Stockholm History
c. 1252 Stockholm is established by Birger Jarl as a fortified island defence outpost against Baltic pirates, commanding the transshipment route between the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren
1270 The Riddarholmskyrkan (Riddarholm Church), a Franciscan monastery and Stockholm's oldest surviving building, is founded in the Old Town
1306 Consecration of Stockholm's oldest church (dedicated to St Nicholas), now part of Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral)
1376 The image of St Eric (King Eric IX), patron saint and symbol of Stockholm, first appears on the city's seal
1436 Earliest surviving charter of the city of Stockholm is enacted
1471 Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm: Swedish rebels under Sten Sture defeat Danish King Christian I
1520 Stockholm Bloodbath: Danish King Christian II executes 82 Swedish noblemen in the Stortorget (Great Market), Old Town
1520-23 War of Liberation from Denmark: Stockholm becomes a last bastion of Danish power and is besieged
1524 Gustav I Vasa of Sweden enters Stockholm on 24 June after a long siege
1611 Gustav II Adolf accedes to the Swedish throne; he soon makes Sweden a major European power with Stockholm as its chief city
1628 The warship Vasa sinks in Stockholm Harbour on its maiden voyage
1634 Stockholm formally becomes the national capital of Sweden
1710 A disastrous plague wipes out about one third of Stockholm's population
1754 The Swedish royal family move into the newly completed Royal Palace
1833 Alfred Bernhard Nobel is born in Stockholm
1849 Johan August Strindberg is born in the city
1860 Opening of the railway link ends Stockholm's isolation in winter
1862 Legislation is passed making the City Council Stockholm's supreme governing body
1875-80 New plans for city growth approved: Stockholm expands rapidly as industrial development brings new prosperity
1878 Stockholm College, later Stockholm University, begins giving classes
1896 Alfred Nobel dies, leaving a fortune to sponsor prizes in various disciplines, administered by Swedish academies and awarded in Stockholm
1901 Stockholm is the venue for the award of the first Nobel Prizes
1961 Vasa is raised from the bed of Stockholm Harbour
1986 The Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated while walking home from a Stockholm cinema with his wife; the identity and motives of his attacker remain a mystery
1998 Stockholm is made European Capital of Culture
Tours of Stockholm
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