Prästgatan

Prästgatan (Swedish: "The Priest's Street") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, stretching from a cul-de-sac west of the Royal Palace to the street Österlånggatan in the southern corner of the old town. Prästgatan forms a parallel street to Västerlånggatan, Trångsund, Skomakargatan, and Svartmangatan. It is intercepted by Storkyrkobrinken, Ankargränd, Spektens Gränd, Solgränd, Kåkbrinken, Tyska Brinken, Tyska Stallplan, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, and Norra Benickebrinken

Old names

"Prästegathen" (1586): "Helwitesgatun" (1529), "Helgemesse grenden" (1646), "Helgeandz grenden" (1669), "Helgonegrenden" (1697), "Helvichs gränd"(1726), "Hellwigs gränden", "Helvitii gränd" (1723), "Helvetii Gränd" (1821), "Helvetiegränden" (1885): "sahlig Gref Stenbergs Huus" (1700), "Stenbergs gr" ["änd"] (1733), "Stenbergs gränd" (1885)cite book
title = Stockholms gatunamn
edition = 2nd ed. | year = 1992
publisher = Kommittén för Stockholmsforskning
location = Stockholm | id = ISBN 91-7031-042-4
pages = 64-65 | chapter = Innerstaden: Gamla stan]

History

The street was given its name in reference to the residences of three chaplains and a bell-ringer built there during the 16th century, the four small buildings were demolished in 1708 to give room to the parsonage still present. As the parsons of Tyska Kyrkan ("The German Church") were housed near the street, the southern part of it was called "Tyska Prästgatan" ("The German Priest's Street") from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century while the northern part was called "Svenska Prästgatan" ("The Swedish Priest's Street"). The name revision of 1885, resulted in the name Prästgatan being used for the street's northern and southern extensions as well.

Before this, the part north of the street Storkyrkobrinken was known as "Helvetesgränd" ("Alley of Hell"), just like the surrounding area north and west of the cathedral Storkyrkan was being referred to as "Helvetet" (Hell), a name subject to scholarly disputes. Professor Nils Ahnlund (1889-1957), interpreted it as referring to the area north of a church in popular beliefs being known as "latus plagæ damnatæ" ("the northern side of the damned") and therefore a place of disgrace suitable for suicides and criminals, a theory only corroborated by the location of the city executioner in the area. This theory was however questioned by the historian Lizzie Carlsson, in several essays instead concluding "Helvetet" during the Middle Ages was used all over Sweden for farmyards as well as other structures with a northern location. A theory, she argues, confirmed by the fact that the "kingdom of the dead" in norse folklore is located to the north. While the presence of more distinguished residences in the "Helvetet" neighbourhood can be explained by the overcrowded conditions within the city walls, the name during medieval times didn't have the pejorative meaning it has today, thus making the hypothesis credible.

The extension south of Tyska Stallplan was named "Stenbergs gränd" ("Alley of Stenberg") after Crown Equerry Antonius von Steinberg (-1675), favourite of Queen Christina (1626-1689) and owner of the entire block north of the extension. The painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) was born in a building nearby.cite web
title = Ord och bild
date = 1903-1912
publisher = Project Runeberg
location =
url = http://runeberg.org/ordochbild/1903/0292.html
accessdate = 2007-02-05] Markings in the pavement in the southern slope show the extent of the Blackfriars monastery located on the northern side of the street from the coronation of King Magnus Eriksson in 1336 to the Reformation (around 1520-1530). An archaeological excavation in 1993 unveiled the corner of a wall 0,6 metres under the current street just in front of the corner between Tyska Stallplan and Prästgatan.cite web
title = Prästgatan, Österlånggatan, Södra Benickebrinken
author = Barbro Århem | publisher = Stockholm City Museum
year = 1993 | accessdate = 2007-02-25 | pages =
url = http://www.stadsmuseum.stockholm.se/forvaltningen/media/pdf/Prastgatan.pdf]

Runestone

In the corner of Prästgatan and Kåkbrinken is a runestone in the wall, carrying the inscription "Torsten and Frögunn had the stone erected after their son.". The stone was probably brought to Stockholm to be used as building material, from where is not known. As the female name Frögunn is known as a pagan name, the stone is believed to be from around 1000, the stone thus being about 200 years older than the city.cite web
title = Konsten i Gamla stan
publisher = City of Stockholm
date =
url = http://www.stockholm.se/Extern/Templates/Page.aspx?id=112004
accessdate = 2007-02-09]

A laser range scanner analysis made in 2002, showed variations in stroke patterns in the grooves of the stone, and that the stone was probably carved by a master carver and an apprentice. Its one of three runestones found in the old town: A second, U 274, originally located in a wall by the southern city gate near Slussen, is today kept in the Museum of Medieval Stockholm. It contains the words "Karl and Adisla had [this stone] erected [after] Arnsil, [their] father" and is similar in style to stones found in Södermanland, south of Stockholm. The third runestone, U 54, is today lost but was once located in a stairway in the church Riddarholmskyrkan.cite book
title = Upptaget - Sankt Eriks årsbok 2002 | year = 2002
language = Swedish | author = Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt, Magnus Källström
publisher = Samfundet Sankt Erik, Stockholm City Museum, Museum of Medieval Stockholm
location = Stockholm | id = ISBN 91-974091-1-1
pages = 172-180 | chapter = Stockholmsrunor och en huggspårsanalys av runstenen vid Prästgatan]

ee also

*List of streets and squares in Gamla stan

References

External links

* [http://www.hitta.se/SearchCombi.aspx?SearchType=4&UCSB%3aWflWhite=1a1b&UCSB%3aWflPink=4a&UCSB%3aTextBoxWho=&UCSB%3aTextBoxWhere=Pr%e4stgatan+Stockholm hitta.se - location map and virtual walk]