Autumn In Stockholm. First acquaintance

We disembarked from the ferry at Treleeborg at 8:30 AM and, after covering more than 600 kilometers with an hour-long stop at Lake Wettern, enter the western suburbs of Stockholm at about 4 PM.

On the Liljeholm's bridge (Liljeholmsbron), we cross the strait of the same name. The bridge leads to the island of Södermalm, where one of the central districts of the city is located. Ahead, you can see the two towers of the Högalid church (Högalidskyrkan), located on the hill of the Högalid Park. The massive red brick building was built in 1916 in the style of national romanticism and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.

Looking to the right, we see the arched railway bridge Årstabroarna, built in 1929 and made famous worldwide thanks to the video clip for the ABBA song The Day Before You Came.

At Södermalm, we turn onto Långholmsgatan and after a few blocks we reach the East Bridge (Västerbron), which leads to the island of Kungsholmen. On the right side, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Riddarfjärden Bay, on the shores of which the central part of Stockholm is located. This is probably the most famous Skyline of the Swedish capital, where the Town Hall tower and the spires of the churches of the Knight's Island (Riddarholmen) and the oldest Gamla Stan district stand out.

Kungsholmen Island (literally King's Island) originally belonged to a Franciscan monastery, the monks had a dairy farm and a brick factory. The island was named Munklegret, which literally means "settlement of monks". In the course of the Reformation, in 1572, the monks were evicted, and the land was seized as the property of the Royal Family. In the mid-17th century, Queen Christina allocated land plots on the island to generals who distinguished themselves in the Thirty Years' War, who built mansions with stripped gardens there, and transferred the eastern part of the island to the Stockholm city authorities.

To encourage the development of the territory, the city authorities exempted new developers from taxes for ten years, and artisan guilds settled on the island. In 1672, the parish of Kungsholmen was established on the island. Yet until the beginning of industrialization, Kunsholmen remained sparsely populated and mostly rural. At the beginning of the 19th century, active construction of factories and workers' quarters began here. The beginning of the 20th century required the expansion of the city center, factories began to be moved to the suburbs, and blocks of apartment buildings were built in their place. In 1923, the monumental city Hall was completed and since then Kungsholmen has become a prestigious area of the city.

The southwestern part of Kungsholmen is dominated by low-rise buildings, with many old villas surrounded by gardens and parks. In the thirties, a large park of Rålambshovsparken was built on the shore of the strait, it is one of the most popular places of recreation for citizens, concerts and festivals are held here, there is a summer theater for five thousand spectators.

We drive along the Norr Mälarstrand embankment, which leads to the town hall.

Here we made a short stop to get acquainted with the main symbol of Stockholm.

Then, from the Town Hall Park, we admired the Knight's Island. I will tell you more about the Town Hall and the park in the next article.

In the meantime, we're heading to the heart of old Stockholm.

The next stop is at the Evert Taubes Terrass promenade on Knight Island.

Here you can look around the Riddarfjorden Bay and its shores and once again appreciate the monumentality of the Town Hall, where we have just been. This view is also known as the business card of Stockholm.

Above the embankment stands the openwork metal spire of Riddarholmskyrkan Church, 86.6 meters high. This is the oldest church in Stockholm, founded by Franciscan monks in 1270. Here is the tomb of the Swedish monarchs.

Then we will cross the Riddrholmskan and take a short walk through Stockholm's most famous district, Gamla Stan.

Here is the Royal Palace and many other historical buildings, but this time we were in a hurry to catch the ferry, so I left a thorough acquaintance with them for the next visit to Stockholm, and now I had enough time to gallop through the old streets and look at the male narrow street, Mårten Trotzigs gränd, at dusk.

This was the end of my first and very short acquaintance with Stockholm, and you can read about my next visit to this amazing city in the following articles.