with the centigrade temperature scale, and royal palace Kungliga Slottet rose from the ashes of the Tre Kronar. While the reign of Francophile King Gustav III (1771–92) saw Swedish science, architecture and arts blossom, the theatre buff’s tyrannical tendencies saw him assassinated by parliament member Jacob Johan Anckarström at a masked ball in the Opera House in 1792. The murder formed the basis of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, A Masked Ball.
When Sweden’s northern and southern train lines were connected via Stockholm’s Centralstationen and Riddarholmen in 1871, an industrial boom kicked in. The city’s population reached 245,000 in 1890 (an increase of 77,000 in 10 years) and new districts like Östermalm expanded the city limits.
The elation of hosting the 1912 summer Olympics quickly dissipated when Sweden’s refusal to uphold a blockade against Germany during WWI saw Britain attack the country’s supply lines and cause starving Stockholmers to riot in Gustav Adolfs torg. Sweden’s repeated official neutrality in WWII made it a hot spot for Jewish, Scandinavian and Baltic refugees, the first of many successive waves of migrants, most recently from the Middle East and Africa.
While the city’s postwar economic boom saw the advent of Eastern Bloc–style suburban expansion, its shock value paled when compared to the still-unresolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme on Sveavägen in 1986, and the stabbing death of foreign minister Anna Lindh at the NK department store in 2003.
The worldwide collapse of the IT economy during the 1990s hit tech-dependent Stockholm particularly hard, although the industry has since picked up. These days, the capital is part of a major European biotechnology region, not to mention an ever-rising star on the world fashion and culinary stage.
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ORIENTATION
Stockholm is built on islands, except for the downtown district (Norrmalm), a modernist business and shopping hub. At its heart sits the bustling square Sergels Torg and hulking arts centre Kulturhuset. Sergels Torg is connected to Centralstationen (the central train station), which is also where all three underground metro (tunnelbana or T) lines meet. The busy tourist office, Sweden House, is in the eastern part of Norrmalm, facing the popular park Kungsträdgården. Directly north of Norrmalm is up-and-coming neighbourhood of Vasastaden. Bridges connect both districts to the island of Kungsholmen to the west.
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STOCKHOLM IN…
Two Days
Beat the crowds to the labyrinthine streets of Gamla Stan. Watch St George wrestle the dragon inside Storkyrkan and join a tour of the royal palace, Kungliga Slottet, or simply watch the midday changing of the guard. From Slussen, catch the ferry across to Skeppsholmen for lunch and Lichtenstein at Moderna Museet, before trekking across to Södermalm for dizzying views atop Katarinahissen and partying at Mosebacke Etablissement or Debaser. Spend the next day exploring Skansen, before dinner and drinks at Sturehof.
Four Days
Follow the two-day plan, then hop on a guided boat tour of Stockholm’s waterways for a refreshing perspective. Lunch at Blå Porten before eyeing up a 17th-century giant at Vasamuseet or five centuries of Swedish collectables at nearby Nordiska Museet. The next day, head out to beautiful Millesgården for a whimsical cultural jaunt, before a Nordic fashion