Gaffelgränd

Gaffelgränd ( _sv. Fork Alley) is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden, connecting Skeppsbron to Lilla Hoparegränd and Pelikansgränd, both of which are leading to Österlånggatan.

It is a parallel street to Ferkens Gränd, Lilla Hoparegränd, Pelikansgränd, and Johannesgränd.

The alley appears in historical records as "Hopare Gränden" in 1700, "Gaffelgränden" in 1720, and "gafwel gränden" in 1720. It came to being as the old city wall was demolished and Skeppsbron projected in the 1630s. The alleys leading east from Österlånggatan were then extended down to the new quay, of unknown reason with the exception of Lilla Hoparegränd and Pelikangränd. The two corner houses flanking Gaffelgränd were built instead, probably before 1647, and the alley created as a result.cite book
title = Stockholms gatunamn
edition = 2nd ed. | year = 1992
publisher = Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning
location = Stockholm | id = ISBN 91-7031-042-4
pages = 53-54 | chapter = Innerstaden: Gamla stan]

The origin of the name is not entirely clear. In its old form (1720), "Gavelgränd" ("Gable Alley"), it might refer to the gable in the western end of the street viewable from Skeppsbron; or, as on a map dated 1733 and as its modern name implies, "Gaffelgränd" ("Fork Alley") might refer to the fork-like structure formed by the three alleys.

In the dedications in his epistles, the troubadour Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795), still popular for his devotion to wine and women, mentions the alley twice, or rather a tavern in it:
* In :: "Till the trogne bröder på Terra Nova i Gaffelgränden": To the faithful brothers at 'Terra Nova' in The Fork Alley
* :: "Till gubbarna på Terra Nova i Gaffelgränden vid Skeppsbron": To the old men at 'Terra Nova' in The Fork Alley at Skeppsbron

The alley's reputation is reconfirmed a century later by the poet Anna Maria Lenngren (1754-1817). When paraphrasing Charles-François Panard's (1689-1765) "Les merveilles de l'Opéra" in her parody "Operan" ("The Opera"), she makes ironic use of Gaffelgränd:cite web
first = Karl | last = Warburg
title = Anna Maria Lenngren
publisher = Project Runeberg
year = 1917
url = http://runeberg.org/warlenng/1917/0126.html
accessdate = 2007-01-19]

References

See also

* List of streets and squares in Gamla stan

External links

* [http://www.hitta.se/ViewDetailsPlace.aspx?SearchType=4&UCSB%3aWflWhite=1a1b&UCSB%3aWflPink=4a&UCSB%3aTextBoxWho=&UCSB%3aTextBoxWhere=Gaffelgr%e4nd&StreetNumberId=100411068 hitta.se - Location map and virtual walk]