Explore the Other buildings and surrounding ridges about the Medieval Stockholm of this artwork.
The turret on the right side of the church and the palace was the Blackfriars monastery, inaugurated in 1343 and demolished in 1547.  It was built on the location of the first southern defensive tower, of which no traces have been found. The basement of the monastery, however, can still be seen by Benickebrinken and the school next to Tyska Stallplan.During the Middle Ages, there were two harbours west and east of the city's southern square; in the painting they are only suggested by the presence of a mast behind the city. On the western shore at Kornhamn ("Grain Harbour") – today Kornhamnstorg – grain, iron, and other goods from the Lake Mälaren area were delivered. These goods were then weighed in the Våghuset ("The Scales Building", i.e. a weigh house), another important source of income for both the crown and the city, before being transported to the eastern harbour, Kogghamnen ("The Cog Harbour") – today the southern part of Skeppsbron – from which large ships delivered goods across the Baltic Sea.
In the painting, the Våghuset is the building with stepped gables and iron bars to the right of the Blackfriars monastery facing Järntorget ("Iron Square"). Våghuset was located where the Södra Bankohuset ("Southern [National] Bank Building") is today. Just behind Våghuset there is another stepped gable symbolizing the Klädeshuset ("Broadcloth Building") where goods were stored. The building with stepped gables between the church and the Blackfriars monastery was Själagården ("Soul's Homestead"). It was built in the 15th century at Själagårdsgatan to accommodate the poor and aged but also priests and others serving at the church. During the reign of Gustav Vasa it was transformed into the first royal printing house.Between the city and the horizon are several rural islands, which today form part of central Stockholm. Behind the church and the castle is Skeppsholmen, which for centuries served as a base for the Swedish Navy together with Kastellholmen islet, which can be seen above the Blackfriars monastery. To the left of Skeppsholmen are two small islets, which are today merged into the peninsula of Blasieholmen. Behind these islands are Djurgården (right), Östermalm, and Norra Djurgården (left). On the horizon, the Lilla Värtan strait passes in front of Lidingö and, arguably, the interior islands of the Stockholm archipelago.
Like the islands, the ridges surrounding the city, including the cliffs in the foreground, look very much as they still do. South (right) of the city is the island of Södermalm, where a cluster of buildings (see image of the southern city gate above) lined up along the shore called Tranbodarna were used to burn train oil (e.g. seal lard).  The round building on the eastern end of Södermalm was the gallows hill.  As depicted in the painting, it was used exclusively for men (women were beheaded).  The gallows remained there until the late 17th century when they were moved to present-day Hammarbyhöjden south of the historical city centre.
Skeppsbron Blackfriar painting Stockholm Lilla Värtan Djurgården Blasieholmen Norra Djurgården Lidingö Mälaren Järntorget Tyska Stallplan Middle Ages Södra Bankohuset Stockholm archipelago Kastellholmen Östermalm train oil Cog Skeppsholmen horizon church Swedish Navy Lake Mälaren Själagårdsgatan right Benickebrinken Södermalm weigh house Baltic Sea Gustav Vasa Hammarbyhöjden Kornhamnstorg castle left