Stockholm City Hall

There is plenty to do in Stockholm on a rainy day.  Mom, Dad, Jan and I took the 45 minute, really interesting city hall tour.   Tours in English are offered Monday-Friday, every hour from 10am - 3pm (June-August every 30 minutes). 

The city hall of Stockholm (Stadshuset... literally:  city house) was built from 1911-1923 in an Italian Renaissance style by architect Ragnor Ostberg. 

City hall is most famous for its Blue Hall where the Noble banquet is held every December 10th for 1003 people.  The Blue Hall is not blue but red brick.  Original plans called for plastering over the bricks, but the architect like the red brick, only the name from the original plans remain.  Workers spent a year chipping away at the bricks to make them appear older.  The banquet hall was originally designed as an open courtyard but was enclosed with windows at the top and a white ceiling where blue sky can be projected, which is a good thing considering Sweden's unpredictable weather. 

The architect wanted the people walking down the stairs to look gracious so his wife tried out different styles of stairs while dress in a long gown and heels.  She ultimately chose stairs measuring 13cm high and 39cm deep. 

place setting for the Nobel banquet, in case you never get invited!

The Stockholm City Council meets in the Council Chamber every third Monday of the month to make important decisions regarding the city.  The council is an honorary position, elected every four years. 

This is a great new tourism video for Stockholm:  Stockholm - it's not a coincidence

The chairwoman sits in the slightly elevated seat under the canopy for better acoustics.  There are 200 each for public and the media viewing.  The walls are decorated with an ancient Greek pattern symbolizing democracy. 

The ceiling beams are concrete, covered in wood and painted in a Swedish folk style to look like an Viking long-house from 1000 years ago.  The faux sky symbolizes that the room is open and there are no secrets... a lot of thought went into decorating this room!

 

beautiful old maps hanging on the chamber's walls

The Oval is where civil wedding ceremonies take place very Saturday from 2-4pm.  Anyone can get married in Stockholm's city hall, it's a free ceremony (wow, something affordable in Stockholm!) and there is a choice between a long or short ceremony... three minutes vs. 30 seconds. 

The tower (on the outside of this room) is 106 meters tall.  Plans called for a 100 meter tower but the Round Tower had just been built in Copenhagen at a 105 meters... just a little healthy competition. 

The Prince's Gallery is used for city receptions.  Prince Eugen painted 'The Shores of Stockholm', a panorama of Riddarfjarden from the windows on the opposite wall.

view of Lake Malaran from the Prince's Gallery

Prince Eugen's al fresco painting

The Three Crowns Chamber is named after the three chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.  Two copper doors (each weighs a ton) lead to the Golden Hall. 

entrance to the Golden Hall

The Golden Hall, a banquet hall that seats 700, contains over 18 million mosaic pieces made of glass and real gold.  Workers worked 24/7 for a year and half to complete the Golden Hall.

The large mosaic at one end of the hall is the 'Queen of Lake Malaren', the lake beside city hall.  The queen in the mosaic was controversial at the time because many people did not find her beautiful, they disliked her 'Medusa' hair and her stocky body.  Most people were appeased once her hair was described to be like the waves of the sea and that her body was strong to keep peace. 

The Queen of Lake Malaren is sitting in the middle of the world with city hall in her lap. To one side of her is the Western world represented by the American flag, skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower and to the opposite side is the Eastern world represented by mosques. 

The opposite end of the Golden Hall is interesting.... the workers misjudged and ran out of wall, the King, St. Erik's head is missing.  At the time I would think there were some unhappy people but now it just makes for a good story, and exemplifies the calm Swedish attitude towards things!