Skeppsbrokajen is a quay and a harbour 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....

. Passing along Skeppsbron

Skeppsbron

Skeppsbron is both a street and a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, stretching from the bridge Strömbron in front of the Royal Palace southward to Slussen....

, it forms the east waterfront of the old town 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...

.

Skeppsbrokajen was preceded by a medieval quay called Koggabron ("Cog

Cog

Cog may refer to:* A part of a gear system* Cog , a small sailing vessel* A tenon that extends all the way through another piece of wood, in joinery* The evil robots in Toontown Online...

 bridge") located a hundred metres inland from the present quay and only stretching along the southern part of the shore. During the 1630s, the work on the foundations of the present quay were begun, probably initiated by King Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...

. While the present name came into use during the period 1640-1700, the quay itself was not completed until 1854 when the area around Slussen

Slussen

Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water...

 was developed in connection to the construction of the lock of Nils Ericson

Nils Ericson

Friherre Nils Ericson was a Swedish mechanical engineer...

.

While the quay is still frequently used by ships, including international cruisers and locally well-known ships: a couple of old steamships, such as SS Blidösund (1911) and SS Saltsjön (1925); and some somewhat less genuine, such as MS Teaterskeppet, ("The Theatre Ship"), a Portuguese fishing boat built in 1959, today serving as a conference centre; and Svea Viking, originally a minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 built in the UK in 1943 for D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

, then serving as ferry on Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

 for many years before being transformed into a Viking ship

Viking ship

Viking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together...

 in 1996.

Several restaurants are located in the old custom-houses along the quay, including Loch and Quay, open all year round for lunch and dinner.

In the northern end of the quay, next to the Royal Palace

Stockholm Palace

The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...

 is the statue of King Gustav III

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

 by Tobias Sergel inaugurated in 1808, and in the southern end is the sculpture Sjöodjuret ("Sea monster") by Carl Milles

Carl Milles

Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...

.

External links

• http://www.hitta.se/SearchCombi.aspx?__VIEWSTATE=%2FwEPDwUKMTg4NDI3NTMzNWRk&UCSB%3AWflWhite=1a1b&UCSB%3AWflPink=4a&SearchType=4&UCSB%3ABBX1=&UCSB%3ABBY1=&UCSB%3ABBX2=&UCSB%3ABBY2=&UCSB%3ATextBoxWho=&UCSB%3ATextBoxWhere=Skeppsbrokajen+Stockholm&UCSB%3AButtonSearch=%A0%A0hitta%21%A0%A0&CombiDetails%3AMapControl%3Acx=1270301&CombiDetails%3AMapControl%3Acy=6404292&CombiDetails%3AMapControl%3ApointsHidden=&CombiDetails%3AMapControl%3Az=2hitta.se - Location map and virtual walk]
• Panoramic view of Skeppsbrokajen (QTVR
  QuickTime VR
  QuickTime VR is a type of image file format developed by Apple Inc. for QuickTime. It allows the creation and viewing of photographically-captured panoramas and the exploration of objects through images taken at multiple viewing angles...
  
  )
• Stockholm City Museum - Historical image of Skeppsbrokajen from 1947-1951
• SS Saltsjön
• Facts about SS Blidösund
• Svea Viking
• Teaterskeppet
• Brännvin