Västerlånggatan

This very nice street with all the restaurants and the shops selling high-quality Viking helmets made in plastic is called Västerlånggatan. Today, this is the largest tourist- and shopping-street in the Old Town. But it’s played a number of parts over the centuries. In medieval times it was just a path close to the shore of Lake Mälaren. The water actually went all the way up here. Since then, there’s been an elevation of the land plus the water outside has was filled with things – such as garbage – and so the island grew. Anyway, this was a narrow path and it went just outside the defense wall that surrounded the city in those days. If you follow Västerlånggatan from Järntorget and north: think away the houses on the right side and instead imagine the high wall standing there. At that time, the name of the street was something like “the long street west of the wall”. When the town in the 15th century grew out of the wall, Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan on the other side of the wall became the main streets. Guess how long the street is? 490 metres. Oddly enough it’s one of the two cheapest streets in the Swedish version of Monopoly.
Many of the houses here are built on medieval grounds. Almost the entire Old Town is regarded as important, historically, and if you want to renovate or just repair something you need permission from the city architect. There are lots to tell about most of these houses but let’s settle for two. We’ll start with nr 31. In here is where Olof Palme, former prime minister of Sweden, lived in a huge apartment, covering three floors with a private elevator and an astounding view. Palme walked out of this door at half past 8 in the evening on February 28 in 1986. He went to see a movie but he never came home again. He was murdered on his way home. His widow, Lisbet Palme, moved out in 1996.
And last, but not least, nr 68b. Queen Kristina had her wine cellar in here in the 17th century. She hated drinking but the rest of the world at the time just loved it. If you had been walking here in those days, your ears would have rung with drunken roars and beer fuelled burps. Heavy drinking was considered a pleasant and healthy occupation. Men and women, kids and grown-ups – everybody drank like fish. The drinks served in this house today are inspired by times long before the 17th century. Today, there’s a restaurant specializing in the Viking cuisine in here. Mead and chunks of dead animals. Knuckle sandwich for dessert. Yummy. The owner is none other than the king of euro disco: E-Type. I bet you’re mouth is watering now. But you’ll have to wait – full speed ahead!

Photo Västerlånggatan street, Stockholm, Sweden, Northern Europe by Mstyslav Chernov is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0