Stockholm‘s Gamla Stan is where Stockholm began, back in 1252, and it is one of the biggest and best preserved medieval Old Towns in the world.

The name ‘Stockholm’ easily splits into two parts – Stock-holm, “Log-islet”, but as no serious explanation to the name has been produced, various myths and legends have attempted to fill in the gap.
According to a 17th-century myth the population at the viking settlement Birka decided to found a new settlement, and to determine its location had a log bound with gold drifting in Lake Mälaren.
It landed on present day Riddarholmen where today the Tower of Birger Jarl stands, a building, as a consequence, still often erroneously mentioned as the oldest building in Stockholm.




The history of Gamla Stan is as fascinating as you’d think: until the 13th century Stockholm wasn’t even the capital of Sweden – that honour went to nearby Sigtuna. When warfare weakened Sigtuna, the government needed to find a new home.
Until the 19th century Gamla Stan was called Staden (The Town), mainly because there was little more to Stockholm proper than this small island, with the surrounding islands called malmarna (ridges).
In fact, it wasn’t until 1980 that Gamla Stan became the official name – before then it was called ‘Staden mellan broarna‘, or ‘Town Between the Bridges’.




The architecture of Gamla Stan, which has a strong north German influence, is remarkably well-preserved, which is somewhat surprising when one considers that this was once a rough-and-tumble slum area prone to marauding gangs visiting violence on the city.
It was overcrowded and disease-ridden up until the early 20th century, and it wasn’t until the early 1980s that it became a tourist attraction. Post-World War II part of the area was demolished to make way for an enlarged parliament, and just 370 structures remain today.




















































Today in Gamla Stan around 3,000 people live in the Old Town and it is packed with cafés, restaurants, tourist shops, studios, galleries and museums, including the Nobel Prize Museum, the Post Museum, and The Royal Coin Cabinet in the National Museums of Economy.
It is hard to believe that the Old Town was once considered a slum, when it is now a sought after address.
Wonderful post and photos! I haven’t been to Stockholm since 1985, when I solo-backpacked around the world for 12 months. Would love to return and now have my partner’s son living in Umeå, so no excuse!
Many thanks for stopping by my travel and photography blog – much appreciated.
It is a beautiful city, Marco – great place for an expat posting!
Beautiful pictures and wonderful historic read, A place I have never visited and now on my list for future travel.
Hi Lauren,
I appreciate your kind words 🙏
Sweden is a great country to visit and you won’t regret it. The best time to visit is during the summer.
Have a great day.😊
Saw your like on my blog … love the header of your blog (main page) but couldn’t find where to comment. So, that’s why I ended up here. So, where are you originally from? Guess, I could call myself an unintended expat, since we have lived for 35+ yeas in California, now Texas, but we are Dutch. Unintended, because every time we want to go back to the Netherlands, it does not work out!