Historical fires of Stockholm
Encyclopedia
Stockholm
has escaped looting
and natural disaster
s, but the city's major scourges have been fire
s, which in the worst cases have wiped out entire neighborhoods. The population of Stockholm have historically lived in constant fear of a fire coming loose. It was a legitimate fear because the risk of fires in the 16th and 17th century Swedish
cities were great. The question was not whether it would burn, but when.
The night watch as every citizen was obliged to stay there well into the 19th century. The worst fire in the history of Stockholm was Clara Brandenburg in 1751, which turned into a firestorm
and spread from Riddarfjärden
to Södermalm
.
Only through fire retardant
buildings, organized fire services, better fire fighting
equipment and running water from fire hydrant
s (after 1861) could fires be reduced and maintained. HOwever amongst all the misery that large fires cause in Stockholm, there were also benefits, such as the planning and marketing of new districts through the construction of new neighborhoods and streets which were constructed after the fires' destruction.
, the city laws had regulations to prevent the occurrence of fires. In 1661, Stockholm produced its first fire regime. The house's host was required to "let give cry", and so start screaming to indicate that there was burning in the house. The city was divided into districts headed by fire chief
s, and building owners were required to have some fire equipment. For example, in summer the house portal would be filled with water barrels.
Come fire loose rang church bell
s and the care tower (watch tower) on Brunk Hill was squeezed and hoisted different signals. In Skeppsholmen
, there was a case where there was a fire on salute batteries, where a certain number of cannon
shots alerted the people in the town that it was burning. In a decree of December 18, 1728 a series of measures were established to provide a warning for an fire. The sighting of unusual smoke would be immediately alerted to the master or mistress (otherwise it was fine), which would then be passed on to the churches to see if they agree with the tower guardian. In such a case, in every neighborhood in which there would be fire at night, this system would alert the watchmen in the towers. Later, they used the particular church bells, flags and cannon shots to warn of a fire. A fire at Södermalm required two signals. At Norrmalm
, Kungsholmen
and Blasieholmen three signals were used. The Old Town had four, and on the island of Djurgården five rings were sounded.
In 1731, a solid brandvaktskår was established, the precursor to the Stockholm fire. The Fire Union was funded by the city treasury and also patrolled at night, but the "care" or night-watch that every citizen was required to keep went well into the 19th century.
In 1746, the Swedish insurance company Brandcontoiret was established in Stockholm. It supported the city's fire safety
through grants to include water and better insurance policy for stone. In 1828, the city's public Stood Fire Company was founded. The company's board had its seat in the Ship's Bridge 20.
In 1875, a new fire regime appeared in Stockholm, which for the first time possessed a professional fire department
. Stockholm would have seven fire station
s and two main stations, one in Norrmalm and one in Södermalm. Before this there was certainly eldsläckningsmanskap, but it was male volunteers who put out the fires. Instead of earlier times knell set fire telegraphs.
strike and is alleged by some sources have claimed up to 1600 casualties. This fire destroyed many areas including the Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm
.
After the year 1501 there were no wooden houses built inside the city walls. In 1552 the ban against fire hazards within the city was tightened so that the wooden houses in the town center were to be demolished and replaced with stone. However, there was still flammable wooden buildings such as outhouses and sheds left in the yard.
In 1555 there was a fire on Stadsholmen's west side outside the new city wall and all the houses from the Great Gråmunkegränd to Kornhamnstorg
burned to the ground. They caught fire in pitch at the newly built fort along the shore. This meant that they had to run to the east side of Stadsholmen to collect water to extinguish the fire.
and reached all the way up to West Long Street stone house and for some time the German church was under threat. The fire lasted three days and destroyed a fifth of the infrastructure
of Stockholm at the time.
The result was that a new city was built over the burnt areas. Eventually the fire was extinguished, sparing parts of northwestern Stadsholmen. Here was built the city's first main street called Great King Street (now Stora Nygatan
). The transformation is considered to be Stockholm's first settlement. Another consequence of the fire disaster was a tightening of the fire prevention measures which meant that the fire chief and master of rotation would inspect chimneys and brädtak and ensure that the houses had the mandatory fire fighting equipment.
After a fire in 1642 that devastated the eastern part of Brunkebergsåsen
and destroyed 247 houses, the city planned that part of Government Street would become the main street. It was the beginning of street regulation during Clas Larsson Fleming in the neighborhood that is now called Östermalm. To help prevent fire spread, stringent rules were created to put pressure on land owners to build stone houses rather than the more flammable wooden ones.
An internationally infamous large fire was the Castle fire of 1697. This great fire occurred in May 7, 1697, when the old Tre Kronor
was totally destroyed in the fire, except for the castle in the newly constructed north wing. Most of Sweden's former national archives and the royal library was destroyed. The palace architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
was able to design a brand new Royal Palace.
Cathy Brandenburg in 1723 was not the only church which caught fire in that year. During the night between the 14th and 15 May, a violent storm raged over Stockholm. Lightning struck St. Jacob's Church (today the King's Garden
) and Clara Church. Jacob's Church tower was burned and destroyed while Clara Church received minor damages.
The worst fire that Stockholm bore and survived was a fire in 1751 which developed into a firestorm and spread from Riddarfjärden to Södermalm. 221 houses were completely destroyed and Klara Church
was badly damaged. The fire started in 1746. Brandcontoiret in Stockholm intended to pay about 784,000 dollars in insurance money, but it lacked the funds to cover the full amount. Only some of the affected home owners had insured their house, so the total cost of the fire was significantly higher than that of Brandcontoiret estimated sum. One person who was hit hard by the fire was rock scientist and mineralogist Daniel Tilas . His house was completely destroyed in the disaster. The fire demolished not only his home but also the materials that he gathered during 20 years of work and that would have been a Swedish and a global mineral history collection. His life's work had gone up in smoke. There was panic in the population that the fire was deliberately set, by namely one suspected arsonist.
In 1759 the city was hit again by a fire disaster that had the same extent as Clara Brandenburg eight years earlier. Mary Brandenburg in 1759 in the Maria parish in Södermalm destroyed 300 houses and the Maria Magdalena church. The fire broke out on July 19, 1759 in a bakery
at a fishmonger
in the appellate Hill (currently Brännkyrkagatan) at Mary Hill. At the time there was a severe drought
and the absence of extinction. Fire officers were advised to act logical, and it was decided not to extinguish the house that burned down, but to "counter-fire with a vengeance" further away.
The 19th century began with a fierce fire, the Riddarholm fire which ravaged Riddarholmen
on November 15, 1802. The fire started early in the morning in the Administrative Court's old house (Cruuska palace) and was caused by a guard master's negligent use of fuel. The fire quickly spread to the southern side of the house and even lit the roof of the old King's House (Wrangel Palace
). The fire destroyed many antiques including the nearly 300-year-old woodcut Blood Carlsbad painting that was stored in the Administrative Services Archives of Wrangel palace.
Another palace which was destroyed in a major fire was De la Gardie
Palace at Norrström, south of King's Garden, also known Unprecedented and 1793 rebuilt the theater, dramatic theater. During a show on November 24, 1825 someone noticed the smell of smoke on stage. Actor Lars Hjortsberg
urged the audience to evacuate the hall. All spectators escaped unharmed, despite the theater only having one narrow exit. However, the fire still caused three casualties amongst the staff. The damage after the fire was extensive and the remains of the buildings were salvaged.
Lightning striking church towers and tall buildings, which then acted as lighting conductors were a common cause of fires. On July 28, 1835 Riddarholmskyrkan was met by lightning, and at the same time lightning even struck the bottom of the Katarina Church and Kungsholms church tower. The Riddarholmskyrkan towers could not be saved, the church roof and the vault collapsed the following day after having caught on fire, while the church hall survived. The new tower at Riddarholmskyrkan was built in 1841, and was made of cast-iron to withstand fire better.
However, the factory buildings were victims of the flames. On January 22, 1842 fires burned down A. Bergman's cotton spinning mill at Stadsgården. The building and 1000 fathoms of wood burned up. The fire was so strong that audiences across the Salt Lake on Skeppsbron were showered with soot and sparks. The fire that had started in the factory's gas works caused more casualties, and led to 200 people losing their jobs when the factory abandoned the flammable gas and moved operations to Harg at Nyköping
where they could use water power instead.
Late in the evening of November 11, 1873 a fire came loose in the Palinska house with several people killed as a result. The city realized that this could have been prevented with a time and purpose under fire. The fire thus led to the ongoing work with Fire Guard transformational accelerated, and the formation of the Stockholm fire in the 1875-year fire regime.
During the nights of June 19 and December 20, 1875 a fire swpt through the central printer. This fire killed four people and Heinrich Neuhaus
' unique panorama of Stockholm was destroyed. The panorama which was in the process of printing, as well as the lithographic stones were useless.
The most famous factory fire was Eldkvarn
in eastern Kungsholmen that burned on October 31, 1878. The event has given rise to the phrase "not since Eldkvarn burned" in the sense of "a very long time ago". Eldkvarn was a steam-powered mill, hence the name. The fire, believed to have been caused by flour dust falling onto a gaslamp which ignited, started just before 17:01 on two floors up in the northeast corner of the house no.1 at Hantverkargatan. The mill could continue to grind after the fire and was used right up to 1906. On the Eldkvarn plot, with the block name of Eldkvarn, the Stockholm City Hall
was later built.
The same year that Eldkvarn burnt, a fire broke out in the German Church
in the Old Town. It could have gone really bad with a church fire in the middle of Old Town. Now could be the new fire department to show what they died for and they managed to overcome the fire. The fire started early on the morning of October 7, 1878. This time Stockholm's church bells were tolled reminiscent of the old methods of warning of a fire. The Church's 1600-century spire
collapsed and fell down along with the bells on the church vault. The interior survived and thanks to the fire department's response, the fire was limited and a potential disaster was avoided. In 1886 the church received its current tower.
on Djurgården Southern was ravaged twice by fire. The old Djurgården Theatre fire broke out May 19, 1865 and destroyed the house just when they were faced with their second season, but was rebuilt and re-inaugurated on 20 June 1867. On 21 June 1929 the building went up in flames again and wooden building disappeared in a few hours. The fire had started in the kitchen area and spread more quickly. All the people who were in the building managed to save themselves, but some firefighters had minor injuries. In The Park was one for a while worried that the fire could spread to rock the runway engine which was next door. How the fire started could not be clarified.
One of the worst fires Stockholm fire experienced since its formation in 1875 was a fire in 1937 in the central dairy at Torsgatan. The fire broke out February 8, 1937 in connection with welding
work in the attic above the fourth floor. He first attempted to extinguish the fire himself, but failed. The fire brigade was alerted and soon the troops from several fire stations arrived on the site.
The men not only had to fight the fire but also work under difficult conditions, including heavy icing in freezing extinction (it was 10 degrees below zero that day in February) and a wax layer of 3,500 kg, which began to melt and burn and hindered the fire considerably. Two firefighters were cut off by the fire, the one hanging outside a window and fell (he later died of his injuries), the other was rescued at the last minute. Some acetylene
cylinders exploded with a firefighter were injured. A stairwell threatened to collapse and officers had to withdraw the men. In the end, all of Stockholm fire fighters engaged in fire extinguishing, and all the firefighters were called to duty. In total there were 70 people on the site including managers, fire chief, firefighters and teachers from officers school. Only after seven hours the fire was considered to be under control. The damage went on over a million dollars. Stockholm's milk supply became threatened.
On September 5, 1970 burned Ikea
möbelhus at King's curve . Cause of the fire was a short circuit in Ikea's big billboard. Fire Rean few weeks after the fire was about 8 000 people queuing to buy the sharp price reductions in the goods. Some had spent the night in tents. The queues on the highway was four miles long and furniture warehouse was emptied quickly. In March 1971 opened Ikea again. Codan paid an indemnity of 23 million, it was the then largest insurance loss in Sweden. [28]
Night of May 17, 1990 burned Catherine's Church for the second time. The church tower collapsed and went through the church vault. That was left was basically just the church walls, but we managed to save valuable textiles and church silver. An investigation into the cause of the fire could not work out how the fire started. The church was rebuilt and it was quite clear that no modern building materials would be used. As an architect for the rebuilding and reconstruction was appointed palace architect Ove Hidemark . [29] In 1995 the church was reopened by Bishop Henry Svenungsson .
Another notable fire hit Stockholm in 1990. 28 September 1990 there was a large fire in the iron trade, John Wall's premises at the corner of Drottninggatan and Slöjdgatan. [30] The fire destroyed the historic hardware store and a large part of the settlement in district of Adam and Eve. There was then a new shopping mall
. In November 1992, was inaugurated under the name Adam & Eve Gallery. An analysis of fire behavior has revealed that inflammable material remained in contact with cracks and penetrations. Fire spread has occurred in areas that do not have inspection only, or even possible to detect. [31]
At two o'clock on the night June 5, 2008 a fire broke out on the third floor of Town Hall's west wing. It controlled most of the 70 firefighters. After about three hours the fire was under control. The fire in the Town Hall was dramatic, and when emergency services arrived at the building, it was a fully developed fire, five to ten feet high flames knocked out of the windows. The fire department estimated that the entire third floor of the south wing destroyed by fire. [32]
Since the work was carried out, the house was evacuated, businesses were concerned, therefore, and no people were hurt. The fire in the Town Hall did not affect the renovation works completion: September 1, 2009 could Stockholm District Court to move back as planned.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
has escaped looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
s, but the city's major scourges have been fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s, which in the worst cases have wiped out entire neighborhoods. The population of Stockholm have historically lived in constant fear of a fire coming loose. It was a legitimate fear because the risk of fires in the 16th and 17th century Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
cities were great. The question was not whether it would burn, but when.
The night watch as every citizen was obliged to stay there well into the 19th century. The worst fire in the history of Stockholm was Clara Brandenburg in 1751, which turned into a firestorm
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires...
and spread from Riddarfjärden
Riddarfjärden
Riddarfjärden, literally the Knight Firth, is a bay of Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren drains into the Baltic Sea . The island is today called Stadsholmen and constitutes Stockholm's Old Town...
to Södermalm
Södermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to "Söder", is a district in central Stockholm. It covers the large island formerly called "Åsön". With a population of 99,685, it is one of the most densely populated districts of Scandinavia...
.
Only through fire retardant
Fire retardant
A fire retardant is a substance other than water that reduces flammability of fuels or delays their combustion. This typically refers to chemical retardants but may also include substances that work by physical action, such as cooling the fuels; examples of these include fire-fighting foams and...
buildings, organized fire services, better fire fighting
Fire fighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing fires. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment...
equipment and running water from fire hydrant
Fire hydrant
A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
s (after 1861) could fires be reduced and maintained. HOwever amongst all the misery that large fires cause in Stockholm, there were also benefits, such as the planning and marketing of new districts through the construction of new neighborhoods and streets which were constructed after the fires' destruction.
Fire protection, fire alarms and fire fighting
Even during the medieval periodMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the city laws had regulations to prevent the occurrence of fires. In 1661, Stockholm produced its first fire regime. The house's host was required to "let give cry", and so start screaming to indicate that there was burning in the house. The city was divided into districts headed by fire chief
Fire chief
Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...
s, and building owners were required to have some fire equipment. For example, in summer the house portal would be filled with water barrels.
Come fire loose rang church bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
s and the care tower (watch tower) on Brunk Hill was squeezed and hoisted different signals. In Skeppsholmen
Skeppsholmen
Skeppsholmen is one of the islands of Stockholm. It is connected with Blasieholmen and Kastellholmen by bridges. Positioned strategically at the Baltic Sea entrance to Stockholm, it has traditionally been the location of several military buildings...
, there was a case where there was a fire on salute batteries, where a certain number of cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
shots alerted the people in the town that it was burning. In a decree of December 18, 1728 a series of measures were established to provide a warning for an fire. The sighting of unusual smoke would be immediately alerted to the master or mistress (otherwise it was fine), which would then be passed on to the churches to see if they agree with the tower guardian. In such a case, in every neighborhood in which there would be fire at night, this system would alert the watchmen in the towers. Later, they used the particular church bells, flags and cannon shots to warn of a fire. A fire at Södermalm required two signals. At Norrmalm
Norrmalm (proper)
Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, part of the larger Norrmalm borough.The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm , also known as City, constitutes the most central part of Stockholm, while Upper Norrmalm is more residential.The name Norrmalm is first mentioned in 1288...
, Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of Stockholm City. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland....
and Blasieholmen three signals were used. The Old Town had four, and on the island of Djurgården five rings were sounded.
In 1731, a solid brandvaktskår was established, the precursor to the Stockholm fire. The Fire Union was funded by the city treasury and also patrolled at night, but the "care" or night-watch that every citizen was required to keep went well into the 19th century.
In 1746, the Swedish insurance company Brandcontoiret was established in Stockholm. It supported the city's fire safety
Fire safety
Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
through grants to include water and better insurance policy for stone. In 1828, the city's public Stood Fire Company was founded. The company's board had its seat in the Ship's Bridge 20.
In 1875, a new fire regime appeared in Stockholm, which for the first time possessed a professional fire department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
. Stockholm would have seven fire station
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s and two main stations, one in Norrmalm and one in Södermalm. Before this there was certainly eldsläckningsmanskap, but it was male volunteers who put out the fires. Instead of earlier times knell set fire telegraphs.
Fires before the 1600s
Stockholm has been hit by many large fires, one of the oldest documented fires ravaging the city on April 14, 1297. The years 1330, 1344, 1407, 1411, 1419, 1445, 1458 and 1495 saw the city ravaged by major fires. The fire of Brandenburg in 1407 was caused by a lightningLightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strike and is alleged by some sources have claimed up to 1600 casualties. This fire destroyed many areas including the Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm
Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm
The Black Friars' Monastery, Svartbrödraklostret, also called the convent of Stockholm, was a Dominican monastery on the island of Stadsholmen in central Stockholm, founded by King Magnus IV of Sweden in 1336 when he donated a plot of land located in the southern part of Stadsholmen to the Black...
.
After the year 1501 there were no wooden houses built inside the city walls. In 1552 the ban against fire hazards within the city was tightened so that the wooden houses in the town center were to be demolished and replaced with stone. However, there was still flammable wooden buildings such as outhouses and sheds left in the yard.
In 1555 there was a fire on Stadsholmen's west side outside the new city wall and all the houses from the Great Gråmunkegränd to Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg
Kornhamnstorg is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Old names : Kornhaffn , Jernboen , Åkaretorget , Kornhampns torget...
burned to the ground. They caught fire in pitch at the newly built fort along the shore. This meant that they had to run to the east side of Stadsholmen to collect water to extinguish the fire.
Fires in the 1600s
Among the first fires which took place prior to the city plan changes on a large scale was the Great Fire in 1625 that devastated the southwestern parts of Stadsholmen. The fire broke out in the evening of September 1, 1625 in a house along the bottom at KåkbrinkenKåkbrinken
Kåkbrinken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from the western waterfront Munkbroleden to the central square Stortorget, it forms a parallel street to Yxsmedsgränd, Solgränd, and Bedoirsgränd, while being crossed by Munkbrogatan, Lilla Nygatan, Stora Nygatan,...
and reached all the way up to West Long Street stone house and for some time the German church was under threat. The fire lasted three days and destroyed a fifth of the infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
of Stockholm at the time.
The result was that a new city was built over the burnt areas. Eventually the fire was extinguished, sparing parts of northwestern Stadsholmen. Here was built the city's first main street called Great King Street (now Stora Nygatan
Stora Nygatan
Stora Nygatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Old names : nyegatun , nyia gaatan, den nya Konnungsgatun, stora konungsgatun , den store Nye gatan , Konnungsgatun , Nye gaten, KongsGaten , Kongs- eller stoora Nygatan, stora Kongs- el' Nygatan , Stora...
). The transformation is considered to be Stockholm's first settlement. Another consequence of the fire disaster was a tightening of the fire prevention measures which meant that the fire chief and master of rotation would inspect chimneys and brädtak and ensure that the houses had the mandatory fire fighting equipment.
After a fire in 1642 that devastated the eastern part of Brunkebergsåsen
Brunkebergsåsen
Brunkebergsåsen was an esker that once reached over much of Stockholm's Norrmalm district. Geologically, it is a part of the much larger Stockholmsåsen. It formed a considerable obstacle to traffic, effectively dividing Norrmalm into a western and an eastern part. Consequently, most of it has been...
and destroyed 247 houses, the city planned that part of Government Street would become the main street. It was the beginning of street regulation during Clas Larsson Fleming in the neighborhood that is now called Östermalm. To help prevent fire spread, stringent rules were created to put pressure on land owners to build stone houses rather than the more flammable wooden ones.
An internationally infamous large fire was the Castle fire of 1697. This great fire occurred in May 7, 1697, when the old Tre Kronor
Tre kronor (castle)
Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...
was totally destroyed in the fire, except for the castle in the newly constructed north wing. Most of Sweden's former national archives and the royal library was destroyed. The palace architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...
was able to design a brand new Royal Palace.
Fires in the 1700s
Despite all precautions and new regulations, large fires continued to occur in Stockholm. Around 200 houses burned down in Norrmalm in 1719, while the Catherine Brandenburg fire in 1723 destroyed 500 houses as well as other buildings and Catherine's Church on Södermalm. On the night of May 1, 1723 a fire went loose in a mill in the Maria church and spread eastward, the result being that the Catherine Church dome and the tower collapsed.Cathy Brandenburg in 1723 was not the only church which caught fire in that year. During the night between the 14th and 15 May, a violent storm raged over Stockholm. Lightning struck St. Jacob's Church (today the King's Garden
Kungsträdgården
Kungsträdgården is a park in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is colloquially known as Kungsan.The park's central location and its outdoor cafés makes it one of the most popular hangouts and meeting places in Stockholm. It also hosts open-air concerts and events in summer, while offering an ice...
) and Clara Church. Jacob's Church tower was burned and destroyed while Clara Church received minor damages.
The worst fire that Stockholm bore and survived was a fire in 1751 which developed into a firestorm and spread from Riddarfjärden to Södermalm. 221 houses were completely destroyed and Klara Church
Klara Church
The Church of Saint Clare or Klara Church is a church in central Stockholm.The Church of Saint Clare is located on Klara Västra Kyrkogata in the Klara area in lower Norrmalm. The graveyard, which has had the same location since the 17th century, is almost completely surrounded by modern...
was badly damaged. The fire started in 1746. Brandcontoiret in Stockholm intended to pay about 784,000 dollars in insurance money, but it lacked the funds to cover the full amount. Only some of the affected home owners had insured their house, so the total cost of the fire was significantly higher than that of Brandcontoiret estimated sum. One person who was hit hard by the fire was rock scientist and mineralogist Daniel Tilas . His house was completely destroyed in the disaster. The fire demolished not only his home but also the materials that he gathered during 20 years of work and that would have been a Swedish and a global mineral history collection. His life's work had gone up in smoke. There was panic in the population that the fire was deliberately set, by namely one suspected arsonist.
In 1759 the city was hit again by a fire disaster that had the same extent as Clara Brandenburg eight years earlier. Mary Brandenburg in 1759 in the Maria parish in Södermalm destroyed 300 houses and the Maria Magdalena church. The fire broke out on July 19, 1759 in a bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
at a fishmonger
Fishmonger
A fishmonger is someone who sells fish and seafood...
in the appellate Hill (currently Brännkyrkagatan) at Mary Hill. At the time there was a severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and the absence of extinction. Fire officers were advised to act logical, and it was decided not to extinguish the house that burned down, but to "counter-fire with a vengeance" further away.
Fires in the 1800s
Due to the fact that more and more houses were built in stone; that fire was no more used for heating, lighting and cooking; and as a professional fire department was created, large urban fires ceased in the late 19th century. However the fires in individual buildings such as palaces, factories and churches were still part of ordinariness.The 19th century began with a fierce fire, the Riddarholm fire which ravaged Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen
Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating from the 17th century...
on November 15, 1802. The fire started early in the morning in the Administrative Court's old house (Cruuska palace) and was caused by a guard master's negligent use of fuel. The fire quickly spread to the southern side of the house and even lit the roof of the old King's House (Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace is a townhouse in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1756 the palace has housed Svea Hovrätt, the regional court of appeal. It was the residence of the royal court during the first half of the 18th-century....
). The fire destroyed many antiques including the nearly 300-year-old woodcut Blood Carlsbad painting that was stored in the Administrative Services Archives of Wrangel palace.
Another palace which was destroyed in a major fire was De la Gardie
De la Gardie
De la Gardie, occasionally de la Gardie , is a Swedish noble family of French origin. The family's social status in France before the migration to Sweden is uncertain, they were possibly of lower gentry or bourgeoisie...
Palace at Norrström, south of King's Garden, also known Unprecedented and 1793 rebuilt the theater, dramatic theater. During a show on November 24, 1825 someone noticed the smell of smoke on stage. Actor Lars Hjortsberg
Lars Hjortsberg
Lars Hjortsberg was a Swedish actor. He is often called the greatest male actor in his country in the 19th century; he and Emilie Högquist are the best known Swedish actors from the first half of that century.- Biography :...
urged the audience to evacuate the hall. All spectators escaped unharmed, despite the theater only having one narrow exit. However, the fire still caused three casualties amongst the staff. The damage after the fire was extensive and the remains of the buildings were salvaged.
Lightning striking church towers and tall buildings, which then acted as lighting conductors were a common cause of fires. On July 28, 1835 Riddarholmskyrkan was met by lightning, and at the same time lightning even struck the bottom of the Katarina Church and Kungsholms church tower. The Riddarholmskyrkan towers could not be saved, the church roof and the vault collapsed the following day after having caught on fire, while the church hall survived. The new tower at Riddarholmskyrkan was built in 1841, and was made of cast-iron to withstand fire better.
However, the factory buildings were victims of the flames. On January 22, 1842 fires burned down A. Bergman's cotton spinning mill at Stadsgården. The building and 1000 fathoms of wood burned up. The fire was so strong that audiences across the Salt Lake on Skeppsbron were showered with soot and sparks. The fire that had started in the factory's gas works caused more casualties, and led to 200 people losing their jobs when the factory abandoned the flammable gas and moved operations to Harg at Nyköping
Nyköping
Nyköping is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,427 inhabitants in 2005. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County.- History :...
where they could use water power instead.
Late in the evening of November 11, 1873 a fire came loose in the Palinska house with several people killed as a result. The city realized that this could have been prevented with a time and purpose under fire. The fire thus led to the ongoing work with Fire Guard transformational accelerated, and the formation of the Stockholm fire in the 1875-year fire regime.
During the nights of June 19 and December 20, 1875 a fire swpt through the central printer. This fire killed four people and Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus was a Soviet pianist and pedagogue of German extraction. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1922 to 1964. He was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1956...
' unique panorama of Stockholm was destroyed. The panorama which was in the process of printing, as well as the lithographic stones were useless.
The most famous factory fire was Eldkvarn
Eldkvarn
Eldkvarn was a grand gristmill in central Stockholm that burned in 1878 — an event which was known as "the fire of the century". It was located where today the Stockholm City Hall stands....
in eastern Kungsholmen that burned on October 31, 1878. The event has given rise to the phrase "not since Eldkvarn burned" in the sense of "a very long time ago". Eldkvarn was a steam-powered mill, hence the name. The fire, believed to have been caused by flour dust falling onto a gaslamp which ignited, started just before 17:01 on two floors up in the northeast corner of the house no.1 at Hantverkargatan. The mill could continue to grind after the fire and was used right up to 1906. On the Eldkvarn plot, with the block name of Eldkvarn, the Stockholm City Hall
Stockholm City Hall
Stockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as...
was later built.
The same year that Eldkvarn burnt, a fire broke out in the German Church
German Church, Stockholm
Tyska kyrkan , sometimes called St. Gertrude's Church , is a church in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden....
in the Old Town. It could have gone really bad with a church fire in the middle of Old Town. Now could be the new fire department to show what they died for and they managed to overcome the fire. The fire started early on the morning of October 7, 1878. This time Stockholm's church bells were tolled reminiscent of the old methods of warning of a fire. The Church's 1600-century spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
collapsed and fell down along with the bells on the church vault. The interior survived and thanks to the fire department's response, the fire was limited and a potential disaster was avoided. In 1886 the church received its current tower.
Fires in 1900s - and the 2000
The Djurgården Theatre at SkansenSkansen
Skansen is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden and is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era....
on Djurgården Southern was ravaged twice by fire. The old Djurgården Theatre fire broke out May 19, 1865 and destroyed the house just when they were faced with their second season, but was rebuilt and re-inaugurated on 20 June 1867. On 21 June 1929 the building went up in flames again and wooden building disappeared in a few hours. The fire had started in the kitchen area and spread more quickly. All the people who were in the building managed to save themselves, but some firefighters had minor injuries. In The Park was one for a while worried that the fire could spread to rock the runway engine which was next door. How the fire started could not be clarified.
One of the worst fires Stockholm fire experienced since its formation in 1875 was a fire in 1937 in the central dairy at Torsgatan. The fire broke out February 8, 1937 in connection with welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
work in the attic above the fourth floor. He first attempted to extinguish the fire himself, but failed. The fire brigade was alerted and soon the troops from several fire stations arrived on the site.
The men not only had to fight the fire but also work under difficult conditions, including heavy icing in freezing extinction (it was 10 degrees below zero that day in February) and a wax layer of 3,500 kg, which began to melt and burn and hindered the fire considerably. Two firefighters were cut off by the fire, the one hanging outside a window and fell (he later died of his injuries), the other was rescued at the last minute. Some acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
cylinders exploded with a firefighter were injured. A stairwell threatened to collapse and officers had to withdraw the men. In the end, all of Stockholm fire fighters engaged in fire extinguishing, and all the firefighters were called to duty. In total there were 70 people on the site including managers, fire chief, firefighters and teachers from officers school. Only after seven hours the fire was considered to be under control. The damage went on over a million dollars. Stockholm's milk supply became threatened.
On September 5, 1970 burned Ikea
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
möbelhus at King's curve . Cause of the fire was a short circuit in Ikea's big billboard. Fire Rean few weeks after the fire was about 8 000 people queuing to buy the sharp price reductions in the goods. Some had spent the night in tents. The queues on the highway was four miles long and furniture warehouse was emptied quickly. In March 1971 opened Ikea again. Codan paid an indemnity of 23 million, it was the then largest insurance loss in Sweden. [28]
Night of May 17, 1990 burned Catherine's Church for the second time. The church tower collapsed and went through the church vault. That was left was basically just the church walls, but we managed to save valuable textiles and church silver. An investigation into the cause of the fire could not work out how the fire started. The church was rebuilt and it was quite clear that no modern building materials would be used. As an architect for the rebuilding and reconstruction was appointed palace architect Ove Hidemark . [29] In 1995 the church was reopened by Bishop Henry Svenungsson .
Another notable fire hit Stockholm in 1990. 28 September 1990 there was a large fire in the iron trade, John Wall's premises at the corner of Drottninggatan and Slöjdgatan. [30] The fire destroyed the historic hardware store and a large part of the settlement in district of Adam and Eve. There was then a new shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
. In November 1992, was inaugurated under the name Adam & Eve Gallery. An analysis of fire behavior has revealed that inflammable material remained in contact with cracks and penetrations. Fire spread has occurred in areas that do not have inspection only, or even possible to detect. [31]
At two o'clock on the night June 5, 2008 a fire broke out on the third floor of Town Hall's west wing. It controlled most of the 70 firefighters. After about three hours the fire was under control. The fire in the Town Hall was dramatic, and when emergency services arrived at the building, it was a fully developed fire, five to ten feet high flames knocked out of the windows. The fire department estimated that the entire third floor of the south wing destroyed by fire. [32]
Since the work was carried out, the house was evacuated, businesses were concerned, therefore, and no people were hurt. The fire in the Town Hall did not affect the renovation works completion: September 1, 2009 could Stockholm District Court to move back as planned.