Schantzska huset, Stockholm

The most attractive and famous house on Stortorget square was built in 1650 for the secretary of king Karl X Gustav Johan Eberhard Schantz, so it is named "Schantzska huset" (House of Schantz). This is an example of architecture in the "Northern Renaissance" style (Nordiska renässanstilen), which is characterized by a stepped pediment decorated with stucco scrolls. There is a legend that at the direction of Shantz, white stones were laid in the facade according to the number of those executed in the "Stockholm blood bath". Stones are actually 92, while the number of victims of the famous massacre of the Danish king Christian II over the Swedish aristocracy is ten people less.

The portal by Johan Wendelstam is decorated with sculptures of soldiers, between them a medallion with an inscription in German from Psalm 37: 5, "Befiehl dem Herrn deine Wege und hoffe auf ihn, er wirds wohl machen" (Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass). Сейчас на первом этаже здания размещается популярное кафе Chokladkoppen (Чашка шоколада).

Going down to the basement, where the restaurant Kaffekoppen (Cup of coffee) is now located, you can plunge into the atmasphere of the middle ages and appreciate the power of the Foundation and floors built more than three and a half hundred years ago.