Bollhustäppan

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Panoramic view of Bollhustäppan. Composite of four images.

Bollhustäppan (Swedish: "The Ball House Patch") is a small public space in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.

In spite of its location in the Medieval part of the city, the history of Bollhustäppan is remarkably short, as the site was occupied by a building until the 1960s. It is named after the proximity to the two ball game buildings constructed in 1627-1792 and 1648-53, the bigger of the two used as a theatre from 1737, the smaller transformed into the Finnish Church in 1725 and still existent.^[1] In autumn 2002 the space was restored, with new lightnings and benches added and some stairs removed for accessibility.^[2]

Close-up of the sculpture.

The smallest public sculpture in Sweden, Pojke som tittar på månen ("Boy Looking at the Moon") by Liss Eriksson (1919-2000) in 1954 is located on Bollhustäppan. It retells the memory from the artist's childhood of when he during sleepless night used to sit on his bed to stare at the moon through his window. Made of sandstone and wrought iron, its stylized form contrasts the warmth of its expression; its informal and restrained manners making it one of the most appreciated pieces of art in the city, fondled by crowds of tourists every year, as the shiny head shows, and given coins and goodies, while Stockholmers occasionally knits neckerchiefs and caps for the boy to wear during winters.^[3]^[4]

[edit] References

^ (1992) "Gamla stan", Stockholms gatunamn, 2nd ed., Stockholm: Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning, 52. ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
^ Bollhustäppan. City of Stockholm. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ Konsten i Gamla stan. City of Stockholm. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ Konst i Gamla stan. gamla-stan-stockholm.se (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-16.