Källargränd

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An old urinal in the alley.

Källargränd (Swedish: "Basement Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting Slottsbacken, the slope south of the Royal Palace, to the square Stortorget. It forms a parallel street to Trångsund and is intercepted by Trädgårdsgatan.

The alley is named after the former tavern Storkällaren ("Great basement"), in its turn named after the vicinity to the cathedral Storkyrkan. The tavern was located under the town house, where the present Stock Exchange Building is found. The town hall was relocated to the Bonde Palace at Riddarhustorget in 1730, and when the old building was demolished in 1767, the tavern moved to Svartmangatan. The name of the alley survived in various forms: ''Stora Källaregränden, St. Källarbrinken (1733), Stora Kiällare-Gränden (1740), Källar-Gränd (1855).^[1] Together with the inauguration of the stock exchange a new tavern was opened, which remained in business until 1906.^[2]

The Swedish Academy and the Nobel Library are on number 4.

Two sandstone sculptures, Hoppet ("Hope") and Försiktighet ("Guardedness") by Kortz Daniel from 1702 are located in the alley.^[3]

[edit] References

^ (1992) "Innerstaden: Gamla stan", Stockholms gatunamn, 2nd ed. (in Swedish), Stockholm: Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning, 57-58. ISBN 91-7031-042-4.
^ Béatrice Glase, Gösta Glase (1988). "Inre Stadsholmen", Gamla stan med Slottet och Riddarholmen, 3rd ed. (in Swedish), Stockholm: Bokförlaget Trevi, 46. ISBN 91 7160 823 0.
^ Konsten i Gamla stan. City of Stockholm. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.