Stockholm old map
The two historical plans on this page show central Stockholm before the twentieth-century redevelopment of Norrmalm. They are a pleasure to compare with a modern map: shorelines have moved, rail lines have been added, and whole blocks around Klara and Hötorget have disappeared.
Stockholm first appears in writing in 1252, and tradition credits its founding to Birger jarl. The town grew on the island now called Gamla Stan, which controlled the passage between Lake Mälaren and the sea. In November 1520 the Danish king Christian II executed Swedish nobles there in the Stockholm Bloodbath, an event that led to Gustav Vasa's rise and Sweden's break with the Kalmar Union.
The city became the capital of a great power in the seventeenth century and expanded onto the surrounding islands. By the time these maps were printed, railways and horse-drawn or electric trams were reshaping the city, and new districts such as Östermalm and Vasastan had been laid out in a regular grid.
Stockholm historical map
Map of Stockholm historical
A historical city plan at a scale of 1:15,000, in two sheets: Norrmalm, Östermalm, Vasastaden and Kungsholmen above, the Old Town and Södermalm below.
Rail lines and public buildings, picked out in red, stand out clearly, and a numbered key lists the main buildings of the Old Town and Riddarholmen. Compare it with a modern map to see how Klara and the Central Station area have been rebuilt and how the shoreline of Kungsholmen has changed.
Stockholm vintage map
Map of Stockholm antique
An 1890s plan of Stockholm from the fifth edition of Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, the German encyclopedia published in Leipzig.
The legend marks the horse-drawn tramway, and an index on the right lists churches, palaces, squares and institutions of the time with grid references. Many names are still recognisable, from Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen to Drottninggatan and Strandvägen.