Central Stockholm - The City’s Controversial Business District

Some people hate it. But you can’t escape central Stockholm. Whether you like it or not.

Trains arrive there. Roads lead to Sergels Torg, the central square. Shops, hotels, cinemas, churches, markets, museums ... you find them all here. It’s a business district, a shopping area, and a subject of controversy.

Sergels Torg and surroundings are the concrete witness of a controversial past.

Two of every three houses here were demolished here during the Fifties and Sixties. Instead a (then) ultramodern city centre arose with high office buildings, shops and apartment blocks.

It was not megalomania that decided to break down the workers’ houses at Norrmalm. The city council just tried to catch up with the spectacular growth of the Swedish capital.

Sergels Torg, finished in 1960, became central Stockholm’s main square.

Sergels Torg has two levels. At the highest levels cars meet at a busy traffic junction, marked by a glass obelisk that was placed there in 1972.

Down the steps is a pedestrian area with an underground shopping centre. Dozens of buskers and other street artists entertain the crowd in Summer.

At Sergels Torg you will also find the huge Kulturhuset (house of culture).

This five-storey building houses art exhibitions, the city theatre Stadsteatern, a few smaller stages for all kinds of performances, a library, shops and a café.

In short: culture for the people, Swedish style. Worth a visit, but check the information desk to find what you need.

Opposite of Kulturhuset are five ugly, 25-storey office buildings that dominate the Stockholm skyline.

Along the west side of Sergels Torg is Drottninggatan, the main and about one mile long shopping street in this area. Major Swedish chains like fashion giant H&M and department stores Åhléns and PUB are found here.

Sweden’s third major department store, the ultrachic NK – think of Harrods in Nordic disguise – is located at Hamngatan, just east of Sergels Torg. Sadly, in this store foreign minister Anna Lindh was killed in 2003 – one of Sweden’s darkest hours in recent history.

Just opposite of NK lies Sweden House. It is the home of the local tourist information service, a souvenir shop, the Swedish Bookshop and the Swedish Institute.

Kungsträdgården provides a place to relax, just around the corner of Hamngatan.

This former royal garden is now the city’s most popular meeting point.

Another place of interest in central Stockholm is Hötorget square. Here you will see the city’s blue concert hall Konserthuset – if the busy (but colorful) outdoor market doesn’t spoil your sight.

The royal public library or Kungliga Biblioteket, located in the Humlegården park, dates back from 1865-1878.

The remarkable yellow building and the close-by square of Stureplan which is another beautiful remainder of the 19th Century, survived the city planners’ innovation urge.

Central Stockholm is not a monumental treasure like Gamla Stan. But you have to see it if you want to experience modern-day life in the Swedish capital.