Architecture in Stockholm
The buildings that survive from this period are mostly churches and royal buildings, since these were built from more durable materials than most other buildings from that period. Birger Jarls torn ("The Tower Of Birger Jarl") was considered the oldest building in the entire city, however, it is now known to have been erected by Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. The Riddarholmen Church from the late 13th century is considered to be the oldest surviving building in Stockholm. While it came to serve as the church of choice for royal burials, another church, the Storkyrkan ("Great Church") came to be used for coronations. Both of the churches have been redesign several times since their erection.
Södra Bankohuset
During the second half of the 15th century, Stockholm was being transformed into a city built in stone and the Scales House present in Vädersolstavlan, a painting depicting an event in 1535 and the oldest known colour image of the city, was probably built in the 1460s, an assumption confirmed both by historical records and dendrochronological samples. It is depicted as a one-storey brick building with a stepped gable and white blind windows, a crane hanging over the round arched portal facing the square. A clock was added in the mid-16th century together with a shed for foreign merchants to keep their goods. As two stories were added to the Scales House in 1596-1603, the shed was enlarged into a warehouse and the entire structure transformed into a Renaissance building furnished with an elaborated stone portal, horizontal sandstone fillets, volutes and finials, and a ridge turret covered in copper. Stone tables on the front gable were painted in blue and furnished with gilded crowns and the inscription "1603". One of these can still be found in the entrance facing Skeppsbron.