Stockholm – northern Venice
Stockholm – the capital of Sweden – is called the Northern Venice not by chance. The city is located on the shores of the strait, connecting Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea, and on the islands in this strait. Stockholm is the largest city on the Scandinavian Peninsula.
The city, founded in 1252, originally located on the island of Staden, but then went beyond it. The growth of the city was facilitated by its favorable position on the ways of exporting products from the domestic regions of the country. During the reign of Gustav Vasa, who was the founder of the national Swedish state, Stockholm began to develop as a political, economic and cultural center of the country.
Stockholm is Sweden’s largest industrial center. At its 1400 enterprises, about 10 percent of the country’s industrial output is produced. The enterprises are concentrated mainly in the north-western and south-eastern parts of the city. The most developed are metalworking and machine-building,
Stockholm is at the junction of sea routes with inland waterways and land routes and at the crossroads of important international airlines. Five railways leave the city. There are two airports, the port of Stockholm – the second in the country for cargo turnover after Gothenburg. The length of the berths of the port is over 17 kilometers. The city operates underground.
A lot of water spaces, forest parks and numerous bridges make Stockholm one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is called the Northern Venice. The historical center of Stockholm is the Staden Island, where the royal palace, the government house, is located. There is a parliament building nearby. To the north lie the quarters where the modern business center of the capital with a group of high-rise buildings was built at the intersection of the central streets in the 50’s. In the
Stockholm is the most important scientific and cultural center of the country. Here are the Swedish Academy, the Royal Academy of Literature, History and Antiquities, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Agricultural Academy, the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the University, the Nobel Institute, the Conservatory and others. The Royal Library has about a million books.
There are many museums in the city. Among them there are two open-air museums – the Skansen ethnographic museum, where Swedish residential buildings of different ages are assembled, and Millesgarden is a collection of sculptures by Milles. Theaters are the most popular Royal Opera and Royal Drama.
In Stockholm, there are many interesting architectural ensembles, ancient and modern. This is the Royal Palace, the Knight’s House, the German Church, the National Museum, the Opera, the Royal Stadium, the Concert House. An outstanding work of Swedish architecture is the majestic Stockholm City Hall, completed by construction in 1923.
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