is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron. Major sights include the statue of Saint George and the Dragon on Köpmanbrinken and the restaurant Den Gyldene Freden on number 51, established in 1722 and mentioned in Guinness Book of Records as one of the oldest with an unaltered interior.
History Like Västerlånggatan, Österlånggatan used to pass outside of the city walls and was for many centuries one of the city's major streets. (See Västerlånggatan for more details.) When Skeppsbron, the broad street and quay running to the east of Österlånggatan, was created during the 17th century, Österlånggatan lost much of the importance it used to have. Compared to Västerlånggatan, Österlånggatan is today a relatively quiet street notwithstanding the many restaurants and shops, in sharp contrast to the neighbourhood when the street formed the backyard of the dock district, crowded with sailors, taverns, travellers, and traders.
During the 13th century, Österlånggatan was little more than the eastern shoreline, and archaeological excavations have unveiled the original beaten track some three metres below today's pavement. The shore line was, however, gradually pushed eastward by land fillings of gravel and rubbish. In the 14th century, the street had become the 'long street east of the wall' (e.g. Österlånggatan), far from the water, paved and lined-up with workshops, shops, and dwellings. German merchants lived in and around Järntorget, while Swedish merchant's from Bergslagen, the mining district north of the capital, resided on Österlånggatan, and only a few of the noble families settled here during the Middle Ages. One of them was Gunilla Johansdotter Bese (1473–1553), who lived in the now closed alley still carrying her name, Fru Gunillas Gränd, between Numbers 43 and 45.
Many taverns from the 17th century are known in the street: Riga on Number 19; Holländska Dyn ("Dutch Slough") on Number 21; Förgylda Draken ("Gilded Dragon") on Number 27; Tre Kungar ("Three Kings") on Number 28; Sveriges Wapen ("Swedish Arms") on Number 29; and Stjärnan ("The Star") in the Rococo building on Number 45. Of all these taverns, only Den Gyldene Freden ("The Golden Peace") on Number 51 remains, but can hardly give a hint of the filth, stench, rows, and misery once hidden behind the romantic names.
The shipping trade gradually disappeared and by the early 20th century virtually everything associated with it on Österlånggatan was gone. Since the 1980s, the street have gradually been transformed into a quiet shopping street.
A walk north to south
Slottsbacken – Köpmanbrinken
The northern end of Österlånggatan forms a discreet and informal back door to the old town; recessed in a corner of the prestigious Slottsbacken it can be hard to even discover, and as the narrow northern end is squeezed between tall façades, it is easy to misinterpret the street as yet another of the many alleys. The first block is, however, flanked by two buildings worth a brief note: On the right side is the rear face of the Royal Coin Cabinet, housing a royal collection begun in the 16th century, and on the left is Number 1, a building started in 1897 and completed in 1950 to the plans of Ivar Tengbom (1878–1968), more famous as the architect behind Stockholm School of Economics and Stockholm Concert Hall – the windows facing Telegrafgränd, the first alley, gives a clear idea of what the building looked like at the time, in sharp contrast to the 18th-century stone portal on the opposite side of the alley.
The first façade of Number 3-7 dates back to the 1760s with many later additions; for example, the large northern window was the same size as the small southern until the 1960s, while its large 18th-century shutters show there once was a door here. In contrast, the plain façades of Number 5 and 7 have an old feeling but is mostly a product of a later restorations: in 1963 the old mouldings and two of the original four windows of N.5 were removed, and the door of N.7 was placed where the southern window now is until the mid-1930s. The second alley, Skeppar Karls Gränd is named after Skipper Karl, who bought a building in the alley in the 16th century, the alley at the time facing the big fish market and the adjacent waterfront where his ships were moored.
On Number 6-8 is the House of Banér, the major portal of which is on the opposite side, facing Bollhusgränd, while the 'modest' portal on this side carries the arm of Per Banér and Hebbla Fleming. On the façade is also the fire bird Phoenix taking off surrounded by flames, the symbol of the fire insurance company created to tackle the fires frequently ravaging the old town, owned by its customers and still residing on Mynttorget. The cartouches are from the 17th century, while the portals and remaining façade is from the 18th century. Number 10-12 were merged in the 1760s when the top of the building was added and the building got much of its present appearance, save for the enlarged shop windows and some original decorations now gone.
In Number 9 is the vault of Bredgränd ("Broad Alley"), not really wide viewed from Österlånggatan, but actually one of the wider in the opposite end. Both plain façades of Number 11-13 date back to the 17th century and are largely unaltered since the 1870s, except for some joineries and minor details.
The alley Kråkgränd, named after the magistrate Knut Nilsson Kråka who lived there in the early 17th century. The alley have also been named after the magistrate Johan Persson who in 1638 took over a property said to be located "on the upper corner in a vault over the alley". Under the first five small building behind Number 15 are the merged medieval cellars of the restaurant Fem Små Hus ("Five Small Houses") started in 1969. The basement of the block have, however, served as a tavern for several hundreds years – two illegal inns were reported in 1694.
Köpmanbrinken
Köpmanbrinken ("Merchant's Slope") is leading up to Köpmantorget, its railing featuring the statue of Saint George and the Dragon, a copy from 1912 of the original located in the Stockholm Cathedral. Where the statue is today there used to be an entire block triangular in shape. One of the three buildings it contained was used as a synagogue for a few years in the late 18th century, but as this collapsed on May 1, 1821, the entire block was demolished. Buildings collapsed somewhat frequently in the area as the underlying soil, composed entirely of land filling, slid eastward and pulled the layers of gravel under the buildings in the process. Also in 1821, a wall in 8 Köpmanbrinken, reported as "looking rather trustworthy", was however transformed into a ruin in a snap, flying debris smashing windows on the opposite side of the street.
On the opposite side, on either side of Number 17, are two relatively new alleys: Nygränd ("New Alley"), which notwithstanding the name is from the 16th century, and Brunnsgränd ("Well's Alley"), which notwithstanding the name contains no well. The explanation for this is former location of the biggest market square in Stockholm between these two alleys, called Fisketorget ("Fisher's Square"). It stretched down from the city gate located where Köpmantorget is today, to the waterfront between 1413 and around 1520. During the 14th century it was even named Fiskestrand ("Fishery Shore") and stretched north to Skeppar Karls Gränd. The well beneath the statue of Saint George (both created in 1912) is often erroneously associated with Brunnsgränd, but the well which gave the alley its name is found inside the block north of it.
The present building on Number 17 is the design of the architect Carl Malmström. Built in 1902 and inspired by the building on 10 Skeppsbron (possibly by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger), it featured shops on street level, flanked by pilasters topped by volutes, offices on the second floor behind the low rounded arches and the bar windows, with dwellings above and storage below. Originally, the entrance was flanked by two minor doors facing the street (the door still is still there), and was slightly more elaborated. The green colour of the building would have pleased neither of the two architects, but obviously was to the taste of today's catering business, judging from the restaurant residing there - Pontus in the Green House.
Köpmanbrinken – Benickebrinken
The middle section of the street contains numerous alleys stretching east while the block on the opposite side forms a continuous block, the extent of which is caused by the medieval city wall which stretched behind the block, along the fronts facing Baggensgatan.
While the sandstone on the ground level of number 19 is 18th century in style, it was unveiled in the 1960s, the building however received much of its present appearance in 1876. During the following decades, the proprietors then started to add and relocate the doors of the building, sealing one door to replace a window with a new door, ten years later reverting the arrangement – in many aspects typical for the faith of the buildings in the old town. The building was occupied by the tavern Riga during the 17th and 18th century, and during 60 years from 1917 by a sail loft. South of Number 19 is Skottgränd, an alley named after the Scotsmen who settled here in the 17th century, supposedly to own their living either as merchants or warriors. On Number 2 was the tavern Bacchus in the early 18th century, Number 6 was a storage as the still operational derrick show, and over the door of Number 3 is the inscription NON DOMUS DOMINUM SED DOMINUS DOMUM, roughly: 'A dominion doesn't make a lord, but a lord makes a domesticity'. One of the two shuttered windows on the southern side has iron detailing 17th century in style, but both of them are from 1873 when the façade of Number 21 was completed together with its portal feature featuring sculptural leaf garland and ductile wooden decorations. Next to the vault leading to Stora Hoparegränd (a name derived from hooper, the profession of making barrels; English: cooper) is just enough space for the narrow front door of Number 23; the portal of which is 18th century in style but was added to the building probably in the mid-19th century, a few decades before the shop door got flanked by its fluted wooden pilasters.
The imposing old building on the opposite side, Number 14, featuring an oriel, a Renaissance frieze, and a Baroque portal was built in 1888 to the design of Isak Gustaf Clason, an architect known for the uninhibited use of historical styles from various epochs for different commissions – the 'Nordic Renaissance' of the Nordic Museum on Djurgården is arguably the best example. The façade, unaltered except for the pediments over the doors removed in 1966, was inspired by the buildings of the old town, and the eclectic pioneering style of the architect is regarded as a first decisive step away from the well-established manners of the 19th century to rebuild old structures using the cast iron constructions introduced throughout the city during this time (see Riddarholmskyrkan). The façade is full of quotations from various historical periods, together humbly adapting to the heterogeneous environment, while the large stone vaults are adjusting the relation between the street and the interior.