Description of the attraction
Stockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council of the City of Stockholm. It is located at the eastern end of Kungsholm Island, next to the northern coast of Riddarfjord and opposite the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. The building houses offices and conference rooms, as well as state rooms and the luxurious Stadshuskallaren restaurant. The Town Hall is rightfully considered one of the main attractions of Stockholm, as it is here that the annual Nobel Prize banquet is held. It is worth noting that it is possible to get into the halls only as part of an excursion, but independent visitors can only go to the courtyard of the town hall.
In 1907, the city council decided to build a new house for the Stockholm city council. An architectural competition was held, the winner of which was Ragnar Östberg, and his main competitor, Karl Westman, was entrusted with the construction of the courthouse. In the process, Estberg markedly modified his original design, incorporating elements from Westman's design, such as the tower. It took twelve years to build, and it took nearly eight million red bricks. The building was opened on June 23, 1923, exactly on the four hundredth anniversary of the coronation of Gustav Vasa in Stockholm.
Stockholm City Hall is considered one of the most prominent examples of Swedish national romanticism in architecture. The unique location overlooking the Riddarfjord was the inspiration for the central motive of the construction - the juxtaposition of urban architecture and water, which is also a feature of Stockholm's cityscape as a whole. The town hall style is an example of exquisite eclecticism, incorporating massive, austere, Northern European brick construction and playful elements of Eastern and Venetian architecture.
A small park, laid out between the building of the town hall and the shore of Lake Mälaren, is decorated with the works of famous sculptors. To the southeast of the city hall there is a twenty-meter monument dedicated to Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, the leader of the largest popular uprising in Sweden.
