Skeppar Olofs Gränd - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Skeppar Olofs Gränd is an alley

Alley

An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...

in Gamla stan

Gamla stan

Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...

, the old town in central Stockholm

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...

, Sweden

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....

. Stretching from Köpmangatan

Köpmangatan

Köpmangatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. A parallel street to Trädgårdsgatan, it is stretching from the central square Stortorget to Köpmantorget, intercepted by Trädgårdstvärgränd, Skeppar Olofs Gränd, Peder Fredags Gränd, Själagårdsgatan, Staffan Sasses Gränd,...

to Trädgårdsgatan

Trädgårdsgatan

Trädgårdsgatan is a small street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. It stretches west from Skeppar Olofs Gränd to Källargränd, just south of the Royal Palace and north of the square Stortorget. Forming a parallel to Slottsbacken and Köpmangatan, it is intercepted by Trädgårdstvärgränd...

, it forms a parallel street to Peder Fredags Gränd

Peder Fredags Gränd

Peder Fredags Gränd is a small blind alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching north from Köpmangatan, it is located between Skeppar Olofs Gränd and Staffan Sasses Gränd, just south of the Tessin Palace.The inconspicuous alley remained nameless until the 20th...

and Trädgårdstvärgränd

Trädgårdstvärgränd

Trädgårdstvärgränd "Garden's Cross-Alley") is a small alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching north from Köpmangatan to Trädgårdsgatan, it forms a parallel street to Skeppar Olofs Gränd and Källargränd...

.

Appearing in historical records as skepper Olaffz grändh in 1587, the alley is named after the skipper Olof Eriksson, commonly known as Skeppar Olof, who from 1625 served under King Gustav Vasa

Gustav I of Sweden

Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....

, as skipper on board the ship Ugglan ("The Owl") in 1626. He is historically known as one of the leading figures in the organisation of the first fleet of the Swedish Navy

Swedish Navy

The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...

, both as a master shipbuilder and as a naval commander. As one of the most trusted merchants of the king, Olof made a fortune, and as one of the most prominent burghers in the city, he was appointed magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

, member of a court of first instance, head of the goldsmith guild, and churchwarden at the Cathedral

Storkyrkan

Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...

. Skeppar Olof died in 1555 and is buried in the cathedral (which he saved from the king's plans to demolish it). One of the many buildings he owned was located between the alley and Österlånggatan

Österlånggatan

Österlånggatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron...

, in 1628 referred to as Schepar Olofz huus i Olof Grelsons g[ränd] ("House of Skipper Olof in the alley of Olof Grelson"), and in 1597 subject to his widow's distribution of the estate. The skipper in question might have lived in the medieval building on the right side directly after the vault.

In the alley is a memorial tile dedicated to Sara Wacklin

Sara Wacklin

Sara Elizabeth Wacklin, born 26 May 1790 in Oulu , died 28 January 1846 i Stockholm, was a Swedish-speaking Finnish teacher and writer. She was the daughter of the district attorney Zacharias Wacklin and Katarina Uhlander .Sara Wacklin studied in Finland and took a course for female teachers at...

(1790–1846), a teacher and writer who was born in Uleåborg, moved to Stockholm in 1843, and lived and eventually died in the alley. She is mostly remembered for her book Hundrade minnen från Österbotten ("A Hundred memories from Ostrobothnia

Ostrobothnia (region)

Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions Central Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia....

", 1844–45) which deals with the fate of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

following the Swedish defeat in the Finnish War

Finnish War

The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...

of 1807-1809, and condemns those who "longed for war without having seen its atrocities".

External links

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