Stockholm City Hall

In 907 the city council decided to build a new town hall on the old site of Eldkvarn. First, an architectural design competition was held, resulting in the selection of drafts by Ragnar Östberg, Carl Westman, Ivar Tengbom, and Ernst Torulf and Carl Bergsten. After another rivalry between Westman and Östberg, Westman was given the construction of the Town Hall, while the first was asked to build the Stockholm Courthouse. Östberg modified the original sketch using elements of Westman's design, including the tower. Östberg continually overhauled his plans during construction, resulting in the addition of the lighthouse to the top of the tower and the abandonment of the blue glazed tiles in the Blue Hall.

Oskar Asker was hired as the construction leader, and Paul Toll, builder of Kreuger & Toll, designed the foundations. Georg Greve also helped draw up the plans. Construction took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. About eight million red bricks were used. Dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monk brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were supplied by the Lina brickworks in Södertälje.

The building was opened on 23 June 1923, exactly 400 years after Gustav Vasa's arrival in Stockholm. Verner von Heidenstam and Hjalmar Branting gave the opening speeches.

Stockholm City Hall is an example of the National Romantic style. The site overlooking the Riddarfjärden inspired a central motif, namely the juxtaposition of urban architecture and water, representing a central feature of the Stockholm cityscape as a whole.

The style of the hall is one of refined eclecticism, blending solid, simple, Northern European brick construction with whimsical elements reminiscent of Venetian Gothic architecture, such as turrets decorated with golden stars, ornate balconies, wooden pillars and statues.

With its plain walls and porticoes, the Blue Hall embodies the elements of a formal courtyard. Its walls are essentially undecorated in blue; The name comes from Östberg's first draft and stands out as the dining hall where banquets are held after the annual Nobel Prize ceremony.

The organ in the Blue Hall is Scandinavia's largest with 10,270 pipes. Above the Blue Hall is the Golden Hall (Gyllene Salen), named after the decorative mosaics made from over 18 million tiles. The motifs of Swedish history are used in the mosaics. After nine years of negotiations by Gottfried Heinersdorff (1883-1941) for commission, they were executed by the firm of Puhl & Wagner (Gottfried Heinersdorff) in Berlin, Germany.

The southeast corner of the building, immediately adjacent to the shore, is dominated by a monumental tower topped by the Swedish national symbol, the Three Crowns. The tower is 106 meters high and can be accessed by elevator or a 365-step staircase. The east side of its plinth is decorated with the gold-plated mausoleum of the 13th-century Swedish statesman Birger Jarl.

Stockholm City Hall has been the location of a number of cultural productions, including Swedish pop duo Roxette's 1991 music video for Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave).