Pre-history and origin of Stockholm
Encyclopedia
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...
is the continuous development and series of events that made the mouth of Lake Mälaren
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...
strategically important; a location which by the mid 13th century had become the centre of the newly consolidated Swedish kingdom. The origin of Stockholm pre-dates its written history
History of Stockholm
The history of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, for many centuries coincided with the development of what is today known as Gamla stan, the Stockholm Old Town...
, and several mythological stories and modern myths have attempted to explain both its emergence and its name.
Prehistory
Stockholm is standing on a bedrockBedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
of gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
approximately 2 billion years old. Over millions of years, north-west to south-east oriented cracks appeared in the rock, which rivers transformed into the valleys still present in the landscape, for example the lakes Långsjön
Långsjön
Långsjön is a lake in southern Stockholm, Sweden.The lake is situated in an old residential neighbourhood located between the municipalities of Stockholm and Huddinge and most of the shoreline is private property. Water level is controlled by a sluice in the north-western end of the lake where...
, Magelungen, and Drevviken. All around Stockholm, such open fields are separated by forest-laden ridges. Late in this geological process, east to west-oriented faults appeared, resulting in for example the tall, dark cliffs along the northern waterfront of 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...
.
Three million years ago, a series of ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s started to grind down the north-bound faults, leaving the south-bound formations intact. During the latest ice age
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
(70.000-9.500 BCE), the area surrounding Stockholm was covered by an ice layer up to two kilometres thick. While the ice effectively have eliminated every trace of pre-ice age life, it is assumed humans probably did inhabit the area before the ice age, notwithstanding no archaeological traces can confirm it. Nevertheless, bones from a mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
have been found in the 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...
esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
stretching north to south through central Stockholm.
As ice lightened its grip of the area about 11.500 BCE, the area was inundated by melt water before the land started to rise and the first islets rose over the water surface (at the time located about 40 metres over the present sea level). The retiring ice left behind a cover of sand, gravel, and rocks forming moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
ridges still witnessing how the ice gave up some 250 m annually over two centuries. Under the ice sheet, streams formed eskers, most notably the huge 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...
, the steep slopes of which still form barriers in central Stockholm.
After some 1.000 years the first humans settled in the area to start the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
era characterized by a climate similar to that of the present Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Due to land elevation, the archaeological traces of these first coastal settlements are today found far from the coast and the modern metropolitan area. The traces consists of various tools, including quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
arrowheads used by these hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s to catch mostly seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s. During the end of the Stone Age (4.200–1.800 BCE) humans started to use more stationary settlements, solid buildings standing on strong poles drilled into the ground, even if the access to food still made migratory periods necessary. Graves got more elaborate as grinned axes made of carefully selected and often imported rocks
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
accompanied the dead together with ceramics, fancy garments, and other impressive objects.
Emergence
The first town in the Lake MälarenMälaren
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...
region undoubtedly was Birka
Birka
During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Björkö in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö...
on Björkö
Björkö
Björkö can signify:# In Sweden:## Björkö, a Lake Mälaren island in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, the location for the excavation and World Heritage Site Birka....
island about 20 km west of present-day Stockholm. Founded in the late 8th century, it was described by Rimbert
Rimbert
Saint Rimbert was archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg from 865 until his death.A monk in Turholt , he shared a missionary trip to Scandinavia with his friend Ansgar, whom he later succeeded as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen in 865...
, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who wrote about his predecessor Ansgar
Ansgar
Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North".-Life:After his mother’s early death Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid...
's missionary journeys c. 830 and 850. For unknown reasons, Birka was deserted around 975. Shortly thereafter, Sigtuna
Sigtuna
Sigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 18 inhabitants in 2005. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta....
appeared on the northern shores of Mälaren. Located on the main navigable approach to Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, Sigtuna is believed to have been designed as missionary outpost and a Christian trade centre rivalling the still pagan Uppsala. While Sigtuna saw its heyday during the 10th century, the Blackfriars
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
decided to construct their first monastery in Sweden at Sigtuna in the 1230s (inaugurated 1247), which seem to indicate Sigtuna was still the city dominating the Mälaren region at that time.
Notwithstanding surviving records makes it difficult to see exactly when and in what order events took place, several causes for the development to occur in the 13th century can be distinguished:
Of the half dozen trade posts in Sweden described in 1120 as cathedral cities, or cities with a potential to become such, Sigtuna is believed to be the only one with the density and status of a city in the proper sense. This quickly changed as German merchants introduced developed forms of production and 'industrialised' Swedish mining, mostly during the second half of the 13th century. This rewrote the regional map and resulted in the gradual development of a Swedish urbanity. As trade routes moved westward in the Mälaren region, Sigtuna found itself left astern.
Birger jarl's elimination of the "true Folkung
Folkung
In modern Swedish, Folkung has two meanings, which appear to be opposites:# The medieval "House of Bjelbo" in Sweden, which produced several Swedish statesmen and kings....
s" between 1247 (Battle of Sparrsätra
Battle of Sparrsätra
The Battle of Sparrsätra was a battle which took place in 1247 near Enköping in Sweden between king Eric XI of Sweden and rebels led by Holmger Knutsson...
) and 1251 (Battle of Herrevadsbro) lead to increased consolidation of the Swedish kingdom and the introduction of a continental feudal society. Additionally, the Swedish dominion expanded east as Birger jarl
Birger 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...
and Torgils Knutsson conquered Tavastland
Tavastia (historical province)
Tavastia, Tavastland or Häme, Russian Emi or Yemi, is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa.- Administration :...
and Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
(later 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...
) which placed present-day Stockholm, until then an insignificant peripheral island, in the absolute centre of the small empire.
Lastly, navigation on Lake Mälaren changed dramatically as land elevation
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
isolated it from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
during the 13th century and made the strait in what is today central Stockholm the only navigable passage into the Lake Mälaren region. It remains uncertain when this happened more precisely, but the development was further accelerated by the growth of international trade in the Baltic. The streams around Stadsholmen can't have been much of a problem for Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
longship
Longship
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with...
s or traditional knarr
Knarr
The Knarr is a Bermuda rigged, long keeled, sailing yacht designed in 1943 by Norwegian Erling L. Kristofersen. Knarrer were traditionally built in wood, with the hull upside down on a fixed frame, then attaching the iron keel after the hull was completed. The hull planks were manufactured with...
s, but as German merchants introduced the sea-going deep-draught cogs
Cog (ship)
A cog is a type of ship that first appeared in the 10th century, and was widely used from around the 12th century on. Cogs were generally built of oak, which was an abundant timber in the Baltic region of Prussia. This vessel was fitted with a single mast and a square-rigged single sail...
, the straits and streams at the mouth of Lake Mälaren became insurmountable obstacles which thus created a need for a trade post at the location.
While the oldest traces of human activities in present Stockholm are considerably older, the development as described above preceded the foundation of the city on its present location. However, Birka, Sigtuna, and Stockholm forms a series of urban structures which can be thought of as the capital of the Lake Mälaren region, at a few occasions relocated to fit into the socio-economic structure of the day.
Icelandic sagas
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
from the 14th century. Stymer explains, what today are the islands 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...
and Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Together with the small islands Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms the Old town of Stockholm....
was at the time united by an isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
, and Saint Olaf
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
of Norway (995-1030) produced the strait, in the saga called Konungssund ("King's strait"), by summoning assistance from superior forces. A slightly different version, undoubtedly the most famous, is the account of the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
(1178–1241). He retells, while King Olav of Norway raided the Lake Mälaren
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...
area, the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung (960s-1021/1022) hoped to trap him by pulling an iron chain over Stocksund ("Log Strait", e.g. modern Norrström
Norrström
Norrström in central Stockholm connects Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea. It runs from Riddarfjärden, north of Gamla stan, to Saltsjön. Two islands lie within it, Strömsborg and Helgeandsholmen. It is one of two natural waterways between Mälaren and the Baltic sea, the other being Söderström south...
passing north of the old town), a strait in addition guarded by a castellum
Castellum
A castellum is a small Roman detached fort or fortlet used as a watch tower or signal station. The Latin word castellum is a diminutive of castra , which in turn is the plural of castrum ; it is the source of the English word "castle".The term castellum was also used to refer to a settling or...
and an army on either sides. The Norwegian king then dug himself through the southern isthmus and, helped by vivid streams produced by spring flood and favourable winds, managed to have his ships break through the foreshore and shoals, and finally escaped to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Sturluson however adds, the Swedes refuted this version as drivel.
Agnefit
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
' and, arguably, the only possible location for a meadow in present-day Stockholm at the time was on the western shore of today's Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen
Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Together with the small islands Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms the Old town of Stockholm....
. The first element of this name is, explains the historian Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
(1178–1241), derived from King Agne
Agne
Agne, English: Agni, Hogne or Agni Skjálfarbondi was a mythological king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling.Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ways....
, a presumably mythological king who in a dim and distant past (around 400 A.D. according to some historians) encamped here after having successfully raided 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...
. His intentions were to marry Skjalf, the daughter of the defeated Finnish tribal chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
. The young woman, however, tricked him to arrange a celebration including prominent guests which eventually turned into a boozing party, and, while Agne slept sober, Skjalf had him hung in his gold necklace before escaping.
A modern story dated back to the mid 17th century, tells how the population of Birka
Birka
During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Björkö in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö...
, a historical city on Lake Mälaren, grew too rapidly, and the Gods then consulted urged parts of the population to emigrate to a new site. To determine where to build the new city, it was decided a log bound with gold should point out where to settle by sailing ashore on the site, and, occasionally, it landed on an islet in what is today central Stockholm. According to a 17th century myth, the tower Birger Jarls torn, often and erroneously said to be the oldest building in Stockholm, was built on this location.
Origin
According to the Chronicle of Eric, written in the 1320s, Stockholm was 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 1250 as a lock to the Lake Mälaren region (laas fore then sio, "lock before that lake") in order to prevent pirates from reaching the seven cities and nineteen parishes around it. Another medieval source (Visbyannalerna), however, claims the city was founded in 1187 following a pagan pillaged the city of Sigtuna
Sigtuna
Sigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 18 inhabitants in 2005. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta....
, and as there was an "Earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
" named Birger around at that time too, the disputed origin of the city are likely to remain obscure and some historians choose a diplomatic interpretation saying there was some sort of fortification around by the mouth of lake Mälaren when the city was founded during the second half of the 13th century. As Sturluson mentions no city in his account but some sort of fortification called a kastali (in various manuscripts curiously said to be located east and west of Stocksund
Stocksund
Stocksund is an upper-class or upper middle-class suburb in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden.Located immediately across the Edsviken from Bergshamra, Stocksund is one of four parts of Danderyd Municipality north of Stockholm....
), it has generally been assumed this fortification eventually developed into the castle 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...
located where still is the Stockholm 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...
.
While the reliability of these stories remains disputed, dendrochronological
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...
examinations of logs driven into the seabed in Norrström
Norrström
Norrström in central Stockholm connects Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea. It runs from Riddarfjärden, north of Gamla stan, to Saltsjön. Two islands lie within it, Strömsborg and Helgeandsholmen. It is one of two natural waterways between Mälaren and the Baltic sea, the other being Söderström south...
, square oak logs, and sunken logs found 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...
just north of Stadsholmen in 1978-1980, concluded these trees were cut down during the period 970-1020, most of them from around 1010, and these logs presumably gave the entire city its present name, Stock-holm, "Log-Islet".
Anyhow, any hypothesis on the origin of the city necessarily need to depart from three poorly documented defensive structures:
- Some kind of original primitive redoubtRedoubtA redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
surrounded by wooden barriers probably constructed during the Viking eraViking AgeViking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
(i.e. around 1000). - A baileyWard (fortification)In fortifications, a bailey or ward refers to a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a Motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one ward. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology...
and a larger building located on a pair of islets now part of HelgeandsholmenHelgeandsholmenHelgeandsholmen 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...
accompanied by a row of poles forming a barrier in the strait (i.e. the "lock" of Lake Mälaren). - A castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
built on the north-eastern corner of StadsholmenStadsholmenStadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Together with the small islands Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms the Old town of Stockholm....
, a construction probably initiated by Birger Jarl in the mid 13th century and completed around 1300. It is possible the construction of this castle started simultaneously with the second defensive structure mentioned above and that this structure became outdated as the castle was completed.
It is often said the tower of the Three Crown Castle
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...
originated from at least parts of these defensive structures. As historical and archaeological records are fragmentary, the origin of this tower and the castle remain open for various interpretations, as do the size and extent of the city at the time. Some researchers conclude Stockholm evolved into the Swedish capital and an important trade city before 1200 (Kumlien), while others suggest the location remained a mostly rural area around 1250 to quickly expand into large city before the castle was completed (Hansson, Ödman).
Origin of the name
The first, verified, mention of the name 'Stockholm' is from two letters written in Latin in 1252; the first, written in July, is a letter where the King ValdemarValdemar I of Sweden
Valdemar, English also Waldemar; , was King of Sweden 1250–1275.-Biography:Valdemar was the son of princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden and Birger jarl, from the House of Bjelbo. During the first sixteen years of his reign, it was Birger Jarl who was the real ruler...
and Birger Jarl
Birger 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...
offered their royal patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
to Fogdö Abbey; and the other, written by Birger Jarl in August, urged the peasantry in Attundaland
Attundaland
Attundaland was the name given to the southeastern part of the present day province of Uppland, north of Stockholm. Its name refers to its role of providing 800 men and 32 ships for the leidang of the Swedish kings at Uppsala.Snorri Sturluson relates that Tiundaland was the richest and most...
to pay their tithes to the Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral is a cathedral located centrally in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. It dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 m is the tallest church building in Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the...
. Both letters were written in Stockholm, but give no further information of the city itself or any explanation on the background of the name. However, it can be assumed at least some sort of dwelling in consistence with the station of a Swedish jarl
Jarl in Sweden
In Sweden, members of medieval royal families, such as the House of Stenkil and House of Bjelbo, held the title of jarl before their accession to the throne. Since the early 12th century, there usually was only one holder of the title at a time, second only to the King of Sweden.For special...
existed at that time.
While the name itself easily splits into two distinct elements - stokker, or in modern Swedish stock, meaning "log", and holme, meaning "islet" - a matter-of-fact explanation for the name is much harder to produce, and over the years many popular myths have, accordingly, attempted to give a background. The first attempt to a more serious explanation was put forward by the German humanist Jacob Ziegler
Jacob Ziegler
The humanist and theologian Jacob Ziegler of Landau, was an itinerant scholar of geography and cartographer, who lived a wandering life in Europe...
in his work Schondia (Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
) printed in 1532. Writing in Latin, he describes the city as the stronghold and trade post of the Swedes, located among paludibus, meaning either marshes or lakes, and - like Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
- resting on poles. Most likely, while in Rome Ziegler must have come in contact with prominent Swedes like Johannes Magnus
Johannes Magnus
Johannes Magnus was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and historian.-Life:Johannes Magnus was born in Linköping, son of the burgess Måns Pedersson and his wife Kristina...
who supplied him with the description of the city, which still today styles itself "The Venice of the Nordic countries" (Nordens Venedig).
Other interpretations includes stock being an allusion to:
- poles erected either to indicate frontiers or temporary market places,
- trap logs, used to catch animals,
- stubs supposed to have been abundant on the central island of the city,
- fiskestock - either the local "fish livestock" or a hollowed out log used as an osier basket,
- the place where the watercourse and/or logs clogs (stockar sig),
- the name StocksundStocksundStocksund is an upper-class or upper middle-class suburb in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden.Located immediately across the Edsviken from Bergshamra, Stocksund is one of four parts of Danderyd Municipality north of Stockholm....
for the stream flowing through the city, as mentioned in Snorri SturlusonSnorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
's Ynglinga sagaYnglinga sagaYnglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....
and the saga of Saint OlafOlaf II of NorwayOlaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
(see below), thus supposing the original name of the city was Stocksundsholm ("Log-strait-islet"), - a footbridgeFootbridgeA footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
stretching over the stream, supposedly built before 1000, and, - probably the most widespread explanation, logs drilled into the strait for either defensive purposes, or to force ships to pay tolls.
To add to the enigma, Stockholm have been called Eken ("The oak") in many contexts. While it is mostly associated with slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
today, it is supposedly derived from Stockhäcken, the name the city was given by traders from Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
(called Västgötaknallar).