Drottninggatan

Drottninggatan

Drottninggatan (Queen Street) is a major pedestrian street in Stockholm, Sweden. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden.

Forming a parallel street to Vasagatan and Sveavägen, Drottningsgatan is intersected by (south to north) Fredsgatan, Jakobsgatan, Herkulesgatan, Vattugatan, Klarabergsgatan, Mäster Samuelsgatan, Bryggargatan, Gamla Brogatan, Kungsgatan, Apelbergsgatan, Olof Palmes Gata, Barnhusgatan, Adolf Fredriks Kyrkogata, Wallingatan, Kammakargatan, Tegnérgatan, Rådmansgatan, Kungstensgatan and Observatoriegatan.

The major part of the street is car-free and lined-up with numerous stores and shops, one of the largest being the Åhléns City department store. During summer, the street is often crowded with tourists.

History

The street was laid out in the 1630s and 1640s when the surrounding area was built on a rectilinear grid plan, a significant innovation in Stockholm's urban environment. It was originally named Stora Konungsgatan ("Great King's Street") and was later renamed as Drottninggatan in honour of Queen Christina, who ruled from 1632 to 1654.^[1]

On 11 December 2010, Drottninggatan was the site of the 2010 Stockholm bombings. Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen, was killed by one of his own bombs and two other people were injured.^[2] The incident was Sweden's first suicide bombing.^[3]

Famous residents

The playwright, novelist and essayist August Strindberg lived at Blå tornet (Drottninggatan 85) for the last four years of his life. The building is now the site of the Strindberg Museum.^[4]

Another famous resident was the 19th century banker and newspaper tycoon André Oscar Wallenberg, whose lived with his family at Drottninggatan 66 until 1876.^[5]

See also

• Geography of Stockholm

References

1. ^ Wahlberg, Mats, "Systematized Name-Giving in the Areas of Place-Names and Personal Names – with Special Reference to Sweden", in van Nahl, Astrid; Elmevik, Lennart; Brink, Stefan: Namenwelten: Orts- und Personennamen in historischer Sicht, p. 389. Walter de Gruyter, 2004. ISBN 9783110181081
2. ^ Borger, Julian (12 December 2010). "Stockholm bombing: authorities ponder impossibility of policing lone jihadists". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/12/stockholm-bombing-policing-lone-jihadists. Retrieved 12 December 2010. 
3. ^ "- Regjeringen reagerer med avsky" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 2010. http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7421521. Retrieved 12 December 2010. 
4. ^ Bjurstrom, C.G. Strindberg, p. 82. CUP Archive, 1971
5. ^ Nilsson, Göran B.; Metcalf, Michael F. The founder: André Oscar Wallenberg (1816-1886), Swedish banker, politician & journalist, p. 296. Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2005. ISBN 9789122021025

Coordinates: 59°19′54.58″N 18°03′48.38″E / 59.3318278°N 18.0634389°E / 59.3318278; 18.0634389