Walls of Stockholm
Encyclopedia
The Walls of Stockholm were a medieval fortification and defense system that would protect the city from attack from all sides. While the old city walls construction and process are largely unknown, the youngest city walls are now relatively well documented.
In Stockholm, there have been two medieval city walls: an older one, internal, built at the end of the 13th and early 14th century, and more recent ones built during the 15th and 16th centuries. The younger remparts lost its strategic importance in the 17th century and began to be demolished. A small remnant of Stockholm's northern city walls that were on Helgeandsholmen
can now be seen in the museum of medieval Stockholm.
around the year 1250. The old city wall exact design and location is disputed and unknown. According to one common belief, they are remnants of the oldest city wall preserved in buildings where the wall once was. At the excavations and building surveys, however, such residues have never been found.
A likely location for the city wall west route is along Prästgatan
west side, while the eastern wall followed along Bollhusgränds and Baggensgatans east side. The precise location is difficult to determine specially because the wall moved outward as the city grew. The wall indeed was found in the surviving tax records of the latter half of the 15th century where the concept of 'prior to the wall' was used for the taxpayers who lived on the plateau of Stadsholmen.
'Between the wall' was a common term for the city area between Prästgatan, Bollhusgränd and Baggensgränd. These streets were Stockholm's inner ring roads that enveloped the heart-shaped of the Stadsholmens. Much of today's Prästgatan and Baggensgränd served as look-out points to the end of the north part of Tre Kronor
castle. The southern tip of the city wall, including its southern port, was wiped out in 14th century when the Black Friars convent was built at this location.
Even the city wall construction differ in concepts. It may have been a granite-stone wall with an upper section of bricks. The west side, probably started as part of Åsbranten, while the eastern wall stood alone, both being approximately 7 meters high. Stockholm's oldest city walls may also have been a wooden construction, a type of palisade
, which could well explain why it has not to date been found.
The city wall had four towers. The west wall stood to the north of St. Nicholas port, Shoemaker Gate and the Water Gate in the far south. The eastern wall had a door, the Merchant's Gate. It laid as an extension of Merchant Street approximately where the Merchant Square is today, and remained until the 1685 Merchant's Gate was portrayed by Elias Brenner shortly before demolition on 30 April 1687 'for its narrow passage sake'. The vault was in reality much narrower, about 1.6 m.
During the late 14th century people began to build plots outside the city walls. These lands had been gradually extended by padding
s, and through rectification and land elevations. When Stockholm's oldest city walls lost its strategic significance, a new defensive wall was built further west and east.
In the 15th century the construction of the city walls continued both to the west towards Lake Mälaren
and in the east towards Saltsjön
until the 16th century. Moreover barricades were adapted all the time to the prevailing political and military-technical conditions. Therefore, the wall reinforcement was concentrated in the direction in which attacks on Stockholm was likely to come. This means that the wall to the east and Saltsjön strengthened during periods in which a Danish invasion by sea was feared,For example, during Sten Sture the Elder
time in 1400 century while reinforcements of Mälarmuren was carried out during the first part of Gustav Vasa
's reign (c. 1530-1540), when attacks from domestic insurgents via Mälaren was feared to come.
Gustav Vasa led even the renewal of the outer defenses around Norreport, on Helgeandsholmen's northern part. The wall on Helgeandsholmen was built around 1530 in direct proximity to the former defence line. Today, Norreports residues were found in the middle of Mynttorget. These were examined in 1935, 1939 and 1982 when excavation work for wiring began. The inner Norreport was first mentioned in 1409, but is probably older than that. The gate was demolished in 1672 and the upper part of the city wall in 1674.
An approximately 55-meter long piece of the northern mound was dug up from 1978 to 1981 for the renovation of the Riksdag building
, which now is one of the main attractions of the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
. The original height was most probably six feet. Near the eastern end of the wall there was a great port with an outer door of iron. Gustav Vasa had a fortress built of bricks, including those from St. Johanneskyrkan.
In Vädersolstavlan from 1535 two south towers (Södertorn), which appear to have been semi-circular in shape, were reported. The inner (north) tower was re-erected in 1524 after the it had collapsed the previous year. The outer (southern) tower originally had a roof hood. In 1637 the inner and outer Söderport were described, the latter to make way for the first lock, known as the Drottning Kristinas sluss (Queen Kristina's gate), which opened in 1642.
Around 1530 Gustav Vasa built two towers in Gråmunkeholmen
's northwest side. The northern tower, named after Birger Jarl's Tower was built with an unusual brick format during the 1700s, the same kind of brick that was used in Santa Clara Monastery, which was described in 1527. The south tower is now part of Wrangel Palace
. It has also been found that the bricks for the tower had been used before, and that the mortar residue is not derived from the tower construction. Birger Jarl's Tower should therefore have been built of bricks from the Clara convent
, during a two-year period that began in the autumn of 1527. The Birger Jarl's Tower was built in the 1200s, but the myth began to spread in the 1700s. It was Stockholm's oldest building then.
Stockholm's younger city wall had about 20 towers, in addition to the ones in Helgeandsholmen and Gråmunkeholmen. They were: Inre Norretorn (at today's mynttorget
), Gråmunketorn (at the level of today's Stora Gråmunkegränd
), Inre Södertorn (where today's slussplan
) and Skultatornet (in present-day's Drakens gränd
). In between there were many defence towers, which were not all named. A few have been investigated by various arhceologists during the excavation work, such as a tower at Kolmätargränd
in kvarteret Cephalus. Along the west side wall there was also a Pulvertornet (Powder Tower, or Gunpowder Tower) and Bocktornet (Bock Tower). Fiskestrand
towards Saltsjön, in present-day Kvarteret Diana, was flanked by two towers.
In the west there was Lilla tornet (Little Tower) and Stora tornet (Big Tower), the latter also referred to as the Lejontornet or Leijontornet (Lion Tower). A so-called dendrochronology
survey, or tree-ring dating conducted in 1984, showed that the timber to the foundation piles for the Lion Tower was harvested in the winter of 1382–1383. Vädersolstavlan
from 1525 shows the Lion Tower, behind the boathouses. Part of the Lion Tower foundations can also be seen in the restaurant Leijontornet. Figures according to Restaurant Leijontornet.
. These were weak points in the city's defence. In the Middle Ages
, therefore, pile drivers were added in Mälaren, Saltsjön and around the Stadsholmens respectively, southern and northern parts. The early pile drivers consisted of bars made of joined logs. In the Middle Ages this defense mechanism was simply called the "bommen". It was later expanded for it is mentioned in the Stockholm first surviving official book from 1419. There has been talk about the nyckelförvarare to the bars at Fisketorget, Korntorget
, at Lejontornet and Draktornet.
Pile drivers, as they appear in 16th-century illustrations, consisted of dual deep foundation
s connected with longitudinal and transverse logs. Outside Kornhamn better wood was required because of the sheer depth of water. During the 1500s, the estate purchased several hundred piles which were 24 metres long or more. Later, it was difficult to deal with so very long timbers, so they began to experiment with nails and forged joint rings. For the recovery of the piles in the bottom of the lake a special pile driver
mounted on the city's barge
was used. In winter it could crack down piles of ice.
The pile drivers were entry openings were closed with bars at night. They functioned both as a tariff ceiling and border for the inner harbor area. In order to further make it more difficult for the enemy to reach Stadsholmens, ships were sunk inside the perimeter of the pile drivers during the Danes' siege in 1520. This defense works can be seen on many older designs, such as Hogenbergs 1500-century Civitates orbis terrarum engravings of Stockholm, the Blodbadsplanschen from 1524 and on the Vädersolstavlan
from 1535.
, were able to invade Stockholm on 7 September 1520 due to the city capitulation after the a series of blockades and intense pressure. The city's protected location on an island meant that it was difficult to be taken. Hostile attacks on Norreport and Söderport failed. Olaus Magnus
wrote: "The Stockholm ports incurred Danish kings greater costs accrued in the unsuccessful assault trial than the ten largest cities in their own kingdom."
During Gustav Vasa a national defense task was organized and the enemy would meet far outside the capital. He led in 1540 the construction of Vaxholm
as a barrier against hostile fleets, while he turned the Gripsholm Castle
and Uppsala Castle
into real fortifications.
During Gustav II Adolf
's reign the transformation of the town from medieval to a modern European metropolis began. The city engaged in trade and shipping, and there was no invasion threat anymore. The city wall had had its day and it prevented even the city's expansion.
The Mälarmuren was first described in 1630. In 1625 there was a fire disaster, called "stora vådelden" or the big wildfire, which wiped out the southwestern part of Stadsholmen and it was the start of the demolition of the city wall and its towers for Stockholm's first major street marketing. Saltsjömuren disappeared during the 1600s. The material was used both as building material for new houses and edifications, especially along the east side where the newly acquired land of Stockholm to the east was built: Skeppsbron
. The demolition of the Stockholm young city wall was carried out so thoroughly that today it can not be seen anywhere above ground level in Gamla stan.
In Stockholm, there have been two medieval city walls: an older one, internal, built at the end of the 13th and early 14th century, and more recent ones built during the 15th and 16th centuries. The younger remparts lost its strategic importance in the 17th century and began to be demolished. A small remnant of Stockholm's northern city walls that were on Helgeandsholmen
Helgeandsholmen
Helgeandsholmen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm...
can now be seen in the museum of medieval Stockholm.
13th-century walls
Stockholm's oldest city wall was originally a fortification line built during the second half of the 13th century around Stadsholmen. This line of fortifications is thus intimately connected with the origin of Stockholm, founded by Birger JarlBirger jarl
, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
around the year 1250. The old city wall exact design and location is disputed and unknown. According to one common belief, they are remnants of the oldest city wall preserved in buildings where the wall once was. At the excavations and building surveys, however, such residues have never been found.
A likely location for the city wall west route is along Prästgatan
Prästgatan
Prästgatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, stretching from a cul-de-sac west of the Royal Palace to the street Österlånggatan in the southern corner of the old town. Prästgatan forms a parallel street to Västerlånggatan, Trångsund, Skomakargatan, and...
west side, while the eastern wall followed along Bollhusgränds and Baggensgatans east side. The precise location is difficult to determine specially because the wall moved outward as the city grew. The wall indeed was found in the surviving tax records of the latter half of the 15th century where the concept of 'prior to the wall' was used for the taxpayers who lived on the plateau of Stadsholmen.
'Between the wall' was a common term for the city area between Prästgatan, Bollhusgränd and Baggensgränd. These streets were Stockholm's inner ring roads that enveloped the heart-shaped of the Stadsholmens. Much of today's Prästgatan and Baggensgränd served as look-out points to the end of the north part of 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...
castle. The southern tip of the city wall, including its southern port, was wiped out in 14th century when the Black Friars convent was built at this location.
Even the city wall construction differ in concepts. It may have been a granite-stone wall with an upper section of bricks. The west side, probably started as part of Åsbranten, while the eastern wall stood alone, both being approximately 7 meters high. Stockholm's oldest city walls may also have been a wooden construction, a type of palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
, which could well explain why it has not to date been found.
The city wall had four towers. The west wall stood to the north of St. Nicholas port, Shoemaker Gate and the Water Gate in the far south. The eastern wall had a door, the Merchant's Gate. It laid as an extension of Merchant Street approximately where the Merchant Square is today, and remained until the 1685 Merchant's Gate was portrayed by Elias Brenner shortly before demolition on 30 April 1687 'for its narrow passage sake'. The vault was in reality much narrower, about 1.6 m.
During the late 14th century people began to build plots outside the city walls. These lands had been gradually extended by padding
Padding
Padding is thin cushioned material sometimes added to clothes. It is often done in an attempt to soften impacts on certain zones of the body or enhance appearance by 'improving' a physical feature, often a sexually significant one...
s, and through rectification and land elevations. When Stockholm's oldest city walls lost its strategic significance, a new defensive wall was built further west and east.
15th-century walls
The new city wall was built in stages. Already in the 14th century a new defensive wall was built at the north-west part of Stadsholmen around Myntgatans street and to the north of Stora Nygatans route. The wall first protected the area outside the city centre, and the defensive line moved around 30 metres to the west. During a transitional period, there was also a wooded bank out there in the water. Remnants of this frontline fortifications could be documented in the 1940s, in connection with the excavation works in Kanslihusannexet and Kvarteret Cephalus.Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
and in the east towards Saltsjön
Saltsjön
Saltsjön is a bay of the Baltic Sea that extends from Stockholm archipelago to the inner city of Stockholm. Its innermost part reaches the eastern shore of Gamla stan at Skeppsbrokajen. It is navigable for large craft and the major ferry lines to and from Stockholm pass through it...
until the 16th century. Moreover barricades were adapted all the time to the prevailing political and military-technical conditions. Therefore, the wall reinforcement was concentrated in the direction in which attacks on Stockholm was likely to come. This means that the wall to the east and Saltsjön strengthened during periods in which a Danish invasion by sea was feared,For example, during Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from .-Background:...
time in 1400 century while reinforcements of Mälarmuren was carried out during the first part of 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....
's reign (c. 1530-1540), when attacks from domestic insurgents via Mälaren was feared to come.
Gustav Vasa led even the renewal of the outer defenses around Norreport, on Helgeandsholmen's northern part. The wall on Helgeandsholmen was built around 1530 in direct proximity to the former defence line. Today, Norreports residues were found in the middle of Mynttorget. These were examined in 1935, 1939 and 1982 when excavation work for wiring began. The inner Norreport was first mentioned in 1409, but is probably older than that. The gate was demolished in 1672 and the upper part of the city wall in 1674.
An approximately 55-meter long piece of the northern mound was dug up from 1978 to 1981 for the renovation of the Riksdag building
Riksdag building
The Riksdag building is the seat of the Parliament of Sweden. It is located on Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm.- History :...
, which now is one of the main attractions of the Museum of Medieval Stockholm
Museum of Medieval Stockholm
The Museum of Medieval Stockholm , centrally located north of the Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments excavated in an extensive archaeological dig in the late 1970s...
. The original height was most probably six feet. Near the eastern end of the wall there was a great port with an outer door of iron. Gustav Vasa had a fortress built of bricks, including those from St. Johanneskyrkan.
In Vädersolstavlan from 1535 two south towers (Södertorn), which appear to have been semi-circular in shape, were reported. The inner (north) tower was re-erected in 1524 after the it had collapsed the previous year. The outer (southern) tower originally had a roof hood. In 1637 the inner and outer Söderport were described, the latter to make way for the first lock, known as the Drottning Kristinas sluss (Queen Kristina's gate), which opened in 1642.
Around 1530 Gustav Vasa built two towers in Gråmunkeholmen
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...
's northwest side. The northern tower, named after Birger Jarl's Tower was built with an unusual brick format during the 1700s, the same kind of brick that was used in Santa Clara Monastery, which was described in 1527. The south tower is now part of 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....
. It has also been found that the bricks for the tower had been used before, and that the mortar residue is not derived from the tower construction. Birger Jarl's Tower should therefore have been built of bricks from the Clara convent
St. Clare's Priory, Stockholm
St. Clare's Priory, Stockholm, was a Roman Catholic nunnery of the order of Saint Clare in Stockholm in Sweden, active 1289 until the reformation in 1527.- History :...
, during a two-year period that began in the autumn of 1527. The Birger Jarl's Tower was built in the 1200s, but the myth began to spread in the 1700s. It was Stockholm's oldest building then.
Stockholm's younger city wall had about 20 towers, in addition to the ones in Helgeandsholmen and Gråmunkeholmen. They were: Inre Norretorn (at today's mynttorget
Mynttorget
Mynttorget is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.- Setting :From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgatan leads to Riddarhustorget, while the quay Kanslikajen stretches along the...
), Gråmunketorn (at the level of today's Stora Gråmunkegränd
Stora Gråmunkegränd
Stora Gråmunkegränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching west from Västerlånggatan down to Munkbron and Munkbroleden, it is crossed by Stora Nygatan, and forms a parallel street to Storkyrkobrinken and Helga Lekamens Gränd.The alley is named after the...
), Inre Södertorn (where today's slussplan
Slussplan
Slussplan is a street in Stockholm, Sweden.Located on the southern end of Gamla stan, the old town, and just north of Slussen and the public square Karl Johans Torg, it stretches west from Skeppsbron to Katarinavägen and Munkbroleden. South of the street is the statue of Charles XIV John, the...
) and Skultatornet (in present-day's Drakens gränd
Drakens Gränd
Drakens Gränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Skeppsbron to Österlånggatan, it forms a parallel street to Stora Hoparegränd and Ferkens Gränd....
). In between there were many defence towers, which were not all named. A few have been investigated by various arhceologists during the excavation work, such as a tower at Kolmätargränd
Kolmätargränd
Kolmätargränd is a small alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Passing under a low vault it connects the street Västerlånggatan to the square and courtyard Brantingtorget forming a parallel street to Klockgjutargränd and Stenbastugränd.Mentioned as Kholmetare Grenden in...
in kvarteret Cephalus. Along the west side wall there was also a Pulvertornet (Powder Tower, or Gunpowder Tower) and Bocktornet (Bock Tower). Fiskestrand
Fisketorget
Fisketorget or Fiskaretorget is a historical public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden...
towards Saltsjön, in present-day Kvarteret Diana, was flanked by two towers.
In the west there was Lilla tornet (Little Tower) and Stora tornet (Big Tower), the latter also referred to as the Lejontornet or Leijontornet (Lion Tower). A so-called dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
survey, or tree-ring dating conducted in 1984, showed that the timber to the foundation piles for the Lion Tower was harvested in the winter of 1382–1383. Vädersolstavlan
Vädersolstavlan
is an oil-on-panel painting depicting a halo display, an atmospheric optical phenomenon, observed over Stockholm on April 20, 1535. It is named after the sun dogs appearing on the upper right part of the painting...
from 1525 shows the Lion Tower, behind the boathouses. Part of the Lion Tower foundations can also be seen in the restaurant Leijontornet. Figures according to Restaurant Leijontornet.
Pile drivers
Stockholm younger walls surrounded the city in full. It was above all the city's port areas which were open, in the west at Kornhamn and in the east at Kogghamn and FisketorgetFisketorget
Fisketorget or Fiskaretorget is a historical public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden...
. These were weak points in the city's defence. In the Middle Ages
Middle 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...
, therefore, pile drivers were added in Mälaren, Saltsjön and around the Stadsholmens respectively, southern and northern parts. The early pile drivers consisted of bars made of joined logs. In the Middle Ages this defense mechanism was simply called the "bommen". It was later expanded for it is mentioned in the Stockholm first surviving official book from 1419. There has been talk about the nyckelförvarare to the bars at Fisketorget, Korntorget
Järntorget (Stockholm)
Järntorget is a small public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located in the southernmost corner of the old town, the square connects the thoroughfares Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan, while the two alleys, Södra Bankogränd and Norra Bankogränd, stretches east...
, at Lejontornet and Draktornet.
Pile drivers, as they appear in 16th-century illustrations, consisted of dual deep foundation
Deep foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
s connected with longitudinal and transverse logs. Outside Kornhamn better wood was required because of the sheer depth of water. During the 1500s, the estate purchased several hundred piles which were 24 metres long or more. Later, it was difficult to deal with so very long timbers, so they began to experiment with nails and forged joint rings. For the recovery of the piles in the bottom of the lake a special pile driver
Pile driver
A pile driver is a mechanical device used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. The term is also used in reference to members of the construction crew that work with pile-driving rigs....
mounted on the city's barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
was used. In winter it could crack down piles of ice.
The pile drivers were entry openings were closed with bars at night. They functioned both as a tariff ceiling and border for the inner harbor area. In order to further make it more difficult for the enemy to reach Stadsholmens, ships were sunk inside the perimeter of the pile drivers during the Danes' siege in 1520. This defense works can be seen on many older designs, such as Hogenbergs 1500-century Civitates orbis terrarum engravings of Stockholm, the Blodbadsplanschen from 1524 and on the Vädersolstavlan
Vädersolstavlan
is an oil-on-panel painting depicting a halo display, an atmospheric optical phenomenon, observed over Stockholm on April 20, 1535. It is named after the sun dogs appearing on the upper right part of the painting...
from 1535.
Demolition
Stockholm city walls served their purpose for many centuries. No foreign or domestic forces succeeded in pushing Stockholm's defensive walls. The Danes, under Christian II of DenmarkChristian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
, were able to invade Stockholm on 7 September 1520 due to the city capitulation after the a series of blockades and intense pressure. The city's protected location on an island meant that it was difficult to be taken. Hostile attacks on Norreport and Söderport failed. Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic people. He was reported as born in October 1490 in Östergötland, and died on August 1, 1557. Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stor “great”, is a Latin family name taken personally, and not a...
wrote: "The Stockholm ports incurred Danish kings greater costs accrued in the unsuccessful assault trial than the ten largest cities in their own kingdom."
During Gustav Vasa a national defense task was organized and the enemy would meet far outside the capital. He led in 1540 the construction of Vaxholm
Vaxholm
Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this name on the inlet to Stockholm, for defense purposes, by King Gustav...
as a barrier against hostile fleets, while he turned the Gripsholm Castle
Gripsholm Castle
Gripsholm Castle is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm....
and Uppsala Castle
Uppsala Castle
Uppsala Castle is a 16th century royal castle in the historical city of Uppsala, Sweden. Throughout much of its early history, the castle played a major role in the history of Sweden....
into real fortifications.
During Gustav II Adolf
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,...
's reign the transformation of the town from medieval to a modern European metropolis began. The city engaged in trade and shipping, and there was no invasion threat anymore. The city wall had had its day and it prevented even the city's expansion.
The Mälarmuren was first described in 1630. In 1625 there was a fire disaster, called "stora vådelden" or the big wildfire, which wiped out the southwestern part of Stadsholmen and it was the start of the demolition of the city wall and its towers for Stockholm's first major street marketing. Saltsjömuren disappeared during the 1600s. The material was used both as building material for new houses and edifications, especially along the east side where the newly acquired land of Stockholm to the east was built: 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....
. The demolition of the Stockholm young city wall was carried out so thoroughly that today it can not be seen anywhere above ground level in Gamla stan.