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Stadshuset, Stockholm, Sweden, photo by Michael Caven.

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Stockholm City Hall

The Stockholm City Hall was built between 1911 and 1923 on Kungsholmen Island, overlooking the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm, surrounded by Lake Mälaren, in the city centre of Stockholm, Sweden. The City Hall is famous for its grand ceremonial halls and unique pieces of art, and is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet held on 10 December every year.

It was designed by architect Ragnar Östberg and elegantly decorated by Swedish artists. The building is adorned with golden stars, decorated balconies, wooden masts and statues. The Stockholm City Hall has a rectangular floor plan with approximately 250 government offices for the administrative staff of the city. Here are the top10 Sensational Facts about Stockholm City Hall.

1.It is the largest architectural project of the 20th century in Sweden

Stockholm City Hall, photo by Allsong.

The Stockholm City Hall is one of the most prominent buildings in Sweden constructed in the National Romantic style. Architect, Ragnar Östberg, dedicated 12 years of his life and career to the construction of the building. The construction began in 1911 and finished in 1923, in the middle, the architect travelled through Italy in search of inspiration.

2.The City Hall was built as a workplace for Stockholm’s politicians

When the hall was built, its main purpose was to be used by civil servants and politicians. To this date the hall is still used as a workplace for Stockholm’s Municipal Council and at times used to organize the Nobel Prize banquet and other special ceremonies. It has a total of 250 government offices for city administrative staff including the City Council.

3. Stockholm City Hall is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet

The Blue Hall during the 2005 Nobel Banquet, photo by Hansbaer.

The Nobel Banquet is an annual dinner held on 10 December in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall, after the Nobel Prize ceremony. The event is celebrated in the Blue hall and it is broadcasted live from various media houses. The architect wanted to paint the brick walls in the Blue Hall blue, but he changed his mind when he saw how beautiful the red brick was.

The room is Romanesque in style with its colonnade bordering all sides with handmade bricks. The blue room is 1500m2 and 22 meters high with straight walls. The Blue Hall also houses one of the largest pipe organs in Scandinavia, with 10,270 pipes and 135 stops.

4.The Nobel Banquet dance party is celebrated in the City Hall’s Golden Hall

Mosaics in the Golden Hall, photo by Holger Ellgaard.

After the dinner, a dance is held in the Golden Hall which is located above the Blue Room with walls adorned with a Byzantine-inspired mosaic composed of 18,600,000 pieces of gold leaf joined between 2 glass plates. This mosaic shows all kinds of scenes from Swedish mythology and legends.

The Golden Hall, like the Blue Room, can be rented for parties or special functions by organizations and companies. The doors of this room are made of copper and each sheet weighs 1 ton.

5.The City Hall was built from nearly eight million bricks

The city hall was designed by architect, Ragnar Östberg, who was inspired by Italian Renaissance palaces. Nearly eight million dark red bricks from the Lina brick factory near Södertälje were used in its construction. He built the City Hall with two piazzas, Borgargården and the Blue Hall.

Seven million machine-made bricks were commissioned for the walls that would be plastered and an additional million handmade bricks for the facades. The bricks were placed alternately so that the longer and shorter sides of them are visible from the outside in unpredictable patterns.

6.The city hall hosts weddings, meetings and parties

The building also has ceremonial halls for meetings and parties. Several residents and tourists conduct weddings in Stockholm City Hall. Wedding ceremonies are conducted as planned. The Oval, a part of the city hall, is a domed antechamber with an oval shape.

Its walls are decorated with 5 tapestries 300 years old, all from France. Every Saturday, wedding services and member registrations are held at the Oval. The Gallery of the Prince is also used for civil wedding ceremonies.

7.The views of Lake Mälaren and Stockholm’s shores

The view over Lake Mälaren and Södermalm’s shores can be seen from the windows of The Stockholm City Hall. It was Prince Eugene, the youngest son of Oscar II, who made these paintings known as Stockholm’s Shores. There are also reliefs featuring male and female characters from Norse and classical mythology by the windows.

8.The 106-meter tall tower represents the Swedish national coat of arms

Photo by Nikola Johnny Mirkovic on

The Town Hall tower, located in the southeast corner of the building, immediately adjacent to the shore, with 106 meters high and 24,000tn in weight, is crowned with the Three Crowns (Tre Kronor) heraldic symbol in Sweden and date from the fourteenth century. There are a total of nine bells at the top of the tower with the largest weighing 3000 kilos, which ring every hour.

The crowns of the tower are oriented towards the old town, the small island of Gamla Stan, where the former royal palace was until it was destroyed in a fire in 1697.

9.The highest viewpoint is closed to the public

The highest viewpoint of the city hall, 73m above sea level, for security reasons, remains closed to the public. The viewpoint is bordered by a safety grid and can be surrounded to appreciate views of the city. Between the building and the coast of the Mälaren there is a small park with several sculptures, which can be seen from the viewpoint, including one that represents St. Erik, the patron of Stockholm.

10.The Council Chamber

The council chamber in Stockholm, photo by Øyvind Holmstad.

The Council Chamber is the place where the 101 councillors of the government meet.  Stockholm City Hall is the municipal building in Stockholm in Sweden on the island of Kungsholmen. The city council decided to build a new city hall at the former site of Eldkvarn, in 1907.

The Stockholm City Hall is indeed one of the most iconic buildings of Stockholm city. It is home to the Nobel Prize banquet. Other ceremonies are also is held in the halls along with several more historical stories. There are a lot of great statues around the building, gardens and amazing views.

This is one of the most impressive and most visited buildings with guided tours held daily in Swedish and English at certain hours.